Diablo 3 free to anyone who buys a year subscription to WoW

[Khyron320]

Horrible news wow players are some of the worst noobs you can find now they will infect d3 just because they got it "free"

 

[Anubis]

 

[Schfifty Five]

wow yea, been long week, too much math in the powers of 10

i need beer

haha, first you're off on the date of blizzcon, now this

You need a vacation Anubis.

 

[Anubis]

haha, first you're off on the date of blizzcon, now this

You need a vacation Anubis.

yea working Sunday really throws the week off

however I cant complain about the 60+ hour paychecks

 

[Maximilian]

Horrible news wow players are some of the worst noobs you can find now they will infect d3 just because they got it "free"

Good, more noobs for the slaughter.

 

[Concillian]

I just figured out what this is really about.

They know people will quit WoW to play Diablo III, but this promotion is NOT just about keeping WoW people paying for WoW after Diablo III releases.

Think about this:

WoW is going to go into patch 4.3 soon, the "Deathwing raid" patch. They can't milk that patch for a year, and they've all but confirmed this will be the last major patch for Cata. That means the Mists of Pandaria expansion has to be slated for release between the Diablo III release date and when this promotion would end (1 year from now). I figure most likely around the start of Summer.

They aren't just trying to keep people from quitting WoW when Diablo III comes out. No, that's too simple.
They're trying to get people who would quit WoW when Diablo III comes out to stay on WoW and also buy the Mists of Pandaria exapansion because they have 3 months left on their 1 year WoW commitment and it would go to waste if they don't buy the expansion.

Marketing people are so evil.

 

[InfinityOctopus]

Ah, that's interesting. I was curious what the skull USB looked like, I was assuming it had a little less grandeur and was more of a casing over a normal thumb drive.

To also partially correct people citing prices on the multi-plan, it seems that Blizzard drops a dollar off per month for ever 3-months subscribed in advance. (14.99/reg,13.99/3mo,12.99/6mo)
I suppose it wouldn't be too out of the question to assume they may set the 12 month price at 10.99 per month for a total of 131.88 for a 12 month package. If you factor in the game it would be 131.88-49.99 for a total of 81.89 for 12 months.(6.82/mo)

Specifics aside, Blizzard actually is pretty clever in doing this as the fans of the Diablo series and WoW who are buying into this are guaranteeing them payment for an entire year. This is important since WoW is notorious for having large groups of players cancel subscription when content is scant and then returning several months later; usually with cries that they were leaving forever for another mmo.

Not to get too off-topic from the original subject: I am curious about how they are going to incorporate Pandarens. I was always under the impression they were not going to ever make them canon or in-game. It also begs to question if they will be neutral or allied to one side, if that is the case then I wonder what they plan to offer for the other faction.

 

[micaturbo]

Not to get too off-topic from the original subject: I am curious about how they are going to incorporate Pandarens. I was always under the impression they were not going to ever make them canon or in-game. It also begs to question if they will be neutral or allied to one side, if that is the case then I wonder what they plan to offer for the other faction.

Pandaren is both factions. You choose a faction at level 10.

 

[Concillian]

To also partially correct people citing prices on the multi-plan, it seems that Blizzard drops a dollar off per month for ever 3-months subscribed in advance. (14.99/reg,13.99/3mo,12.99/6mo)
I suppose it wouldn't be too out of the question to assume they may set the 12 month price at 10.99 per month for a total of 131.88 for a 12 month package. If you factor in the game it would be 131.88-49.99 for a total of 81.89 for 12 months.(6.82/mo)

There's no kind of different payment option. You keep paying like you do now. It's like a cell phone plan, you're under contract to pay for a year. You can do that at any of the tiers you listed there (except the 12 month one, that one has never existed). There's no additional discount. You pay like now, for a year, and presumably feel forced to buy the expansion when it comes out too.

 

[PrayForDeath]

Did prices change for wow subs?

I thought "pay each month" = $15 (+tax in some states).

12 months x $15/mo = $180.

