Slippage®™
Blizzard Entertainment® today announced that the release date for World of Warcraft®: The Burning Crusade™, the highly anticipated expansion for World of Warcraft, will be in January 2007.
Wow. I don’t think I’d want to be the person that made that decision. Thanks to all the hype, the longer BC takes to arrive the more accounts will stall as players decide that it’s not worth grinding for equipment that will be obsolete once the expansion kicks in. I’m guessing, but I’d also say that the longer players go without the game the more chance of them ultimately not returning.
This is in no way sour grapes. I’ll actually be quite interested to see the reactions of some of my old guild members who had already planned to take a break starting in early November. And if the fact that one member scored a BC beta code might be enough to keep them interested.
I can’t help but wonder if this would have been my turning point if Australia’s CE woes hadn’t been.
(I bet there are lots of people cursing because now they have to think about what to buy a significant other for xmas.)
I doubt it. With the pre-orders in and people clamoring for more than game stores can handle (especially collectors editions, which are already more than sold out nationwide) I think this is only going to add to building hype.
And to be honest, I only know a few people who have really given up the game until BC comes out-a lot of people are waiting with baited breath, but I hesitate to say there are mass cancellations that will turn into re-ups when BC is available and everyone’s got a copy-I think that’s a little of an overstatement. I’m sure some people feel that way, but by and large I highly doubt the lvl 60 masses are uninstalling WoW just to wait for BC.
That all being said, I’m disappointed too-a pre-holiday WoW rush would have been wonderful, but I’m sad that BC isn’t going to be available until after the beginning of 07. Is it so wrong my first thought was that it’s around the same time Vista is going to be released? Yikes.
They need a couple of months for Blizz perfection? I will take that.
All I wanted was a date so I can plan my vacation around it.
However – there WILL be a content patch before Christmas – with new talents, abilities, and the new honour system plus ‘dozens of changes’
So – I guess we do get a little something.
I know I’m a freak, but am I the only one that’s slightly relieved?
I was feeling all this pressure to do things before the expansion – I wanted to get revered with AB before they make that irrelevant, I wanted to get one of my low level alts (Slotr) to “Sergeant” before they lock the pvp ranks (get it? Sergeant Slotr?), I was gonna change one of my alts to blacksmithing based on the new announced stuff, and now I don’t have to powerlevel it at the AH, but I can mine the mats on my own time.
Yeah, missing the deadline sucks, and probably will impact Blizz’s bottom line, but as for obsessive planners like me, this gives us a little more time.
Doh! just saw eonyix’s forum post. I guess they’re gonna make a 1.13 patch with things like the new honor system, so i’m still screwed on that front.
Hell, the new Honour system was the only reason to get the expansion anyways.
I guess my party is still on!
Deep down I’m not upset because I’ve got the wii on preorder and I won’t be so torn with which one to play hah.