Re: can same boxed game be used on several machines?

In article <Xns97B581738BAEBscratchmonkey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
ScratchMonkey <ScratchMonkey.blacklist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Nabuu <Nabuu@*YOUR-PANTS*ManyFriends.com> wrote in news:Nabuu-
16926F.08023730042006@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

It's bad enough that nobody reads the manual, but to not even GET a
manual...

Put it in an Acrobat file. Those who want a printed copy can kill their own
tree for it. Some games (and also non-game software) do this now.

Plus, to sell serial #s online, they'd have to offer the software
online, and it's ever-changing and a huge download.

Also, WoW is still a top-selling game. It'd be very channel-unfriendly
to take away from that, too much. Maybe after it falls out of the
top-50, they'll offer something like that.

I'd considered that, but Blizzard *does* sell it online. Go to
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/ and click the "Order Now" button at top
right.

Right. And they sell it for full retail price, and you have to wait for
the box to arrive in the mail. Hence, their level of competing with the
channel is fairly minimal.

For Blizz to do something like discount, or make it instant-download, or
anything like that, which would up their % of the market, would hurt the
channel. Like it or not, the sales channel is a major portion of their
sales, and they probably don't want to take the hit.

....although, really -- you're right that the times are a-changin', and
you can expect to see more & more of this sort of thing.

It's just that Blizz set things up differently at the start, and are now
semi-stuck with that way. They can make changes, but those changes
can't be too drastic. They've got the #1 selling game, over a year
after it was released -- you don't *** with that, just to give a few
people multi-gigabyte downloadable access.

Valve is successfully selling games completely online.

"Successfully" compared to...?

Blizz would lose a lot of sales going on-line only. Going too-much
on-line will piss off the channel, which will also cost them sales.

Hurrah for Valve, and all that -- but it's just not a good business
decision, at this time, for WoW. Maybe in the not too distant future,
though...

--
Nabuu, Tauren druid on Dethecus.
Also (rarely):
Chum, Gnome warlock, Bronzebeard
Tost, Dwarven rogue, Bronzebeard
Meadow, Night elf priest, Bronzebeard
Harmany, Undead mage, Dethecus
<http://www.ManyFriends.com/WoW/PhotoAlbum/>
Aka "Misc" -- If you don't remove your pants, I won't get your email.
.

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