1 month: $14.99
3 months: $41.97 ($13.99 per month)
6 months: $77.94 ($12.99 per month)

If you're signing up for a year, it would be stupid to go with 1 month x 12.

If you go with 6 months x 2 you will end up paying $156 for Diablo 3 + 12 months of WoW. That's 6 dollars more than Skyrim CE

 

[PrayForDeath]

Ok I just read the FAQ and I noticed this:

Q: When do I get Diablo III and the other exclusive benefits?

A: You'll be able to download and play Diablo III as soon as it's available and once you complete the one-year term, it's yours to keep, even if you cancel your subscription. Tyrael's Charger will be available with Patch 4.3, and beta access will go live with the beta launch.

This implies that you can basically opt for an Annual Pass, play Diablo 3 when it comes out and finish it, then stop paying for WoW when you're done with D3.

This way you can play D3 without paying for a full year of WoW. Yeah you won't keep the game afterwards, and you have to pay with gamecards (they won't let you cancel credit card subscription if you sign-up for Annual Pass), but still, something to keep in mind.

 

[Concillian]

This way you can play D3 without paying for a full year of WoW. Yeah you won't keep the game afterwards, and you have to pay with gamecards (they won't let you cancel credit card subscription if you sign-up for Annual Pass), but still, something to keep in mind.

They require a credit card confirmation to sign up for annual pass. You're free to pay with game cards and stop paying with game cards, but at that point, I'm sure they're gonna feel free to bill your credit card per your agreement in the event that you do.

You'd have to cancel the credit card, but even then, I'm sure they'd send to collections and junk. Who wants that kind of crap on your record for $50 in WoW subs. Annual pass either makes sense (you're planning on playing WoW anyway for the next year) or it doesn't (pretty much ANY other situation.)


They want people to feel like they're getting a deal here even if they plan to quit WoW at some point, but with the expansion very likely coming between Diablo III ending and a few months before this runs out, they want people to sign up for this and then when Mists of Pandaria comes out, look at 3-4 months left on their paid time and have to decide if they're going to waste that time or shell out another $40 for WoW. You're either looking at ~8ish months of WoW for ~$100 ($12 / mo, is not not terrible) plus $60 for Diablo III, or you're looking at 12 months of WoW + Diablo III for $156 PLUS the $40 or whatever the expansion will cost, meaning the year of WoW will really cost you $196 (over $16 / mo).

This is only a real bargain if you're planning on playing the expansion anyway. Even if you just wanted to play WoW until Diablo III comes out, that's only 4 months or whatever, better to just sub and quit.

No way they're gonna let these annual passes expire without the expansion coming out. That way everyone on a pass has to make the conscious decision if they want to "waste" the last few months of their sub.

 

[Aikouka]

No way they're gonna let these annual passes expire without the expansion coming out. That way everyone on a pass has to make the conscious decision if they want to "waste" the last few months of their sub.

Even the major content patch that comes before each expansion could pique people's curiosity, and that usually comes a month before the expansion's release.

 

[randay]

Ok I just read the FAQ and I noticed this:



This implies that you can basically opt for an Annual Pass, play Diablo 3 when it comes out and finish it, then stop paying for WoW when you're done with D3.

This way you can play D3 without paying for a full year of WoW. Yeah you won't keep the game afterwards, and you have to pay with gamecards (they won't let you cancel credit card subscription if you sign-up for Annual Pass), but still, something to keep in mind.

sweet, we can lease diablo3 for 11 months for only $165!

 

[nageov3t]

I went in for it.

I was planning on buying Diablo 3 regardless, so it's like I'm getting a years worth of WoW for $8/month. even if I only play super casually, that's cheaper than my netflix account and I'll probably get more hours of entertainment out of it.

