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I still can't believe Virtual Tickets to Blizzcon is a thing

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
$39.99 to get access to videos like conferences and announcements. Things normally given out for free to foster the community and advertise their games.

But wait Trojita, we get the goody bag the attenders get!

$39.99 for this!?

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But wait Trojita we get to see a concert of Blink-182!

A concert that you aren't even attending in person?
 
People wanted to have the goodies but couldn't go. Blizz figured they could make more money for almost nothing.

Everybody wins ?

Blame the player, not the game
 

Eknots

Member
And this is why I have yet to watch a blizzcon except the sc2 finals, hopefully hearthstone tourny will be free to all this year also.
 

Milennia

Member
Its been this way for quite a while, they know from experience that people will pay for it... I used to know people who would get it just for the pets and store access.
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
People seem to like to give Blizzard money for almost anything apparently. Heck, I think most conferences from QuakeCon were put on the internet or were even streamed live.

This is pretty crappy.
 

Darryl

Banned
It truly blows my mind that people pay this. I hope they do it more as a way to silence complaints rather than treat it as an actual source of revenue.
 

okayfrog

Banned
And I can't believe that you can't believe Virtual Tickets to Blizzcon is a thing. No really, how do you find it hard to believe?
 
I only really understand the draw of the virtual ticket if it's important for you to watch the stuff live and you weren't able to get tickets. All the relevant information is gonna get spread around to all the news sites as quick as wildfire.
 
Considering the lackluster state of most of their products(WOW, SC2, and D3) I don't see how they can justify something like this.
 
Considering the lackluster state of most of their products(WOW, SC2, and D3) I don't see how they can justify something like this.

Why SC2? Hots is a good products and while the esport scene definately is in a transitional period and wcs was a big f up its not going to collapse (i think it also has to do with a sudden infusion of a bunch of kespa players last year).
 

terrisus

Member
Yeah, when I first heard about it, I thought it was a joke or something.
But then, I suppose Blizzard also was a company who had a digital game which was "sold out" for a bit, so it should come as no surprise.
 

Cartman86

Banned
What reason do you have to go to the conference in person then? You have to pay for that and you have to deal with lines, airfare and whatever else.
 

Haunted

Member
It's absolutely ridiculous, but that's supply and demand for you.

People will pay, so they can charge. Sucker born every minute etc.


Valve did it better

$10 for the compendium. Easily $20-50 worth of value.
Yes. Also, all the International matches were watchable for free. As usual, Valve has the superior model.


Yes, I assume Blizzard will have one free stream as usual, but they're also making sure much of the real good stuff is locked behind the paywall.
 
I'll bet they get a lot of people to buy it that aren't even going to watch, just so they can get the silly Murkalot pet and Hearthstone card.
 
They got 12 million people to pay $60 for a Diablo 3 beta

This. They realized a few years back that they could no longer make games up to their previous standard of quality due to a shifting development environment (ie, move to super high quality art assets from their previous dumpy Lego models), and made the calculated decision to cash in on the obsessive fan devotion they had accumulated for enormous profits. This stupid virtual ticket thing is just an extension of that.

I can't even be mad about it. If people continue to pay, then they deserve to continue getting fleeced. They aren't lying to anyone about what they're selling, they're holding it right up to them saying, "This is shit, but it's Blizzard shit!" and they're buying it. That's not Blizzard's fault, that's the consumer's.
 

Derpcrawler

Member
People buy those for pets and FoS. I see no other reason since you can get all the news minutes after they are announced during Blizzcon.
 

Cipherr

Member
I have seen people make thousands of dollars on Twitch by streaming shit that I do at home in the evenings..... Playing games...

And not the good streamers either, just dry boring streaming with shitty emo punk rock and or dubstep blaring in the background.


So yeah, paying $40 to see announcements of games you are looking forward to doesn't really shock me. I imagine stuff like E3 Paid streams are probably not far off.
 

domlolz

Banned
how many people want to see blink 182, a band that hasn't been relevant for almost a decade. the same people who'd want to go to blizzcon i guess.
 

Haunted

Member
But that's the absurd part - that there's no constraint on supply.
Alright, I suppose a theoretical maximum on bandwidth, but other than that.
Yes, I don't think I used the term correctly, actually. I meant that, looking at it economically, Blizzard are right to charge these prices because people will pay them.

I'm sure there's a proper term for that.


I hate it and it's ridiculous but as long as the fans enable them, they can get away with it. :/
 

Lenardo

Banned
i've bought one every year they have offered it.


mostly for the costume contest & the pet (my wife Collects noncombat pets...she has..a lot ~500+ uniques i think.)
 
Happily bought tix for the first time this year; took Friday off work just so I can kick back and watch some sweet Blizzard announcements and other goodness on my TV at home, instead of while at work reading some article about the new xpac, etc.

The digital goodies aren't bad either.
 

Currygan

at last, for christ's sake
Blizzard's marketing branch should get knighted, they're incredibly good at selling shit to people
 

EDarkness

Member
I get this every year. Pick can't go to Blizzcon, so this is the next best thing. $40 is nothing. I've easily gotten my money's worth out of panels they've held. I'm getting it again this year, too.
 

Haines

Banned
Its access to watch the panels and stuff. If you are friggen die hard Blizz, I can see it. I would prob pay it for a Nintendo type one, but 20.00 would be an easier swallow.
 

Finaj

Member
I got the ticket. I gain all of those goodies as well as access to every panel live HD (and at any other time after the panel has been shown). The panels are a lot of fun and are so much better than just reading bits of info on a website.
 

zulfate

Member
Considering the lackluster state of most of their products(WOW, SC2, and D3) I don't see how they can justify something like this.

i also dont see the point in charging people other than "we want to make money" but to say that there games are lackluster is something different, so many people wouldnt be playing their games if it was lackluster. blizzard games do have a quality to them that not very many game companies can do. WOW is in the best shape it has ever been but i agree the game is what 8-9 years old? its still good just repetitious like all games. SC2 and D3 are fantastic games, and D3 is only going to get better with the expansions.
 

Stet

Banned
Never understood the appeal of for-pay mounts or pets in WoW. You already pay enough to play the game, you're going to pay more for a stupid vanity item?

Alas, I'm not the target market for microtransactions.
 
Never understood the appeal of for-pay mounts or pets in WoW. You already pay enough to play the game, you're going to pay more for a stupid vanity item?

Alas, I'm not the target market for microtransactions.

Well it's a step up above horse armor at least I think?
 
At least you can sell the goodies for a decent price.

........


Unless of course the items are Bind on Account when you purchased the Virtual Ticket. That would suck.
 
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