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[Joeholley]

Press release by Blizzard at 10:00 am Pacific

BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT® ANNOUNCES WORLD OF WARCRAFT® “STREET DATE” - NOVEMBER 23, 2004


Highly anticipated massively multiplayer online game to release simultaneously in multiple regions for the holiday season


IRVINE, Calif. – November 4, 2004 – Blizzard Entertainment® today announced that its eagerly awaited massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft® will be in stores in North America on November 23, 2004. World of Warcraft will launch simultaneously in Australia and New Zealand, and is planned for release in Korea, Europe, and other countries throughout Asia shortly following. With a monthly subscription, players in these regions will soon be able to experience the epic adventure of the Warcraft® series in an immersive and continually evolving online environment.

In World of Warcraft, players assume the roles of legendary heroes and interact with thousands of other players online as they explore and adventure across a vast world. Whether journeying together or questing on their own, players will engage in heroic battles, develop friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory. The game features customizable character classes with thousands of weapons, spells, and abilities. With an innovative, easy-to-use interface, an action-packed combat system, and thousands of quests that build an immersive storyline, World of Warcraft offers a MMORPG that will appeal to both veteran and casual players alike.

“World of Warcraft has been our largest undertaking to date,” said Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “When we set out to create a massively multiplayer online game, our goal was to expand the scope of the Warcraft universe by offering an incredibly dynamic game experience. We’re extremely proud of the game we’ve created, and we believe players will be very pleased when they see what we have in store for them.”

World of Warcraft will be available for Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP and Macintosh® formats at a suggested retail price of $49.99 in the U.S., and will include a free one-month subscription to the game. The special collector's edition of World of Warcraft will also be available at release for a suggested retail price of $79.99 and will include the World of Warcraft game on both CD-ROM and DVD, a free one-month subscription, a World of Warcraft behind-the-scenes DVD, an exclusive in-game pet, a cloth map of the game world, a soundtrack CD, an Art of the World of Warcraft coffee table book, and a commemorative game manual signed by the development team.

After the initial free one-month subscription ends, players of World of Warcraft will be able to continue playing under one of three different subscription plans. The month-to-month subscription plan costs $14.99 per month, the three-month plan costs $13.99 per month, and the six-month plan costs $12.99 per month. World of Warcraft subscription fees can be paid by major credit card, PayPal, and pre-paid game cards, which will be available in stores where World of Warcraft is sold. World of Warcraft has received a Teen rating from the ESRB.

About the Warcraft Universe
Since its debut in 1994, the #1-selling Warcraft series has won industry acclaim and has shattered sales records worldwide with over 14 million copies sold*. In 1995, Blizzard followed the well-received Warcraft: Orcs and Humans with the highly acclaimed Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, considered by many critics to be one of the best games ever made. In 2002, Blizzard expanded the boundaries of the Warcraft universe with the third chapter of its legendary saga, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, which garnered numerous Game of the Year awards. With the release of World of Warcraft, Blizzard now extends its epic storyline into the MMORPG realm, expanding the genre with a massively multiplayer gaming experience of unparalleled quality.

About Blizzard Entertainment
Best known for blockbuster hits including the Warcraft® series, StarCraft®, and the Diablo® series, Blizzard Entertainment® (www.blizzard.com), a division of Vivendi Universal Games, is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating many of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard’s track record includes eight #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s free Internet gaming service Battle.net reigns as the largest in the world, with millions of active users.

*Based on EDI sell-through, internal company estimates, and reports from key retail accounts around the world.

 

[CrimsonSkies]

I can't wait.

 

[krypt0nian]

Taking the next day off....

Come to me sweet WoW>...

 

[Bristow]

Sweeet. GOTY!

 

[Kweh]

Awesome news, now i just need someone in Europe to successfully play it without having a US friend pay for them

 

[Mrbob]

Hot damn, November 23?

I haven't been keeping up on this game. Nor have I played it. Heard great things about it though! I like that six month plan pricing I'll have to snap that up right away!

 

[Outdoor Miner]

Sun of a...

Looks like they took out the 10-day pass for a friend from the CE. I was going to buy that in the hopes I'd only have to get one boxed version for both myself and my gf.

Oh well, looks like I have to blow $100 instead of $80. But then we both get a free month, so in the end the savings would have been less than $10. I'll shut up.

To those beta testers (not from this forum)... SUCK IT DOWN, HATE TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO!