I suspect this promo was probably designed so that they don't experience a huge drop-off in subs after 4.3 gets old but before MoP is ready for release, but that doesn't make too much of a difference for me... we should get the raid finder in 4.3, which should add a ton of content for me, since I haven't raided at all in Cat (I got burned out after ICC and quit for a year. just came back to the game last month)

 

[CVSiN]

too bad after playing the beta for D3 I will never buy it..
I think they got alot of feedback like mine and many others that agreed it came nowhere close to meeting the expectations..
and basically have made it a gimme.. to their cashcow.

no mod support.. no custom game support..
same crappy D1/2 gameplay with some new polish on top..

nothing to see here..

on top of that now they are doing the Mist's of Pokemon/Kung Fu Panda Starring Jack Black... with a dumbed down talent system.. they have basically just killed that franchise with us older players as well..

whomever is in charge over at Blizzard these days better get off the crack and realize their target audience is not 12 year olds..

 

[Wyndru]

Does anyone know if it works for current accounts? Loki, you currently had an account, correct? 8/month is cheap, I think I've been paying 13/month for half year subs.

I wouldn't mind buying a year for cheaper + free DIII.

I have 5 wow subs, I should do this with all of them and just sell the extra copies of DIII.

 

[nageov3t]

Does anyone know if it works for current accounts? Loki, you currently had an account, correct? 8/month is cheap, I think I've been paying 13/month for half year subs.

I wouldn't mind buying a year for cheaper + free DIII.

I have 5 wow subs, I should do this with all of them and just sell the extra copies of DIII.

I believe the one account restriction is that it has to have been created before Oct-18 2011, regardless of whether it's active or not.

on a side-note, I did have to call up Blizzard billing and get my date of birth associated with the account before I could sign up for the annual pass, but that only took about 10 minutes (7 minutes on hold, 3 minutes with a customer service rep who sounded pretty cute)

 

[Phanuel]

too bad after playing the beta for D3 I will never buy it..
I think they got alot of feedback like mine and many others that agreed it came nowhere close to meeting the expectations..
and basically have made it a gimme.. to their cashcow.

no mod support.. no custom game support..
same crappy D1/2 gameplay with some new polish on top..

nothing to see here..

So what you're saying is that it's like D2 ranked on Battle.net, and we should all avoid that because clearly that was a terrible game.

Okie dokie.

 

[Anubis]

So what you're saying is that it's like D2 ranked on Battle.net, and we should all avoid that because clearly that was a terrible game.

Okie dokie.

pretty much this

 

[CVSiN]

So what you're saying is that it's like D2 ranked on Battle.net, and we should all avoid that because clearly that was a terrible game.

Okie dokie.

it was an "OK" game 15 years ago.. this is almost 2012.. time to innovate give us a new Diablo... give us an epic OFFLINE RPG based in Diablos universe...... instead of a gutted halfassed version of a classic game with new polish..

and that doesn't mean to polish a turd by putting on the latest graphics on the same old crap..

 

[Phanuel]

Sorry, mods were never approved by Blizzard for D2 in the first place. I'm sure they'll come up with localized server programs to host mods offline for all those so inclined. Just look at the myriad of things happening with just the beta client so far.

I however look forward to an online stored experience to reduce the level of stupid 'stuff' that happened around items later into D2's life with the hacking and the dupes.

 

[Iron Wolf]

it was an "OK" game 15 years ago.. this is almost 2012.. time to innovate give us a new Diablo... give us an epic OFFLINE RPG based in Diablos universe...... instead of a gutted halfassed version of a classic game with new polish..

and that doesn't mean to polish a turd by putting on the latest graphics on the same old crap..

But that's just what they did with SC2.

And the Diablo franchise (or the entire genre, for that matter) is somewhat limiting anyway. All you do is run around and kill stuff and collect loot. How much extra innovation could there realistically be?

 

[nageov3t]

innovation can be a double-edged sword. just look at Dragon Age 2.

they changed the combat system to be more dynamic... personally, I really loved the change, but forums across the internets were spammed with "omg, this isn't a Dragon Age game, why don't they just remake Baldur's Gate with better graphics?"

 

[JSt0rm]

Well, if you were going to subscribe to it anyway, it's not a bad deal to get as a freebie. What I'd like to see is for those of us who have been playing for years and have already paid Blizz a ton of cash to get the game for free as well.

That would be a horrible business decision.