TBC: Only XXX number of copies??!!

[Skahr]

I went in to EB games this weekend and pre-ordered my BC Expansion. The guy who worked there said something along the lines of "Yea man this is going to be nuts when its released, Blizzard is only putting out 2Million copies!" I was like "Orly" and hes like "Yarly". So...anyone heard anything like this, or can confirm this? Seems silly when you think about how 6million+ people play this amirite?:ponder:

-Skahr

[Kezi]

Wow that would suck. I so dont want to stand in a 12:00am line outside.

[zkajan]

this is what I think of gamestore clerks (suberbly expressed by Ben Heck):

http://www.benheck.com/Games/Xbox360/story_1.jpg
http://www.benheck.com/Games/Xbox360/story_2.jpg
http://www.benheck.com/Games/Xbox360/story_3.gif
http://www.benheck.com/Games/Xbox360/story_4.jpg

[Nitsujcm]

HAHA - I love it!

IMO-
Two types of game store clerks-
Type A: Poor Geek who needed a summer job, but still has no people skills:
"Ok... so.. umm... we're, like, the same age and stuff - so, umm... I can relate to you and umm... sell you some games and stuff...right? So now i'm gonna, um... i'm gonna act like I like the same games as you and pretend to have some inside info... so umm... you'll buy what I tell you too. Ok? "

Type B: Comic book guy from the Simpsons:
"All games suck except for 2 and they were only sold for a brief period in 1996. How ever- you might derive some type of joy if you buy the following over priced games... “just released games inserted here” – now bask in my knowledge of video games and feel inferior "

[ruinz]

Skahr - I've not heard anything like that, but there are three likely possibilities here:

1) He's full of it and it's a line that's either been suggested by EB HQ, his boss, or his own devious mind to get more preorders in. This is highly likely.

2) He's talking about the US copies only and has the mistaken impression that there are more than two million US WoW customers. This may be combined with 1), as he may well be aware that he is "lying" yet technically telling the truth.

3) Blizzard are intentionally underrating supply to enhance demand. I think this is unlikely because of the near-riots, quitting, and tears before bedtime it would cause.

[Gealach]

It also might be that that's just the initial stockpile for fulfilling preorders, but production will continue to fill demand.

[Steamboat]

Blizzard is probably only ordering an initial printing of 2 millions copies. That would mean that on the release date 2 million will be available in the Northern U.S. It doesn't mean that won't make more copies, just means that they will probably only be able to have that many made by zero day.

[Xlorep DarkHelm]

I don't believe that Blizzard necessarily has established how many copies they are releasing. But odds are, they will be based off of the number of current, existing customers in the market.

[JaedxRapture]

Blizzard is NOT going to discontinue their new expansion after 2,000,000 copies.
This guy's either an idiot, or is trying to get everyone to pay their money quickly so he can make quick cash!

[Wasabee]

Geez, I predicted something like this. However seeing that the source of the information is from 1. Some guy and 2. went to some store and 3. Talk to some clerk...I'm not saying I said so yet...

...yet, If you had the market on a top selling MMORPG and needed to build more "hype" you'd short supply the market on release day...and let people scream and fight to buy out every copy in every store...then 2nd wave release would sell more copies as people would fear a "short supply" the 2nd time....not knowing that there would be more then enough for "everyone". Also if they did release 2 million first shot... it gives them a chance to test out a "live" version...see how the servers hold up under the "influx"...then bring the rest of the "people" on in waves...

So...Hope you preordered and get some sort of guarantee to get the game.

[Fursphere]

Also keep in mind that Blizzard has hinted at an electronic purchase option.

IE - You buy it from blizzard.com or something, and download the entire thing.

As I said, they've hinted at this in the interviews and such, but have no confirmed it.

[Your Average WoW Player]

I don't see why you'd be pre-ordering at this point... There's no release date for it. The only reason the stores have Release dates is they want your money. They infact have no clue as to when the release date is.

[Xlorep DarkHelm]

More than that, Blizzard hasn't announced anything about the Release yet, if there is a CE version for the expansion or not, what all is included, etc. Without dates, or any other information *at all* from Blizzard, I think preordering right now is kind of pointless, IMO.

[Starwynd]

The game is still in the very first steps of the first alpha testing. Meaning they have alot more alpha testing, and probably multiple beta tests to go through before the game is even ready to be shipped.