*fires up Hives song of same name*

 

[D.Cowboys]

No different from any other MMORPG. No better either

 

[MrCheez]

GOD I love this game! \m/>_<\m/

Hurray for release!

 

[nataku]

I'm so tempted to pick up the collectors addition for that art book...

 

[MrCheez]

Only 30 bucks more. Don't forget the other stuff that comes with it too, especially the soundtrack (which is really really good).

 

[Grey Fox]

Hah it comes out 2 days after my birthday,I can't wait though.Also,definately getting the collector's edition.Soundtrack and artbook alone make it more than worth it.Other stuff is just gravy.

 

[Asskicker064]

$15 a month? That sucks. I'm still going to pay it, but

 

[dark10x]

Well, at least this is ONE big Fall game that I couldn't care less about... :\

 

[Sinatar]

My head asplode.

GIMME NOW!!!!

 

[SKluck]

$15....

Fucking nuts.

 

[Mrbob]

Those complaining about 15 bucks a month do realize there are other options at less cost right??

 

[Draff]

I haven't been keeping up with this game all that much but is there there the character deletion thing after 3 months like other MMORPGs?

 

[firex]

no. i don't know of many mmorpgs that actually go through with deleting a character after three months either.

 

[Gattsu25]

Those complaining about 15 bucks a month do realize there are other options at less cost right??

fuck that...the most I plan to play this game is 3 months if any :b

 

[Draff]

Square does with FFXI apparently.
I know DAoC had something written down too (although they never do).

At anyrate, thanks.
I'm probably going to pick this up now.

 

[firex]

i didn't say that none do, and most of them make that kind of promise... but it usually winds up not happening. i know it pretty much doesn't with EQ, though they have a whole lot of customer policies that they've found they can't enforce.

 

[M3wThr33]

From what my roommate has said about DAoC, the policy is that if they start to run out of room, they'll clear accounts, but give you 30 days notice before hand.

 

[Takuan]

I'm glad I got to squeeze out most of the fun during the closed beta. It's a good MMORPG and will be a guaranteed success, I just got bored of it after playing obsessively over that period. Have fun with it, guys!

 

[ManaByte]

no. i don't know of many mmorpgs that actually go through with deleting a character after three months either.

Square does it. SOE does it with SWG, but that's mostly because SWG character files are over 2MB in the database compared to EQ characters that are something like 50k (that's also why it's one character per server in SWG).

 

[Stuggernaut]

Wow...$15 a month...not good.

When I say that, I mean now other companies will start raising their prices with excuses like "Our graphics are better" or whatever.

I'll be doing the reduced pricing, but still surprised they pushed it over the current pricing average by so much.

If there was a 1 year for $10 I'd buy it.

 

[john tv]

Ugh, $15/month is a lot of money.

I'd be willing to pay maybe $8 or $10 even... but $15? That's almost half the price of a new game!

 

[Golden Darkness]

month-to-month subscription plan costs $14.99 per month, the three-month plan costs $13.99 per month, and the six-month plan costs $12.99 per month.

Anybody pay attention?

Month by month -> $15/month
Three month plan ->$14/month
Six month plan -> $13/month

 

[Mrbob]

Anybody pay attention?

Month by month -> $15/month
Three month plan ->$14/month
Six month plan -> $13/month

Not many. I made a post about it. You made a post about it. It's listed in the same paragraph as the $14.99 price!

$12.99 a month isn't bad. Especially with a MMORPG where you know you will be playing a long time making an up front 6 month committment at a discounted price is a good thing to do.

 

[Shouta]

Look at a $15 a month price tag as 50 cents a day for playing the game. It'd cost you the same as going to the arcade and playing one game there except you get to play a MMO any time you want and as long as you want ;p.

 

[robochimp]

I really thought Blizzard would be more aggressive in the monthly pricing front.

 

[Grey Fox]

I don't see why everyone is having a heart attack over the pricing.Hell most of the current MMORPG crop is 15 a month as well.Especially coming from GAF,it seems like all you guys have is money to throw away("OMG I got 7 games I haven't even opened yet,I'm so backlogged!")

 

[Outdoor Miner]

I don't see why everyone is having a heart attack over the pricing.Hell most of the current MMORPG crop is 15 a month as well.Especially coming from GAF,it seems like all you guys have is money to throw away("OMG I got 7 games I haven't even opened yet,I'm so backlogged!")

