#0 - July 7, 2010, 10:13 p.m.
I've played your games for a very, very long time. I'm one of those kids who can remember playing The Lost Vikings over at his friends house and who drooled when your first WC3 screenshots were released.
I am, without a doubt, a fanboy. I love your games and honestly, I have always held your company in very high esteem.
The point of this thread is this: I want to believe that you (the Blizzard crew) are still dedicated to making great video games and have a love for what you have created. I would like to still think that you, even under new, detached, and greedy leadership, are still striving to improve upon what I think is the best video game ever made as well as release great new titles.
And you know why I can still believe that? Because when I was barely out of my teens, I went on a 16 day road-trip with my best friend. On that road-trip, in addition to the many adventures we had, I met quite a few of my WoW friends whom I had never met before. This was, in fact, one of the greatest experiences of my life so far and it really came to be because of the friends I had met while playing your game.
I can still believe this, despite all the new and disturbing news, because when my 10 man raid group downed Yogg-Saron, I got to hear 8 close friends of mine (plus me and my girlfriend) cheer as loud as they could over vent. Because after weeks of me cursing at them and walking away from the computer frustrated, we had finally downed him as a team.
So the whole point of this thread is to tell you this: I fell in love with the world you have created. I love the friends I have met while playing your game. I want to believe you understand that this is what an MMO is meant to be. It's meant to be a social game, where teamwork and friendship pays off.
It's NOT Habbo Hotel. It's not Facebook 2.0. It's one of the best video games ever made.
Do you know why I'll keep playing, even though I vehemently disagree with the majority of what I can only assume are Robert Kotick's (or his minion's) decisions designed to milk the player base for all they're worth? Because getting to spend several hours with my friends every week is probably worth more than $15 a month (please don't tell that to Bobby).
So, I will be disappointed in decisions that I believe you also don't agree with (dear god I hope I'm right) but I will keep playing your game so long as my friends remain and nothing concerning game-play is butchered as much as you may very well be doing to your forums as we speak.
This, Blizzard, is a reminder that you have made a social video game, not a social networking tool.
Edit
lol spend not send
also, I didn't need a social network to meet these friends. I met them playing your game.