Knowing Blizzard, that probably means we'll be seeing The Burning Crusade sometime in the last quarter of 2008. /sarcasm. While it may not be that long, even though I don't actually have the info, I wouldn't be afraid to bet that all these people saying it comes out in November are going to be wrong.

Poor little Alliance kiddies, won't be getting it for christmas. Night Elf Rogue tears taste like candy. :evil:

[Gealach]

Well, I do find it interesting that Blizzard is STILL officially saying they're on track for a Q4 2006 release. Given that we are now IN Q4 2006, I'd guess that last quarter 2008 is about as unlikely as tomorrow.

I'd give it a 50% chance of a mid november release, 65% chance it will be out by the end of november, and about an 85% chance of a release sometime before Christmas. I'd be inclined to a 95% chance of a release before the end of January.

From little bits and pieces of info here and there, BC has been in internal alpha for over 8 months and possibly over a year. Sure some things have been changed during that time (like the alliance race), but most of the changes aren't to the core engine or anything, just working out ideas, fleshing out the ones that work and pruning the ones that don't.

[Skahr]

Why not pre-order the game now while i have a few extra bucks. (Not that i cant scrape up 40.00 later but...) It wont hurt my feelings if its not released in november, I will have my copy waiting for me now so no biggie right? I agree that the "Clerk Guy" is wrong in saying only 2million copies...considering he did say "Who does this game? Avalanch is it?" "uhh...think you mean Blizzard Numb N***" :)

-Skahr

[Yogo]

I've also heard about this from another place (www.softxchange.dk - online Danish game seller).

On their site, they state that there won't be enough copies for everyone on release, so they advice to pre-order if you're just dying to get your hands on TBC on release day. It might be to get more pre-orders.

But seriously. With an addiction like WoW, I DON'T want to be the guy in the guild who can't play TBC, while everyone else are blasting away :cool:

[satarina]

well, for what it's worth, here's the way it was presented to me when i went to pre-order:

blizz is going to try to fill the pre-orders first, but they are staggering the shipments. the reason for this is to avoid server overload (c'mon, i know that there are a lot of you who bought the game on day 1 and suffered through the subsequent server woes with me because more ppl were buying than blizz anticipated). they're not going to limit the release, that would be an incredibly stupid thing for them to do, but they are going to try to spread it out so that the servers aren't bogged down on the day of release so that no one can play.

the reason for pre-ordering is just to make sure you get a copy immediately or very soon after release, since stores are going to fill those orders before selling to everyone else. otherwise, you may have to wait a week or so for more to arrive.

now, granted, i was told this by a guy at gamestop... but after working in retail for far longer than i ever wanted to, and playing wow for those first couple of months on laggy, chunky, ill-performing servers, this makes a lot of sense to me. blizz was blindsided by the response to wow, and they want to avoid the same problems cropping up again.

[Hettar]

On the release of WoW, the boxes were in limited supply. People actually had to wait for Blizzard to issue new boxes before being able to enter Azeroth. I believe the reasons for this limited supply were twofold :
- unsufficient planning on Blizzard's part, due to the somewhat surprising immediate success of WoW.
- "controlled" management of servers capacities. They had planned to release X servers that could support Y players, thus they only delievered Y boxes. Before delivering more boxes, they had to upgrade their infrastructure.

However, for BC, the deal is slightly different :
- Blizzard is aware of WoW popularity.
- The additionnal stress of BC release is somewhat limited (only Outland and 2 zones, not to many servers, no infrastructure upgrade...).
Therefore, I don't see why they'd limit (in a drastic manner anyway) the stocks released on Day 1.

ps : please forgive the long speech:)

[mesonm]

I went in to EB games this weekend and pre-ordered my BC Expansion. The guy who worked there said something along the lines of "Yea man this is going to be nuts when its released, Blizzard is only putting out 2Million copies!" I was like "Orly" and hes like "Yarly". So...anyone heard anything like this, or can confirm this? Seems silly when you think about how 6million+ people play this amirite?:ponder:

-Skahr

lies...

Blizz is gonna sell to anyone who wants one...Anyone saying there will be a limited quantity merely wants to put up a false pressure for you to be motivated to buy it right then, from them.

[mesonm]

blizz is going to try to fill the pre-orders first, but they are staggering the shipments. the reason for this is to avoid server overload

That is actually quite humorous...

