At Blizzcon this year Blizzard has announced "the bomb": players who commit to 12 months of WoW subscriptions will get a free digital copy of Diablo 3! Is this wow or meh? It depends. I have made a quick analysis and if you're undecided, this might be for you.>
My analysis is purely financial and doesn't take the emotional aspect into consideration but since a large chunk of money is involved, I think it makes sense to figure out some numbers.
Notice that "committing" to a 12 month subscription does not require you to pay for the entire 12 months in advance. Nor does it require you to buy a 6 month package which is the highest one you can buy. This means that you can go month-by-month if you wish, but you'll have to engage in some sort of digital contract with Blizzard where they can be certain you will uphold your end of the bargain.
Currently you can pay month-by-month at $15 a month, for 3 months at $14 per month or for 6 months at $15 per month. My calculations are based on the two extremes but if you want to take this deal, the best thing is to go with two 6-month subscriptions, if you can afford it.
1. Month-to-month
Cost per month: $15
Cost for 12 months: $180
Real cost for 12 months (-$60 the value of Diablo 3): $120
@ $15 / month you will have to play $120 / $15 = 8 months of WoW to break even
2. 6 month subscription x 2
Cost per month: $13
Cost for 12 months: $156
Real cost for 12 months (-$60 the value of Diablo 3): $96
@ $13 / month you will have to play $96 / $13 = 7.4 months of WoW to break even
It sure seems like a long time to play WoW before you can call this a good deal. But wait, there's more. The "package" also includes an exclusive mount and access to WoW's next expansion (still not sure if this means Mists of Pandaria or the one after that, whatever that may be). While we can put a tentative value on the mount (mounts are $25 in Blizzard's store), beta access is a more subtle thing, something that can be either useless or priceless, depending who you ask.
So let's adjust our amounts by subtracting $25 for the mount.
1. Month-to-month
Cost per month: $15
Cost for 12 months: $180
Real cost for 12 months (-$60 the value of Diablo 3): $120
- $25 the cost of the mount: $95
@ $15 / month you will have to play $95 / $15 = 6.3 months of WoW to break even
2. 6 month subscription x 2
Cost per month: $13
Cost for 12 months: $156
Real cost for 12 months (-$60 the value of Diablo 3): $96
- $25 the cost of the mount: $71
@ $13 / month you will have to play $96 / $13 = 5.5 months of WoW to break even
As you can see, at the very least you will have to play 5 and a half months of WoW in order to break even on this deal.
There are more factors to consider at this point.
If you're not into Diablo 3 and you don't care about the other rewards, skip this deal.
If you're not into Diablo 3 but would like the mount and/or beta access, the deal is still good. Plus, you can donate your free copy of Diablo 3 to someone else.
If you are a die-hard WoW player and would also like to try Diablo 3, meaning that you are guaranteed to play WoW for at least 6 months, if not more, then this deal is killer. This is especially sweet if you know you'll be playing for another year.
If you're the type who gets bored with WoW 3 months into a new expansion, skip this deal. Just go month-to-month and buy Diablo 3 separately.
If you are still playing WoW between now and when Mists of Pandaria is released, now would be a great time to buy the deal. Just think about it. Assuming MoP is released around mid-2013, that gives you 6-8 months of solid play. When MoP hits, you have already broken even. From then on it's pure profit! Not to mention that you would have (presumably) also played a few months of free Diablo 3.
The bottom line is that you must think really hard if WoW will be fun for you for at least 6 months, or else you'll be throwing money out the window. There's also the matter of the guaranteed access to a future beta. If that is priceless to you, then by all means, get the deal.
At any rate, all this applies mostly if you are both a WoW and Diablo fan but you need to be aware that at some point in 2012 both games will be out and both will compete for your attention at the same time. Also, Mists of Pandaria will cost an additional $40, so take that also into consideration.
For me this deal is out of the question. Had Diablo 3 come out when Cataclysm was released, I might have been tempted. As it happens, I quit WoW for good about 2-3 months after the last expansion. I won't be returning to it any time soon.
My analysis is purely financial and doesn't take the emotional aspect into consideration but since a large chunk of money is involved, I think it makes sense to figure out some numbers.
Notice that "committing" to a 12 month subscription does not require you to pay for the entire 12 months in advance. Nor does it require you to buy a 6 month package which is the highest one you can buy. This means that you can go month-by-month if you wish, but you'll have to engage in some sort of digital contract with Blizzard where they can be certain you will uphold your end of the bargain.
Currently you can pay month-by-month at $15 a month, for 3 months at $14 per month or for 6 months at $15 per month. My calculations are based on the two extremes but if you want to take this deal, the best thing is to go with two 6-month subscriptions, if you can afford it.
