Collector's Edition?

[Mergons-terenas]

No, it’s not the same game.

[Katerina-mannoroth]

I realize that the physical store front was the only venue for sales. However, was the product limited by design (offical statement) or was that a function of the limitation of printing physical copies.

It was limited by design(at least in part), in 2003, a “Collector’s Edition” isn’t much of “a Collector’s item” if everybody can get it. So it was a single production run per region, once they were gone, they were gone.

It wasn’t until later that the gaming industry developed other ideas as to what constituted a CE, and availability increased considerably.

If they had to do it over again for NA, they probably would have done a much larger run of (Vanilla) CE’s for NA as I believe they were targeting a specific ratio of CEs to “regular” versions. Although I’m sure their bigger concern was how many CEs might still be on store shelves in a year.

It just happened that their projections for first year sales wildly missed the mark, and it threw the target ratio badly out of whack.

It did mean that at the start, there was a point where the ratio was known to be about 2:5 as we know there were roughly 100K Collector’s editions out of initial release production run of 250,000 copies. For the first few weeks of release, that meant “just about everybody” had the CE pet, because you know the CE holders were the ones most likely to be playing on Day 1, unless somebody lucked into an unsold CE tucked away in the back corner of a store shelf somewhere months later. (I actually remember seeing a Vanilla CE on a Store Shelf in a WalMart in March of 2005, almost wish I’d grabbed it, but I didn’t)

But as the player population moved into the millions, the CE holders became an ever shrinking minority, and encounters with the CE pets became increasingly rare for most players on NA realms as “2 in 5”(250K players) became “1 in 5”(500K players), then “1 in 10,”(1 million players) then “1 in 20,”(2 million players) and so on(where things go off the rails as it becomes hard for the general public to be able to distinguish between regions, as I don’t think that data was shared by Blizzard).

When you start throwing in lost, stolen(hacked), and banned accounts, that number is probably much smaller today.

[Ristra-suramar (Ristra)]

What I am getting at is - “vanilla CE was limited to 100,000” and that limit is require for it to be authentic. I am not sure this statement holds water. (Forgive me if the paraphrasing is off I am going for the premise only)

If Blizzard released the vanilla CE with the intent to sell as many as people will buy. Only they underestimated. That’s not them producing a limited supply item.

If the CE limit was due to underestimation or limit based on shelf space. Then I say, use the modern methods of releasing a CE and let the customer decide.

Limited duration of availability, on the other hand, should be a given. Because that is effectively the same as keeping the CE items on sale in the store. If they don’t limit the duration.

[Eloraell-moon-guard]

Personally, I don’t think they knew what to expect anyway. Many people (like me) didn’t buy CE because they had no vested interest in the game from the outset. Their production numbers were way low, probably because of their own expectations.

Today, I’d simply put the two pets in a Classic Only part of the Store and allow us to buy them at will. It would help defray the cost, and the only people who would complain are the ones who had the Retail CE and want some sort of elitism to flow from that.

[Katerina-mannoroth]

What I am getting at is - “vanilla CE was limited to 100,000” and that limit is require for it to be authentic. I am not sure this statement holds water. (Forgive me if the paraphrasing is off I am going for the premise only)

The issue present today is the “authentic experience” after the initial launch window for NA, was scarcity. For Classic, the problem is that purchase has two issues.

The first is concern that those CE pets from Classic will eventually “bleed over” into retail. Basically the exact same slippery slope argument that #nochanges is making against everything, only in reverse.

The second is that if they make it available, even if they time restrict it, there is a very real chance that people are going to buy them, even if they have no intention of playing Classic, simply because of issue #1 above. In addition, there is no shortage of people who wouldn’t mind buying them if offered. End result is those “unique in game pets” will not be unique at all, even a year later, because every 3rd or 4th person is going to have it. That’s not authentic either.

[Eloraell-moon-guard]

@Katerina-mannoroth

That’s not authentic either.

To quote you from another thread:

@Katerina-mannoroth

That’s one of those “give me a break” moments from my standpoint.

[Katerina-mannoroth]

To quote you from another thread:

It’s still valid. It’s nitpicky in the extreme, but its valid.

[Eloraell-moon-guard]

It’s still valid. It’s nitpicky in the extreme, but its valid.