"Rather than making the servers robust and minimize lag ahead of time, we'll sell it to fewer people, and sneak up later purchasers. This way, we won't get bad press on release."

[satarina]

...like what happened first time around. :)

eh, like i said, this makes some sense to me. i have no idea if it's true or not. again, it came from a guy at gamestop.

but, hey, why not? maybe they want to play it safe this time, and make sure the hardware upgrading they've been doing is going to be sufficient to handle the new/returning players with the expansion.

or, of course, it could be a load of bs for the retailers to guarantee more sales by getting preorders. at this point, all we can do is share rumors and speculation.

[RealFiction]

First post.... With all the money/time Blizzard has I think they'll accomodate (sp?) the players they already have with little problems. How many people do you know that are simply buying WoW b/c of the release TBC? I don't know one...

[Calabar]

More than that, Blizzard hasn't announced anything about the Release yet, if there is a CE version for the expansion or not, what all is included, etc. Without dates, or any other information *at all* from Blizzard, I think preordering right now is kind of pointless, IMO.

This is more or less where I’m coming from. I do plan to preorder, but not until I hear if Blizzard is offering a collector’s edition. I’ve enjoyed my panda cub and mini Diablo far too much to pass up other such pets if they are offered.

[Herald of Doom]

People pre-ordering now are missing months of intrest. My 40 bucks are safely on my bankaccount :p

HoD

[djiss]

Most of the time, what come from clerk is lie and bs. Sorry for those clerk who don't lie to their customer, you are pretty rare. Often, when I ask something to a clerk, he just read the box/label... That is when he isn't trying to bs'ing me cuz he have not clue what to answer nor had any idea about the subject. The only question you should ask to a clerk is: "Where is [insert product name] in the store?". half the time he can't answer, so don't bother ask something else. :grin:

[Fursphere]

I just pre-ordered my copy of TBC.

Why? Because I can, thats why.

/hopelessly addicted to WoW.

[Wasabee]

ZOMG - THE END IS NEAR!!!

Predictions:
1. Release by Christmas! (I'm thinking they are shooting for Turkey day ~ USA)
2. Limited Distribution. (They want to fill what they got before they build more...and want to build "hype". Headlines will read "WoW addicts can't get their fix!")
3. Some story about someone shooting someone else to get a copy.
4. Server issues for the first 3 weeks (TBC users and non TBS users)
5. Blizzards stock goes up.
6. 2nd wave release end of Jan.
7. 50% of preorders will not receive their goods (see #2, and be ready to camp till midnight!)

That is all for now!

[Gealach]

People pre-ordering now are missing months of intrest. My 40 bucks are safely on my bankaccount :p

HoD

Well, firstly, most checking accounts don't give interest at all, so they're prolly losing nothing.

Even if we were to figure an astounding return of 5% on liquid funds (quite generous), you're looking at $40 multiplied by .05 and then divided by roughly 4 to get the interest for just 3 months.

If you think getting an extra 50 cents is a big deal, you prolly can't afford WoW. I think most people would be happy to pay that to guarantee release day delivery.

[Suicidal Zebra]

Something else to note: Blizzard may be planning an online distribution, similar to Steam.

Yep, that worries me too.

[djiss]

ZOMG - THE END IS NEAR!!!

Predictions:
1. Release by Christmas! (I'm thinking they are shooting for Turkey day ~ USA)
2. Limited Distribution. (They want to fill what they got before they build more...and want to build "hype". Headlines will read "WoW addicts can't get their fix!")
3. Some story about someone shooting someone else to get a copy.
4. Server issues for the first 3 weeks (TBC users and non TBS users)
5. Blizzards stock goes up.
6. 2nd wave release end of Jan.
7. 50% of preorders will not receive their goods (see #2, and be ready to camp till midnight!)

That is all for now!

LOL
2M copy available, but world-around clerk made pre-order for 3M.
Addicted get mad cuz they didnt had their pre-ordered copy.
eBay filled with lot of TBC copy, 200$ starting bid.
EB Game store began to be a Blood Fest Arena.
Lot of lawyer try to make money by sueing Rockstar cuz you know... GTA made me kill that clerk.

[mesonm]

How many people do you know that are simply buying WoW b/c of the release TBC? I don't know one...

huh? me...

I bought wow and have played it for 18 months merely in preparation for the expansion...

:thumbsup:

[Herald of Doom]

Well, firstly, most checking accounts don't give interest at all, so they're prolly losing nothing.

