• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Tech Spirited

Tech Spirited

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Articles

Gamers Gone Wild

With 6 million subscribers to its online game, World of Warcraft, the card game introduction was a no-brainer; Blizzard's brilliance, however, took guerrilla marketing to a new level.

You are here: Home / IT Jobs / Gamers Gone Wild

Like it? Share it!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Gamers Gone Wild

With 6 million subscribers to its online game, World of Warcraft, the card game introduction was a no-brainer; Blizzard’s brilliance, however, took guerrilla marketing to a new level.

By Mark Hoerrner

Would you like to write for us? Well, we're looking for good writers who want to spread the word. Get in touch with us and we'll talk...

Let's Work Together!

One day. That’s how fast trading card giant Upper Deck sold out its debut line of World of Warcraft collectible card game stock. Boxes of cards that normally sold wholesale at about $40 were selling $60 above that price. Fifteen-card booster packs for the game which normally retail for $3.99 or less, were selling at $5 each. But is it the game, or a more cunning marketing strategy?

“Both,” says David Byrd, a longtime gamer and analyst. “World of Warcraft had a built-in following; of that, there’s little doubt. But with the introduction of the ‘loot’ cards, they brought in a section of the buying public that probably would not have bought the game otherwise.”

‘Loot’ cards are ultra-rare cards added to boosters that feature key codes that instantly grant players of the online game a redeemable boon for their online character. Further, the company promised that each booster pack and each starter would contain a number of UDE (Upper Deck Entertainment) points that could be redeemed for other online trinkets.

“This is the first time we’ve seen an online game/collectible card game crossover,” Byrd says. “The introduction of the points and loot cards saw people ordering massive numbers of boxes of the boosters in hopes of getting the prized rare items. It should be noted that the items don’t actually change game play or give the player an advantage; these are merely prestige items.”

What Byrd says the company resonates an evil genius mentality is in the way points were applied.

“A box of boosters is worth about 2,400 UDE points,” Byrd says. “However, the online trinket that allows one to turn into an ogre requires 50,000 UDE points. If someone actually collects that many points, they’ve spent about $2,600 on a digital trinket. That’s a huge loss for the public and truly ingenious move on the part of the Blizzard and Upper Deck.”

World of Warcraft is history’s most successful online game. In fact, if you take the subscribers of every other massively multiplayer online game and add them together, they would still fall about one million subscribers short of Warcraft. The company brings in roughly $70 million each month from subscribers, with another $250 million up front from the game purchase. In addition to the online game, which is planning an expansion in January, and the trading card game, Blizzard and Fantasy Flight games also released the World of Warcraft board game which sells for about $80 retail.

Gamers are impressed by both the non-technological offerings. “The board game really impressed me,” says Evette McKinney, a gamer in Lawrenceville, Ga. “It’s surprising how well the online game translated to a board game format, but it really works well.”

Would you like to write for us? Well, we're looking for good writers who want to spread the word. Get in touch with us and we'll talk...

Let's Work Together!

The board game is one of the heaviest on the market, weighing in at about 10 pounds. Not surprisingly, the game comes with a couple hundred large plastic figures, a number of cardboard tiles, and highly-detailed laminate cards.

It seems like the folks at Blizzard have aptly named their company, as they have completely frozen out their competition.

Related Posts

  • Online Magazines for Every Part of Your Life

    If you want to read some articles from your favorite magazine, all you need is an Internet connection, and some free time, since just about every popular printed magazine has…

  • Digital Signatures: Online Transactions made Secure

    A signature, in a layman's sense, is a mark made with the intention of authenticating a marked document in order to prevent inconsiderate engagements. The signature may not be a…

  • The Internet Abuse

    The internet is a wonderful technology. It provides information, which is not only helpful to children in their studies, but also to gather general knowledge. However, care must be taken…

« Previous Post
Next Post »

Category iconIT Jobs

Get Updates Right to Your Inbox

Sign up to receive the latest and greatest articles from our site automatically each week (give or take)...right to your inbox.
Blog Updates

Exploring the website?

Our site includes quite a bit of content, so if you're having an issue finding what you're looking for, go on ahead and use that search feature there!

Footer

We hope you are enjoying TechSpirited! We provide informative and helpful articles about the outlook for IT jobs throughout the U.S. Learn more about the career in IT you’ve always wanted, or find new tips to further your technology career.
  • Facebook
  • RSS

Copyright © Tech Spirited & Buzzle.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
6789 Quail Hill Pkwy, Suite 211 Irvine CA 92603

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsAccept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.