Every one of you is a serial stalker, rapist, identity thief, and overall annoyance. No one likes you and no, you are not special; you are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You are purified, virtual reality evil.

But only if you play Blizzard games.

So, yes, prety much all of...]]>

Every one of you is a serial stalker, rapist, identity thief, and overall annoyance. No one likes you and no, you are not special; you are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You are purified, virtual reality evil.

But only if you play Blizzard games.

So, yes, prety much all of you.

Blizzard’s recent announcement to use real names in the new StarCraft II community site and World of Warcraft Cataclysm expansion forum has sparked a heated backlash from Battle.net users, with commenters fearing for their lives, jobs, money, privacy and emotional security when the shift takes place before July 27.

But with the comments it’s receiving on the Battle.net forums, perhaps Blizzard should be fearing for its own life instead. With over 1,399 combined pages of angry rants and threats to leave the forums and games entirely, Blizzard has sparked an online riot that could quickly turn to revolution.

Based on its new RealID service, Blizzard says its plans are a completely innocent attempt to stop flame wars and trolling on its immensely popular forums:

The first and most significant change is that in the near future, anyone posting or replying to a post on official Blizzard forums will be doing so using their Real ID – that is, their real-life first and last name – with the option to also display the name of their primary in-game character alongside it. These changes will go into effect on all StarCraft II forums with the launch of the new community site prior to the July 27 release of the game, with the World of Warcraft site and forums following suit near the launch of Cataclysm. The classic Battle.net forums, including those for Diablo II and Warcraft III, will be moving to a new legacy forum section with the release of the StarCraft II community site and at that time will also transition to using Real ID for posting.

The official forums have always been a great place to discuss the latest info on our games, offer ideas and suggestions, and share experiences with other players – however, the forums have also earned a reputation as a place where flame wars, trolling, and other unpleasantness run wild. Removing the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue will contribute to a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations, and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven’t been connected before. With this change, you’ll see blue posters (i.e. Blizzard employees) posting by their real first and last names on our forums as well.

However pure its intentions, it would appear Battle.net users disagree with Blizzard’s new, hippie transparency philosophy, and a few for valid reasons. Blizzard’s decision is the most severe move against the common perceptions of internet privacy yet seen in the gaming community and a degree of backlash is duly expected.

Online anonymity is one reason so many people are drawn to computer games and forums. For some it is the ability to create a completely separate personality online, for others it is to live out a fantasy life, and for others still it is a simple matter of escape. The response to Blizzard’s announcement seems extreme, and for obvious reasons. People are fighting for their lives – virtual lives, but a life to which they are emotionally attached all the same. Perhaps we should be more concerned about the emotional attachment in the first place – how healthy is it to harbor a virtual persona on this level? – but for now the concern lies in Blizzard’s presumptuous removal of our anonymity.

But that’s just my opinion.

What do you think? Is a real name really this big of a deal, or are we overreacting as our anonymous personalities so often allow us to do? Post your thoughts below (and feel free to include your real name, if you dare).

With western MMOs like Lord of the Rings Online, Company of Heroes, and Dungeons and Dragons Online embracing the free-to-play game model, Blizzard has recently had to ask itself some difficult questions about its World of Warcraft strategy. Questions like, “What should I eat for lunch?”

Lead desinger Tom Chilton isn’t...]]>

With western MMOs like Lord of the Rings Online, Company of Heroes, and Dungeons and Dragons Online embracing the free-to-play game model, Blizzard has recently had to ask itself some difficult questions about its World of Warcraft strategy. Questions like, “What should I eat for lunch?”

Lead desinger Tom Chilton isn’t concerned with losing the massive WoW fanbase any time soon, subscription fee or not.

“We’re not spending a lot of time thinking about [going free-to-play]. It’s not something that’s a reality for us in the near future,” Chilton said.

WoW is the largest and most profitable MMO in the western market, with some 11.5 million subscribers worldwide, and while lesser games need to compete with one another, WoW has confidently held the throne since its release in 2004. Chilton thinks that’s reason enough to avoid the free-to-play model for now.

“I feel like they’re doing that to compete with other games that are on a similar subscriber level to what they were at. I imagine that when one of them went free to play it cannibalized some of the other subscribers,” Chilton said.

It seems WoW is in no danger of being eaten up by any games currently on the market or in production. However, Chilton is still casually preparing for the worst.

“I can definitely imagine that being the case with World of Warcraft,” he said. “If another game comes along and blows us away it may not make sense for us to have a subscription fee. Or even further down the line, when we have another MMO out.”

So until Blizzard creates its own demise in the form of a new MMO, WoW will remain subscription-based. Which means we probably have at least another decade to wait, so keep that piggy bank full.

Do you mind paying to play one of the largest and most intricate MMOs in the world? How would free-to-play affect the game? Give us your opinions right here!

via PC Gamer

Cult horror classic director Sam Raimi isn’t just a master of undead action and gore, he’s also a World of Warcraft fanboy with a level-72 character and the franchise’s best bet to make a WoW movie worth watching.

Raimi, director of Evil Dead, Army of Darkness and Drag me to...]]>