WoW: Activision and Blizzard merger (Preface Article)

So now that it's in stone... the dust has settled a little and we're getting an idea of what the Activision Blizzard landscape will look like, what changes may come and how will it impact the game?

Well firstly, anyone who tells you everything is fine and nothing will change is a liar. That or they've never studied corporate mergers. You always say everything is fine, everything makes sense in the merger/acquisition, nothing will change, and worrying is for wimps.

In reality, everything changes, people leave, people are fired, resources (often a VERY large amount) are expended on merging departments and groups rather than working on company business and products/production, and worse. As for morale... well during a merger or acquisition often the topic is better addressed by the phrase "What's morale?"

I found an excellent Gamasutra article on the merger that we'll use as the foundation for a few posts here. If you'd like to familiarize yourself with the article head on over there and check it out (CLICK HERE TO VIEW LINKED ARTICLE).

The next few articles will address the executive quotes/comments individually. We'll give you a heads-up as to what's b.s. and what may be true. Stay tuned!

WoW: BlizzCon Blues

If you're like me you could not get tickets to BlizzCon, then come grab a seat and have a steaming hot cup of 'misery loves company'. 

Blizzard's sale of tickets and the failing of their website to do just that are one of the company's most epic fails ever. This year BlizzCon could just drop the prefix Blizz and leave it at Con. Because that's what they've done to their fans and subscribers.

To say you did not know there would be a lot of traffic or that you don't have experience in selling tickets to a large event like this... well that might make sense if you were Funcom (points at today's Funcom story). However, if you're Blizzard then your excuses are limited to non-existent.

Now, a buddy of mine pointed out there were still a few handfuls of tickets here and there being released off and on. However, this doesn't really impress me and at this point I'm so annoyed with Blizzard that I could care less about going.

Originally, I was going to meet up with some friends who play the game and make a whole event out of it. When the DE-BACK-LE ('debacle' for those of you who haven't seen Trekies) occurred it left some of us with tickets, others without and the plans we all made dashed to hell.

I'd like to take a few moments now to flip the bird to Blizzard's e-commerce team and say that deeply and truly I hope you were all fired.