little hype like Blizzard knows it and there's gonna be a new record in sales again. and they can always use good publicity about (another) bestseller they made.
As good at Bliz is at squeezing hundreds of dollars a year out of starving students, these things have their limits.
Indeed. I've never anticipated a game before in my life, like I have D3. I was excited about WoW when it came out and I was fortunate enough to play in the beta... I was there alllll the way up to the fall of the Lich King and let me tell you, I'm completely done with it. Never going back. Not even for Cataclysm. Like you said before, age is WoW's main downfall and I've had my fill of it over the years. I loved D2 and I still enjoy coming back to it once in a while, but I have to admit, I'm a little tired of it as well. Hehe.
that's the thing, people are getting tired of WoW (or got tired even). its going to be 7 years old next year and the subscription rate is dropping (will rise again now that Wrath of the Lich King is being released in China but you get the idea). Diablo 2 is old and the fanbase is getting tired of waiting (or again - already is tired). Starcraft II is nice but not much for a roleplaying game fan. so Diablo III is the way for Blizzard to keep that piece of the cake to themselves. Cause guess what! 2010-2011 has many great RPGs on the way: Arcania: Gothic 4, The Witcher 2, Dragon Age 2, Torchlight 2 that will take customers to other companies. so what's better? loose some subscriptions to Diablo 3 or to Bioware, CDProject etc etc?
Cataclysm will keep "some" people interested for some time, but WoW is slowly but steadily dying off. so no other game development is relevant with the release of Diablo 3. its just about when it will be done.
PS. Gheed, you make no real arguement here. it looks more like excuses about why you dont expect the game to be out anytime soon. we're all guessing here obviously but there are some (valid) points you dont even seem to even look at. that's what made Akuma say you're trolling and i got to agree with his statement - at least for most of your recent posts.
that's just as valid as the "they dont release it to keep WoW alive" conspiracy theory.
Really? An arbitrary 3-year date that ignores "ghost" and takes into account a project made by a team that hasn't worked there in 7 years is just as valid as the math that says that a rolling annual 1.4 billion is better than a one-time 300 million?
did you even bother reading my previous post, other than the PS that was for you? i wont bother explaining it more cause its pretty clear as it is.
The "piece of the cake"... a one-time serving of a few hundred million, or a steady helping of over a billion every year... hmmm, tough one. The reason I don't use personal attacks, or call others trolls, is because their analysis speaks for itself.
did you even bother reading my previous post, other than the PS that was for you? i wont bother explaining it more cause its pretty clear as it is.
The "piece of the cake"... a one-time serving of a few hundred million, or a steady helping of over a billion every year... hmmm, tough one. The reason I don't use personal attacks, or call others trolls, is because their analysis speaks for itself.
cant you read or do you lack in intelligence to understand?
people are quitting WoW anyway and swapping to new MMOs or games. Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of those that people are expecting and will be out 2011.
Dragon Age 2 (as did Origins) will get a share too. Witcher 2, also. Arcania: Gothic 4, too. Torchlight 2? you think no players that play WoW are already quitting (and they did so at many occasions before with major releases from other companies).
Blizzard will have PROFIT if they lose subscriptions to Diablo III INSTEAD of games from other companies. and in time people will return anyways because with battle.net 2.0 they'll stay in touch with friends that keep playing WoW.
and if it was as you said they wouldnt be wasting millions in the professionals they hired would be a total waste of ressources that could have been used to completely revamp WoW and make it live another decade. a company of Blizzards stature wouldnt waste their time with such a flawed logic.
cant you read or do you lack in intelligence to understand?
people are quitting WoW anyway and swapping to new MMOs or games. Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of those that people are expecting and will be out 2011.
Dragon Age 2 (as did Origins) will get a share too. Witcher 2, also. Arcania: Gothic 4, too. Torchlight 2? you think no players that play WoW are already quitting (and they did so at many occasions before with major releases from other companies).
Really? WoW sub #s are significantly down? Link? And this time, the star wars MMO will get it right - that's your theory? Or the teams behind Dragon Age, Witcher, or Arcania? Or Torchlight 2, which probably has a budget smaller than one day of WoW revenue?
