I feel sorry for Blizzard

[Talaridan]

Here is a good article from The Lawbringer on WoW Insider on the Beta access issue.

http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/03/23/does- ... ta-access/

Thanks, Adam. That's pretty much what I've been saying from the beginning.

[Lisaara]

Ah good. The article pretty much breaks it down rather well.

[FaultyBrowser]

Going back to the original post... I agree a little bit and disagree a little bit. I do feel sorry for the front line employees that have to get in there and respond in the threads, and lock threads, etc. But as I see it, Blizzard has a long track record of being slow to correct their mistakes. If they did not see this coming...?

When I signed up for the Annual Pass it was actually for the mount. My wife just loved it and so the decision was made. We were going to stay up through Pandaria so it seemed like a deal in our favor. However, while reading about Beta invites, my mind immediately went back to "Path of the Titans", "Guild Achievement System" and all sorts of other implementations announced in BlizzCons that ultimately got them into arguments with their player base. Beta invites have always been a topic of interest and the behavior of the forums is fairly predictable.

The company has pulled some real boners in the last few years like RealID in forum posts. And at times (like now) I wonder if there's a management cocoon that finally developed or if they forgot that keeping trust with clients is the most important thing.

I understand the OP pointing out about the mechanics of the Beta servers and traffic load and all that. But, as a counter example, I know next to nothing about my car. Yet I buy it and drive it with the full expectation that it work intuitively like most (if not all) other cars. It is up to the manufacturer to know how to make it. And it is also up to the manufacturer and retailer to ultimately persuade me to buy their car and not someone else's.

Many many people will not have the specific knowledge necessary to guess that Blizzard could or could not handle the number of people who accepted the offer and when. Even fewer people have the knowledge to know what Blizzard WOULD do in an event like this. But Blizzard did know. And Blizzard did not state the offer in those terms. Leaving the door open to misperception is not a good idea. I've had lots of experience within my own corporate career on this. I have many times gouged another department for promising something to a client that we cannot deliver.

As a slice of life from me to you, many years ago I bought a video recording unit from a company for about $15,000 as advertised. I had to buy it through a retailer. I did so through a nice fellow I trusted. I purchased thousands of dollars of product from him and his service was great in my mind. To make the story short, after the check was cashed I find out the product was still in development. I made a fuss about it and the company sent me prototype after prototype promising they'd be done soon. I finally got fed up with it and said "Forget this. Give me my money back." Now, of course, the fellow in the middle is losing out over all the shipping and reshipping and said "Fine. Just send it back for the 25% restocking fee and be done with it." I did knowing full well the restocking fee was 15%.

Years later he calls me asking if I were still in the business (which I am) and what I'm up to. When he offered his services I replied "I might if I can't use my suppliers." He asked why and I brought this incident up. He said yes it is true he changed the rate because he was frustrated and it was an emotional reaction. And, on his side, there was the real issue of <insert all technical reasons here>. I said I understood. But, that broke my trust in him and I found others who I could trust.

That kind of experience shapes my thoughts when I read contracts, and when I make promises to my clients, and think about them making promises to THEIR clients. Not everything that is obvious to me will be obvious to them. I see Blizzard only from the outside. But I've been looking for a while and they seem to make this same mistake over and over.

I'm only speculating, but when I had that queasy feeling when I first read the offer I assume some employees over at Blizzard had the same feeling. This looked ready to happen and I think a plain explanation of their plan should have been attached as part of the original offer (or very shortly thereafter). I think what they can or can't legally do isn't relevant. Many people don't read EULAs and they don't read fine print. Blizzard knows that too. It's more about them proactively protecting their goodwill.


And P.S. - Hi there!

I hope I'm not ruffling feathers with the regulars here. I've loved this website for a long while now but just lurked the pages and not the forums. I just popped in to see if there were threads about any new exotic pets. This thread was an interesting read.

[Lisaara]

Welcome Faulty! Nice of you to join us. Don't be a stranger. Arguments like this dont pop up too often but people are bound to butt heads over things.

Anywho, your post is intriguing. It kinda goes with how some of us are seeing both sides of the matter.

[Sesamee]

I would not describe the discussion in this thread as a cesspool. I save that description for what's been going on on the other sites like the battlenet and mmo forums. For the most part this thread hasn't descended to those levels. I do think it's important though that when discussing something heated you take even more care to read your post beforehand and make sure you are coming across with the intended tone. If you don't want to come across as hostile or condescending reread your post to make sure you aren't.

On a positive note, while I probably won't get into Beta anytime soon my bf has been playing since a month or so after release and we both signed up at the same time for the Annual Pass so at least I'll get to look over his shoulder when he's on it. And by look over his shoulder I mean make sure the first thing he does is go check out all the cool new stuff for hunters!!

[Lisaara]

I would not describe the discussion in this thread as a cesspool. I save that description for what's been going on on the other sites like the battlenet and mmo forums. For the most part this thread hasn't descended to those levels. I do think it's important though that when discussing something heated you take even more care to read your post beforehand and make sure you are coming across with the intended tone. If you don't want to come across as hostile or condescending reread your post to make sure you aren't.

On a positive note, while I probably won't get into Beta anytime soon my bf has been playing since a month or so after release and we both signed up at the same time for the Annual Pass so at least I'll get to look over his shoulder when he's on it. And by look over his shoulder I mean make sure the first thing he does is go check out all the cool new stuff for hunters!!

I can agree with most of this, definitely. MMO Champ is SOOOOO much worse......to the point I've got a hand print from facepalming so hard.

[Moderator]

Locked by request and to give us a chance to chat with some people.