Even the well-known WoW YouTuber Bellular advises against buying the current shop bundle. He has strong words regarding Blizzard’s approach.
In recent weeks, the negative news surrounding Blizzard hasn’t stopped. After 100 employees in support were encouraged to leave, there was significant criticism regarding a supposedly great offer in the store of World of Warcraft. The “farewell package” received a lot of criticism.
Even YouTuber Bellular recommends that all players do not purchase the package. But why?
Who is Bellular? The YouTube channel Bellular Gaming is known mainly for its analyses or interesting theories about World of Warcraft. He often spins exciting theories regarding the lore of WoW or points out interesting mechanics or issues within the game.
Reasons against the farewell package: The farewell package includes many mounts, pets, and cosmetic helmets. These will be removed from the shop on January 7. However, Bellular lists several reasons why this offer is brazen and shouldn’t be accepted:
- There is no reason for the removal: The mounts take up “no space” in the WoW shop, and Blizzard incurs no costs to continue offering them. Removing them artificially is just harassment for customers.
- The announcement that the items “could return” is the plan to guarantee this in the future.
- The “finance people” would be validated and gain more power within Blizzard.
You can watch the whole video from him here:
The amount of manipulation makes the difference: For Bellular, it is clear that essentially every sale is a kind of manipulation. However, it depends on the amount and type of manipulation. Here, a clear line has been crossed.
To rely on a FOMO strategy (“Fear of Missing Out”) would be brazen and blunt, especially in an in-game shop and especially with the note that the purchased items might return someday.
This leads Bellular to the conclusion:
“Please do not support this. If we reward these tactics by agreeing to them, we are only encouraging Blizzard to continue doing so. And in a world where the finance department has more and more say at Blizzard, we shouldn’t give these people even more ammunition.”
What do you think about the farewell package? Are you buying it because it is simply a good deal and you want the mounts, helmets, and pets? Or are you consciously not buying it to make a statement?
