Even from the introduction of tenders, we had a system where half of your monthly premium currency was earned from in-game activities, while the other half was purchased at the cost of a monthly subscription fee. Of course, on first implementation, you had no way to earn the play-based ones without first purchasing the sub-based ones for that month. However, it would be little effort to use the existing system of premium currency sales in a hypothetical free to play model. It could even be done in a way that might attract new players to this twenty year old game.
The main question is, how much does Blizzard believe in their game and its future? My feeling is, if they believe this game has a future, the free to play model + microtransactions makes the most sense. It lowers the bar for entry to everyone, in the hopes those increased numbers will stay and pay for premium goods via premium currency. It gives the players freedom to pay for what they want, as they want it, to the extent they can afford it. The hope, if I’m being optimistic (and sometimes it’s hard) is that they’re testing out new methods of monetizing the game that will eventually lead down this path. The fear, if I’m being cynical (and usually it’s easy) is that Blizzard doesn’t believe in their game or its future, and that they know their core demographic of lifelong whales is the only audience they’re going to get, and so choose to milk them through every method of monetization simultaneously, in perpetuity, until the last one dies of old age. This path guarantees a long, slow decline, and no hope of new blood or future glories.
I’m going to buy the 200 premium currency from the store, because I can afford it and I play the game enough that I’ll definitely use it. I’ll never transmog into the two “plausible deniability” wrist appearances though. I won’t even complain, because I’m one of those whales who buys every store mount and costume anyway. But I’m also almost 40 years old, and if I’m your core demographic your game has no real future, only a nostalgic past.
Tenders do not buy you game time, nor items that increase player power; only cosmetics/pets/mounts. To some that may be a “premium” game currency, but it’s not like gold, which can still be used to pay for your game-time.
The uproar over tenders seems very overblown since you could buy transmogs, pets, and mounts from cash shop directly (some exclusively). Tenders can at least be earned in-game and those with cash to burn can now get a few extra.
I guess there will always be an uproar over the cash shop, but adding Tenders in a bundle of cosmetics is hardly an indication of a F2P model. It could be, because as you say that lowers the bar for entry to everyone, but the amount of cash shop sales would likely have to already be at that level to sustain their operating costs. WoW’s sub-model is the cash cow of the Blizzard division (more than D4, Hearthstone, and OW2) and Blizzard is the absolute lowest earner among Activision, Blizzard, and King divisions. Do you really think they can afford to give up the fixed-income sub-model for a variable-income cash shop without a sub? I think the majority of Blizzard executives would dismiss F2P for WoW out of hand and certainly the execs at ActiBlizz (soon to be Micro$oft) would step in to prevent that loss of steady income if it were proposed.
Only Blizzard knows, that’s pretty much up to their financial department. It’s also kind of messy since battlenet currency can be used to buy things on battlenet, and you can get battlenet currency for gold via WoW token so that would have to be removed or the game is going to be battle.net only (which would limit its reach vs being also available on Steam). My only guess for it would be if it loses enough players to convince Blizz that going F2P would make them more than current model, and I don’t know if we’re quite there yet.
Man their predatory cosmetics are terrible at their job then, I never bought any skins off the shop. Blizz has to step up their manipulation game because they are lacking right now.
But…but…how will they otherwise compete for click-counts with the other dozen current threads on this subject? They have to earn that higher trust level somehow!
I’ve always had the same thoughts about the online store:
It is here to stay. Started with the services and people asked for mounts, toys, pets, and cosmetics. Corporations will do anything to increase revenue over time.
If you don’t like it, then don’t buy it.
Don’t worry about what other people spend their money on.