1. Month-to-month
Cost per month: $15
Cost for 12 months: $180
Real cost for 12 months (-$60 the value of Diablo 3): $120
@ $15 / month you will have to play $120 / $15 = 8 months of WoW to break even
2. 6 month subscription x 2
Cost per month: $13
Cost for 12 months: $156
Real cost for 12 months (-$60 the value of Diablo 3): $96
@ $13 / month you will have to play $96 / $13 = 7.4 months of WoW to break even
It sure seems like a long time to play WoW before you can call this a good deal. But wait, there's more. The "package" also includes an exclusive mount and access to WoW's next expansion (still not sure if this means Mists of Pandaria or the one after that, whatever that may be). While we can put a tentative value on the mount (mounts are $25 in Blizzard's store), beta access is a more subtle thing, something that can be either useless or priceless, depending who you ask.
So let's adjust our amounts by subtracting $25 for the mount.
1. Month-to-month
Cost per month: $15
Cost for 12 months: $180
Real cost for 12 months (-$60 the value of Diablo 3): $120
- $25 the cost of the mount: $95
@ $15 / month you will have to play $95 / $15 = 6.3 months of WoW to break even
2. 6 month subscription x 2
Cost per month: $13
Cost for 12 months: $156
Real cost for 12 months (-$60 the value of Diablo 3): $96
- $25 the cost of the mount: $71
@ $13 / month you will have to play $96 / $13 = 5.5 months of WoW to break even
As you can see, at the very least you will have to play 5 and a half months of WoW in order to break even on this deal.
There are more factors to consider at this point.
If you're not into Diablo 3 and you don't care about the other rewards, skip this deal.
If you're not into Diablo 3 but would like the mount and/or beta access, the deal is still good. Plus, you can donate your free copy of Diablo 3 to someone else.
If you are a die-hard WoW player and would also like to try Diablo 3, meaning that you are guaranteed to play WoW for at least 6 months, if not more, then this deal is killer. This is especially sweet if you know you'll be playing for another year.
If you're the type who gets bored with WoW 3 months into a new expansion, skip this deal. Just go month-to-month and buy Diablo 3 separately.
If you are still playing WoW between now and when Mists of Pandaria is released, now would be a great time to buy the deal. Just think about it. Assuming MoP is released around mid-2013, that gives you 6-8 months of solid play. When MoP hits, you have already broken even. From then on it's pure profit! Not to mention that you would have (presumably) also played a few months of free Diablo 3.
The bottom line is that you must think really hard if WoW will be fun for you for at least 6 months, or else you'll be throwing money out the window. There's also the matter of the guaranteed access to a future beta. If that is priceless to you, then by all means, get the deal.
At any rate, all this applies mostly if you are both a WoW and Diablo fan but you need to be aware that at some point in 2012 both games will be out and both will compete for your attention at the same time. Also, Mists of Pandaria will cost an additional $40, so take that also into consideration.
For me this deal is out of the question. Had Diablo 3 come out when Cataclysm was released, I might have been tempted. As it happens, I quit WoW for good about 2-3 months after the last expansion. I won't be returning to it any time soon.
7 comments:
Nothing more to add, except this: I am not sure you can "donate" your D3 free copy, because I guess it will be bound to your B.net account (no keys).
That said, I wish something similar was offered in the past. I stopped Wow too, months and months ago.
Will I come back to Azeroth? Maybe yes, when MoP will go live. I love the Asian setting, it really gave me a good "feeling".
p.s. the current captcha world is "psyrrea"... Damn, it sounds so bad.
I cancelled my subscription to WoW a few days ago and have only been logging on to get the new halloween pet. Nothing in-game appeals to me now, which is not surprising after playing for 4 years. This 12 month deal did get my attention. The mount is pretty nice and would suit my paladin and a 'free' copy of Diablo 3 would be nice, even I didn't play it much. But another whole year of playing WoW felt more like drudgery than fun and it would be a waste to buy something you don't use.
It's a pity though because I really like the mount. Judging by the size of the Night Elf riding it, it's a pretty massive horse. It would be like riding a Clydesdale with wings.
@Loque you're right, you can't donate your copy of D3. Though it's against the TOS, you could give access to a close family member or very trusted friend. No one would know if you let, say, your kid play it.
@Gyldenfeax ah but you see, in this article I'm making the point that you'd only have to play WoW for about 5.5 months in order to break even on the 1-year subscription. In your case this is even more valid because the mount is something valuable to you. On the other hand, if you don't like Diablo that much, this deal might not be ideal for you.
@Darth
You can always lend your account to a friend/parent... but as long as he/she plays, you're out.
so if your cute little son decides to bash some demons in Diablo, you wont play WoW until he logs out.
Hmm, I wasn't aware of that, though it makes perfect sense. They can still play when you're not playing though.
Yes, but that's does not make it a good gift, if you have to schedule gaming time ;-)
Well no, but you might be busy with something else, or not at home and your kid/whoever could jump in then. It's not ideal by far, but it is possible.
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