IAWTP x2

It's exactly the price i'd though it'd be. What did surprise me though was offering a 6-month with a nice discount.

 

[Mrbob]

IAWTP x2

It's exactly the price i'd though it'd be. What did surprise me though was offering a 6-month with a nice discount.

Exactly.

Not being aggressive my arse. The 6 month price discount is being very aggressive.

Now the rest of the complainers can go back to buying 20 more 50 dollar games this month that they won't even pull out of the shrinkwrap.

 

[hobart]

$13/month is right where I wanted it to be.

And they accept Paypal.... which is absolutely nuts. Almost makes me wish I didn't just clear out my Paypal account... ah well!

 

[Brandon F]

Been hooked on fp stress test past 3 days, currently re-prioritizing the 'other' big Nov. games around this. $13/6 mo is a good deal I would probably jump on.

I would like to see exp. bonuses given to chain kills ala FFXI. One of the few things I'd love to see carried over. Maybe a skill combo system as well...one that isn't as technically intrusive to figure out. More detailed map info regarding outstanding and completed quests is a must too.

 

[sasimirobot]

Any word on whether I can play this in Asia using an American Credit card and billing to the US?

 

[Jonnyram]

I don't see why everyone is having a heart attack over the pricing.Hell most of the current MMORPG crop is 15 a month as well.Especially coming from GAF,it seems like all you guys have is money to throw away("OMG I got 7 games I haven't even opened yet,I'm so backlogged!")

Well the obvious difference is that you're paying $15 a month for one game. To me it's expensive because I've only been paying $12-13 a month for FFXI, but I guess the 6 month deal makes it reasonable. It's a bit of a risk, though, if you're not even sure what your life will entail in six months.

 

[akascream]

OMFG!! KODO MOUNTS!!

I'd have rather they kept plainsrunning as the lvl40 mount and made the kodo the epic lvl 60 mount.. but this is still way awesome!!

 

[Outdoor Miner]

OMFG!! KODO MOUNTS!!

I'd have rather they kept plainsrunning as the lvl40 mount and made the kodo the epic lvl 60 mount.. but this is still way awesome!!

What the? Taurens have mounts now?

 

[Grey Fox]

Well the obvious difference is that you're paying $15 a month for one game. To me it's expensive because I've only been paying $12-13 a month for FFXI, but I guess the 6 month deal makes it reasonable. It's a bit of a risk, though, if you're not even sure what your life will entail in six months.

But with WoW you'll only need one game.Not to mention with FFXI,sure it's $12.95,but that is for one stinkin' character!If you want anymore it's a dollar per.I think WoW is 8 total?So that would equal $20.95,not much of a deal anymore eh?

 

[Rorschach]

But with WoW you'll only need one game.Not to mention with FFXI,sure it's $12.95,but that is for one stinkin' character!If you want anymore it's a dollar per.I think WoW is 8 total?So that would equal $20.95,not much of a deal anymore eh?

Besides a mule, there's really no reason to create extra characters in FFXI since you can switch jobs at any time.

Anyway, I like the 13 bucks a month pricing plan. If I end up liking it enough to think I'm gonna play it for 6 months, I'll sign up for that after the free month.

 

[Kweh]

What the? Taurens have mounts now?

Yea, they removed Plains Running and gave them Kodos

As for WoW, i don't think i've talked to one person yet. Sure is a lonely game XD

 

[BigGreenMat]

Dude MMORPG developers need to take a freaking note from Netflix. Netflix played the game of rising prices and went from 20 to $22. But this month they realized that they were pricing themselves out of customers, and instead dropped to $18. Blizzard and other developers need to realize that they are approaching this now.

 

[akascream]

OMG racial traits kick ass!

 

[ManaByte]

Dude MMORPG developers need to take a freaking note from Netflix. Netflix played the game of rising prices and went from 20 to $22. But this month they realized that they were pricing themselves out of customers, and instead dropped to $18. Blizzard and other developers need to realize that they are approaching this now.

It costs a lot more money to run a MMORPG than it does a video rental service...

 

[Grey Fox]

Besides a mule, there's really no reason to create extra characters in FFXI since you can switch jobs at any time.

Anyway, I like the 13 bucks a month pricing plan. If I end up liking it enough to think I'm gonna play it for 6 months, I'll sign up for that after the free month.

True,but you are stuck with whatever race you choose.