Fing, I wish you the best of luck in making as much progress in understanding the video game industry and business in general as you have in your studies of English grammar. We read headlines about problems in foreign countries - thanks for helping put them in context in your own small way.
their budget doesnt mean they wont sell and take customers away. you cant see that and you think you "understand" the games industry? my grammar may not be the best in english but at least i can communicate in 3 languages, what's your excuse for not understanding simple valid things?
at least i can communicate in 3 languages, what's your excuse for not understanding simple valid things?
Of course you can, chief. And, sure, 1.4 annually > .3 once - well, even Pythagoras himself would be stumped by math like that, right?
all i did was take YOUR logic about Blizzard postponing Diablo III because it would reduce the subscriptions of WoW and turned it against you mentioning great RPG releases during 2011. its certain that WoW will loose subscribers to those games and Blizzard has to get the customers back one way or another. Only with Diablo III with the unified franchises through battle.net they'll have friends playing all 3 games, thus having more chances to add another gamecard for WoW and/or getting Starcraft II.
simple and absolutely logical. keep throwing your kindergarten maths on the forums, everyone knows you're trolling.
Quote from name="keranov" date="16 September 2010 - 04:16 AM" timestamp="1284625001" »
Really? Diablo 3 will bring .3 once to Blizzard? Link?
That's obviously an aggressive target - I think they can get an average of about 45 bucks a box when CEs are factored in, and should sell through 7 million, with about 2/3 of that coming in the first quarter or two of release.
But if your intelligent, deep analysis suggests something else, please share.
you seem to forget the costs of the maintenance and continued development of WoW, though.
buying new servers and keeping them maintained requires employees. i dont know if where you live you got slaves to do things for free, but in the civilized world that costs money.
making contend patches costs money. game masters (as they are employees) cost money. phone/tech support costs money.
and content/bug fixing patches in WoW are required more often than in the "paid once" games since you pay for that kind of things.
how come that those things evade your very "professional" analysis? the amount you're talking about isnt profit. its income. there are costs to keep the game up and running.
what Activision Blizzard expected to get "some" more profit was the release of a new title. yeah, for 2010 it was Starcraft II and possibly Cataclysm will help a bit raise the income but that's all.
if no other game was needed they'd just close the other development teams and keep the 2 they have for WoW and the still unannounced next-gen MMO they're making.
you seem to forget the costs of the maintenance and continued development of WoW, though.
buying new servers and keeping them maintained requires employees. i dont know if where you live you got slaves to do things for free, but in the civilized world that costs money.
making contend patches costs money. game masters (as they are employees) cost money. phone/tech support costs money.
and content/bug fixing patches in WoW are required more often than in the "paid once" games since you pay for that kind of things.
how come that those things evade your very "professional" analysis? the amount you're talking about isnt profit. its income. there are costs to keep the game up and running.
what Activision Blizzard expected to get "some" more profit was the release of a new title. yeah, for 2010 it was Starcraft II and possibly Cataclysm will help a bit raise the income but that's all.
if no other game was needed they'd just close the other development teams and keep the 2 they have for WoW and the still unannounced next-gen MMO they're making.
That's why I used the term "revenue".
Let me know if I can clear up any confusion over the concept of "research and development".
they wouldnt do "research" with a franchise as big as Diablo. toying with that fanbase would give them more to lose than the profits of that specific "research".
As good at Bliz is at squeezing hundreds of dollars a year out of starving students, these things have their limits.
Cataclysm will keep "some" people interested for some time, but WoW is slowly but steadily dying off. so no other game development is relevant with the release of Diablo 3. its just about when it will be done.
PS. Gheed, you make no real arguement here. it looks more like excuses about why you dont expect the game to be out anytime soon. we're all guessing here obviously but there are some (valid) points you dont even seem to even look at. that's what made Akuma say you're trolling and i got to agree with his statement - at least for most of your recent posts.
Such as? They mystical, magical three year announce-to-release window?
that's just as valid as the "they dont release it to keep WoW alive" conspiracy theory.