So is the debate on the other thread

[Katerina-mannoroth]

It’s still valid. It’s nitpicky in the extreme, but its valid.

So is the debate on the other thread

And I’m in my rights to call them out for “being nitpicky” as well.

[Studmuffyn-veknilash (Studmuffyn)]

3 pets,panda, diablo, and zergling

[Starman-zangarmarsh (Starman)]

It’s literally carrying over from one game to another. You bought something for Vanilla, which you still have, can still use to this very day, this very second. And you want it carried over to Classic.

Gray area. I bought a CE which had in-game rewards, but your account is flagged for those rewards. Specifically, my ACCOUNT was flagged before I ever logged into the game.

The “carry-over” people want is literally getting something in-game and carrying it over to retail. Like mogs, etc.

Not the same thing.

[Starman-zangarmarsh (Starman)]

But it also is a valid argument that my “Vanilla Experience” included the presence of the Collector’s Edition Pet at my side during Vanilla’s run.

So if Blizzard is trying to give me an “authentic Experience” then I should have the CE pet available to me once again.

Likewise, others encountering the CE pets was part of their experience with the Game. If nobody has the CE pets, then those players won’t have “an authentic Experience” either.

Bingo. The whole “authentic” experience is having those pets available.

[Starman-zangarmarsh (Starman)]

So that means everyone gets their characters restored? I get the gear back I had in Vanilla?

You’re completely missing the point.

Your ACCOUNT was FLAGGED BEFORE you logged into the game the first time. Your CE pets are part of your ACCOUNT. Not your toons, not your mogs, not your gear, your mounts, your weapons. Your ACCOUNT.

[Starman-zangarmarsh (Starman)]

And Starman is also going to point to that whole matter that a subscription to WoW will be required in order to play Classic WoW. A subscription which is tied to an account which was created with a Collector’s Edition License.

So either that CE License is allowing him to play World of Warcraft Classic, or it somehow is, while it also isn’t.

The license is precisely the point. I bought my CE license. I have the box. I need that license to play Classic.

If that same license is required to play Classic, why not keep the same perks, as per the “authentic experience”?

[Starman-zangarmarsh (Starman)]

What items you have in one, what you’ve unlocked in one, has no bearing on the other

Whoa, hold up.

The whole “you can’t share items” question from last year was about mogs, etc. Now you’re adding the word “unlocked” into the mix? Nuh-uh. That’s moving the goalposts.

[Katerina-mannoroth]

If that same license is required to play Classic, why not keep the same perks, as per the “authentic experience”?

Covered later in the thread, no license is required to play “the base game” anymore, you just need to be willing to pay for a subscription.

The only time a purchase is required is if you intend to play the latest expansion.

[Eloraell-moon-guard]

Your ACCOUNT was FLAGGED BEFORE you logged into the game the first time. Your CE pets are part of your ACCOUNT. Not your toons, not your mogs, not your gear, your mounts, your weapons. Your ACCOUNT.

Your account was flagged to give you pets IN RETAIL. (I too can use Caps Lock).

Classic is a completely different game, and your account is not flagged to give you pets in Classic, so the logic doesn’t work.

[Starman-zangarmarsh (Starman)]

Classic is a completely different game, and your account is not flagged to give you pets in Classic, so the logic doesn’t work.

Then the experience isn’t “authentic”.

[Eloraell-moon-guard]

Then the experience isn’t “authentic”.

You’re mischaracterizing “Authentic” with “Exactly what I did”.

• You’re 15 years older too, QED you can never have an Authentic experience.
• The same friends who played then may not be playing now. QED you can never have an Authentic experience.
• Your PC may have changed. Unless you dig out the CRT you can never have an Authentic experience.

Clean out the BS, its beginning to stink.

[Starman-zangarmarsh (Starman)]

You’re mischaracterizing “Authentic” with “Exactly what I did”.

• You’re 15 years older too, QED you can never have an Authentic experience.
• The same friends who played then may not be playing now. QED you can never have an Authentic experience.
• Your PC may have changed. Unless you dig out the CRT you can never have an Authentic experience.

Clean out the BS, its beginning to stink.

Damn, you’ve moved the goalposts to Iceland.