Recently Blizzard previewed a new pet they will be adding to their store: The Winged Guardian Cub. That’s all well and good, but this pet is a bit different from your standard Moonkin Hatchling and Lil’ KT.
This pet can be traded in game, right down to listing it on the Auction House.
It’s sparked quite a massive debate with players landing in extremes on one side or the other. Some believe Blizzard is legally selling gold with this tactic while others have no problem with the cub being tradable but wish there was a Bind on Account version like all the other pet store pets.
Today I wanted to do something a little different from my normal posts. I want to turn the spotlight on the WoW blogging community and highlight a few opposing viewpoints on the Winged Guardian Cub, gold selling, and Blizzard’s ethical decisions.
Blizzard Is Moving Toward Real Money Transactions
Power World: Gold takes a pretty realistic stance on this subject. The author is neither for or against the implications, but points out the true purpose of this Winged Guardian Cub:
Less value for the same money makes a strong case that Blizzard is selling these specifically as a test to target people wanting to re-sell them for gold as well as a way to “sneak” RMT into World of Warcraft.
I certainly agree with this. In the past you would pay $10 for a pet store pet and have a BoA version you could use on any character and any server. It’s essentially like buying a piece of software you can install on any computer. But this Cub is BoE, meaning you only get one. And yet you’re paying the same amount.
Ever since the announcement of a real money marketplace in Diablo 3, players have wondered about Blizzard’s motives in all of this. It’s clear that if this cub does well, they will continue to release more BoE items, allowing and encouraging buying and selling their own virtual goods with real cash.
But Are These Real Money Transactions A Problem?
I don’t think they are.
And it seems the blogosphere more or less agrees. Blizzard has stated they will never sell an advantage for real money, and a vanity pet certainly doesn’t count as an in-game advantage. Apple Cider Mage writes:
The real problem with Blizzard getting into this racket is that most people see the biggest problem of gold-selling is not necessarily what I mentioned (black market stealing) but that someone gains a real in-game benefit by acquiring gold via their own money in the real world. That someone can work a shift or use their parent’s credit card and buy enough gold to purchase a BOE item.
The problem with buying BoE weapons and armor, for example, is that they will very quickly become useless. Unless you make them scalable like the heirloom weapons, they lose their advantage swiftly. It’s the same thing that happens each new raiding tier. BoE epics come onto the AH and the players that can afford them get a small advantage. Soon, the AH is flooded and most people have progressed beyond the need for those items, so the advantage no longer exists.
So What’s The Real Problem With The Winged Guardian Cub?
In some ways, it has nothing to do with gold. Because of the popularity of this item, we will likely see a large number on the Auction House in the beginning, and the price will drive down. While some people are expecting this cub to translate to 10,000g, I think that’s a bit unrealistic, especially longterm.
The issue is that this pet is BoE instead of BoA. As Marks 365 explains:
The part of me that is angry is mostly frustrated that they’re changing the model. I liked the fact that I could spend $10 and get a new pet on all of my characters, no matter when they are created. On this new model? If I want the winged guardian cub on all of my characters, I’d have to spend $10 for each character, or buy them off of someone who has spent that $10. For me, that’d easily be $100 across different servers. Why not just make the in game item Bind on Account after one character on that account learns it? Seems like a simple, happy medium to me.
It’s certainly possible that Blizzard could make all future pet store pets and mounts BoE only. While I don’t think this is a huge problem with the pets, I don’t believe the mounts should ever be BoE. It’s nice to automatically have a mount in your mailbox when you ding 20; especially a mount you don’t have to upgrade at 40, 60, and 70.
I suppose it won’t be the end of the world if these change to BoE instead of BoA, but I think a lot of people will be less willing to part with their money. It’s sure to be much less of an impulse buy.
October 15, 2011
Gold