Even if we were to figure an astounding return of 5% on liquid funds (quite generous), you're looking at $40 multiplied by .05 and then divided by roughly 4 to get the interest for just 3 months.

If you think getting an extra 50 cents is a big deal, you prolly can't afford WoW. I think most people would be happy to pay that to guarantee release day delivery.
I get 3% on my savingsaccount iirc. I keep enough in my regular account for daily usage and I use my creditcard. I do not pre-order any product and it saves me around 100$ a year I reckon. That's including larger purchases ofcourse, but every bit helps :thumbsup: And besides, my gamestore is keeping half of their TBC they got coming for pre-orders and the others will be sold normally. I wake up 15 minutes earlier,walk 2 minutes and voila, there's my TBC the day it's released. No problems with pre-orders not being registered or anything else. But go ahead and pre-order if you're not in that luxurious position of having a good gamestore near you and being friends with the owner ( :shocked: )

PS: Yes, i'm cheap, sue me!

HoD

[Gealach]

And besides, my gamestore is keeping half of their TBC they got coming for pre-orders and the others will be sold normally. I wake up 15 minutes earlier,walk 2 minutes and voila, there's my TBC the day it's released.

Given the way kids line up at the game store around here, it would likely be a long wait for me. Its also likely to be a cold, snowy time of year. Happy to hear that its going to be easy for you tho. =)

[Dynatos]

I get 3% on my savingsaccount iirc. I keep enough in my regular account for daily usage and I use my creditcard. I do not pre-order any product and it saves me around 100$ a year I reckon.

40 * 0.03 = 1.2

You save a whole $1.20 in 1 whole year if you choose not to preorder. Factor in the fact that the game should be released within 3 monts:

1.2/4=0.3

Wow! You saved 30 cents by not preordering!

To save $100 a year because you didn't preorder, you'd have to be purchasing the equivalent dollar value on preorder-relevant goods per year of:

$3333.33

Dude, you must play a lot video games.

[Gealach]

He may be including shipping and handling costs, which are far less when buying a shelf copy. For me its still nothing compared to the monthly cost of WoW, but to each their own.

I save more in gas by not driving to the store than I would by reducing the S&H charge.

[Skahr]

People pre-ordering now are missing months of intrest. My 40 bucks are safely on my bankaccount :p

HoD
ROFL....ill waste the 87 cents of interest i would collect in my savings account and buy it now. Alot of you make it seem like its dumb to preorder now. What is the dif if you perorder now or preorder 1month from now. your going to do it anyways right?

[Xlorep DarkHelm]

ROFL....ill waste the 87 cents of interest i would collect in my savings account and buy it now. Alot of you make it seem like its dumb to preorder now. What is the dif if you perorder now or preorder 1month from now. your going to do it anyways right?

Because the preorder details haven't been established. I personally am going to preorder a CE version, if one exists. There is no information as of yet on if there will or won't be a CE, much less of any preorders for it. Therefore, without anything about a CE version yet, and without preorders for a CE existing, there is nothing for me to preorder at this time.

[Dynatos]

I agree with Xlorep. I'm not preordering until I see some definite announcement regarding a CE version, whether it's for or against one.

But, I still feel it's absurd to suggest that you're saving oodles of money by not preordering.

[Xlorep DarkHelm]

Oh, agreed. Not really saving anything, money-wise. I just want something to sink my teeth into, you know, data from Blizzard about the game's status, before I run off and preorder.

[Skahr]

lol i still dont get it? yes technically i pre-ordered NOTHING yet. but, whenever blizz does release info about release or a CE version i dont have to worry about anything because they already have my money, and im already guarateed a copy.

[Herald of Doom]

lol i still dont get it? yes technically i pre-ordered NOTHING yet. but, whenever blizz does release info about release or a CE version i dont have to worry about anything because they already have my money, and im already guarateed a copy.
I am not pre-ordering for several reasons:

- I would like the CE version if there is one. If you pre-order now, you'll get a regular version. Who knows, maybe the CE get a cool pet, and I'm a sucker for pets!
- If I pre-ordered I would have to pay for the shipping, which is 7 euros
- I am guaranteed a copy even if I don't pre-order

My saving was tongue in cheek,albeit not very good I'll admit :p
And I have a thing against pre-ordering, I pre-ordered Thud (Pratchett book) at a shop and my friend bought it somewhere else 2 weeks before I got my book. There was, according to the clerk, nothing weird about that... :ponder:

As for the pre-ordering, i didn't pre-order my xbox360. I won't pre-order my ps3. That's where the 100$ estimate came from :)

HoD

[mesonm]

I'm not preordering because my wife will likely buy it for me and my kid when it comes out...