Really? An arbitrary 3-year date that ignores "ghost" and takes into account a project made by a team that hasn't worked there in 7 years is just as valid as the math that says that a rolling annual 1.4 billion is better than a one-time 300 million?
The "piece of the cake"... a one-time serving of a few hundred million, or a steady helping of over a billion every year... hmmm, tough one. The reason I don't use personal attacks, or call others trolls, is because their analysis speaks for itself.
cant you read or do you lack in intelligence to understand?
people are quitting WoW anyway and swapping to new MMOs or games. Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of those that people are expecting and will be out 2011.
Dragon Age 2 (as did Origins) will get a share too. Witcher 2, also. Arcania: Gothic 4, too. Torchlight 2? you think no players that play WoW are already quitting (and they did so at many occasions before with major releases from other companies).
Blizzard will have PROFIT if they lose subscriptions to Diablo III INSTEAD of games from other companies. and in time people will return anyways because with battle.net 2.0 they'll stay in touch with friends that keep playing WoW.
and if it was as you said they wouldnt be wasting millions in the professionals they hired would be a total waste of ressources that could have been used to completely revamp WoW and make it live another decade. a company of Blizzards stature wouldnt waste their time with such a flawed logic.
Really? WoW sub #s are significantly down? Link? And this time, the star wars MMO will get it right - that's your theory? Or the teams behind Dragon Age, Witcher, or Arcania? Or Torchlight 2, which probably has a budget smaller than one day of WoW revenue?
Fing, I wish you the best of luck in making as much progress in understanding the video game industry and business in general as you have in your studies of English grammar. We read headlines about problems in foreign countries - thanks for helping put them in context in your own small way.
all i did was take YOUR logic about Blizzard postponing Diablo III because it would reduce the subscriptions of WoW and turned it against you mentioning great RPG releases during 2011. its certain that WoW will loose subscribers to those games and Blizzard has to get the customers back one way or another. Only with Diablo III with the unified franchises through battle.net they'll have friends playing all 3 games, thus having more chances to add another gamecard for WoW and/or getting Starcraft II.
simple and absolutely logical. keep throwing your kindergarten maths on the forums, everyone knows you're trolling.
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ACTI/1014695420x0x372614/5217bb27-4e72-42c9-b0cf-60c77e5d2ba6/ATVI CQ110 slides FINAL.pdf
go to page 5
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ACTI/1014695420x0x393910/38720fd4-9085-42fe-9eb8-a29bc7fb3b7b/ATVI_C2Q10.pdf
go t0 page 6
"The Blizzard division of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) generated $1.2 billion in annual revenue last year without releasing a single new game in 2009."
http://seekingalpha.com/article/193148-blizzard-s-world-of-warcraft-the-china-growth-story
That was 98% WoW (obviously in '09) and WITHOUT a box sale. Annualize in the boost from box sales like wotlk and cat on release, and, voila...
Why do I bother educating kids that can barely write in English? I'm just a nice guy.
That's obviously an aggressive target - I think they can get an average of about 45 bucks a box when CEs are factored in, and should sell through 7 million, with about 2/3 of that coming in the first quarter or two of release.
But if your intelligent, deep analysis suggests something else, please share.
buying new servers and keeping them maintained requires employees. i dont know if where you live you got slaves to do things for free, but in the civilized world that costs money.
making contend patches costs money. game masters (as they are employees) cost money. phone/tech support costs money.
and content/bug fixing patches in WoW are required more often than in the "paid once" games since you pay for that kind of things.
how come that those things evade your very "professional" analysis? the amount you're talking about isnt profit. its income. there are costs to keep the game up and running.
what Activision Blizzard expected to get "some" more profit was the release of a new title. yeah, for 2010 it was Starcraft II and possibly Cataclysm will help a bit raise the income but that's all.
if no other game was needed they'd just close the other development teams and keep the 2 they have for WoW and the still unannounced next-gen MMO they're making.
That's why I used the term "revenue".
Let me know if I can clear up any confusion over the concept of "research and development".
your arguements are ridiculous.