Worrying about who saves which 40cents is a waste of time...you either want to preorder or you don't...Bottom line is that unless you are quitting the game, you'll have it within a month or two of release, assuming availability...

[Naolin]

I pre-order cause I don't plan on buying the CE version and just like the easy delivery.

I don't like going to the store just finding out they are sold out.

[Xlorep DarkHelm]

lol i still dont get it? yes technically i pre-ordered NOTHING yet. but, whenever blizz does release info about release or a CE version i dont have to worry about anything because they already have my money, and im already guarateed a copy.

Technically, if you pre-ordered, you pre-ordered the only thing they currently know about: the standard version of the BC expansion. There is no guarentees that you can convert that to a CE pre-order, if there is a CE version of the game.

Understand: I will pre-order, I'm not saying that pre-ordering is a bad thing. All I am saying is that until Blizzard becomes more forthcoming with information -- like a release date, if there is a CE version or not, etc. then I don't see the pressing need to establish a pre-order at this time. Instead, I just wait, and see how things unfold.

Apparently, you are under the impression that if people don't pre-order right this second, they won't be able to pre-order the game at all. The fact of the matter is -- there is no release date set by Blizzard. People are making conjectures as to when it might be released, and companies offering pre-orders are pulling dates from their magic bungholes, which can be pushed back if those dates approach with no word from Blizzard. Blizzard made the claim that BC will be out Q4 2006, but then again, they made a similar kind of claim with the original WoW, and it was pushed back. Right now, I'm beginning to wonder if BC will be released before Q2 2007 at this point. Simply because of hints that Blizzard has dropped about the Beta -- like how like with the original WoW Beta, testers won't all be added at once, but rather in "waves" to the Beta (I believe it was a recent front-page article on WWN), which tends to imply, for me, that the Beta might take a couple months.

Preordering right now isn't a bad thing; it's just, in my opinion, pointless. You don't gain *anything* by preordering now, compared to preordering when Blizzard coughs up more solid information.

[Gealach]

I've preordered 1 copy of BC because I'll be buying 2 copies eventually anyway since my daughter wants her own account. If the CE comes out I'll prorder that too, if not I'll just pick up another regular BC at the same time I go to pick up a second regular copy of WoW.

[Xlorep DarkHelm]

I've preordered 1 copy of BC because I'll be buying 2 copies eventually anyway since my daughter wants her own account. If the CE comes out I'll prorder that too, if not I'll just pick up another regular BC at the same time I go to pick up a second regular copy of WoW.

Do bear in mind that the odds of a store actually having copies available for you to purchase on or near the release date of BC (when it happens) will be most likely slim, with the way the retail game market's been going as of late. Generally, those who preorder get copies, those who don't preorder get to wait until the next shipment of copies arrives.

And suddenly, there was a great shouting, and the CE became real.

Blizzard's announced the CE for Burning Crusade now: http://worldofwarcraft.com/burningcrusade/townhall/collectors.html

Definitely getting me one of those.

[Gealach]

No need for me to pick up the copy on release day. Her arm's broken and her cast will likely interfere with gameplay till past the release date anyway.

[Yogo]

No need for me to pick up the copy on release day. Her arm's broken and her cast will likely interfere with gameplay till past the release date anyway.

That's why the human is out fitted with 2 arms! If one fails, use the other one! :laugh:

[Morail]

2 mill must be for the US only, theres about 7 mill players worldwide and between US EU and Asia 2 mill for US should be enough I just hope EU gets its fair share, and everyone wont be buying it right away.

And blizzard has not revealed if there will be online purchase with download yet, they haven't said no anyway.

[Herald of Doom]

Exclusive In-Game Pet: Netherwhelp
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Soundtrack CD

I'm buying CE, Bliz must have read this thread and seen how Xlorep and me wanted that CE so badly! However:

"Further details on the contents, as well as pricing and availability info, will be announced at a later date."

My guess is on Q1 2007, and lot's of cursing at Vivendi HQ for missing the holiday shoppingspree :p

HoD