The End
When I started playing WoW two and a half years ago I never thought I would be playing this long. Historically I played a game for a few months and then quit. One of the reasons I keep playing the game is because of the helpful nature of a lot of my fellow players. The relatively open nature of the game was another one. When people say why should (insert add-on developer name here) make any money off their idea or their hard work it makes me sick. When blizzard says that people can’t even ask for a donation in game it pisses me off. Whether I pay a developer for something that make my enjoyment of the game go up is my decision. This game was developed by a group that had a good idea and put time into developing it. The scale may be different but it is the same idea. Innovation and hard work should ALWAYS be rewarded. The free loaders that say an add-on should always be free should take a look at the world. This has nothing to do with blizzard trying to make the game better or trying to protect its user base. It is all about them trying to make more money. I understand they are a business and that is what they do but, to strong arm the little guys does is just evil. Anyone who has written code in almost any form knows that writing it is not just picking up a microphone and telling the computer to route me a path that efficiently accomplishes 25 tasks with 3 or more steps each in the proper order. Nor is it clicking five times on your screen to add another pane to your character frame that has all available equipment grouped into meaningful sets. I have written code it does not work like that. A company that has a history of absorbing the work of dozens of authors without even acknowledging them should start with an “M”. Some add-ons are simple others are complex which is actually irrelevant to their value. Their value is solely defined by what can be obtained by someone for giving it to another. I value my time. I am sure that most people value their own time. If this program saves you 1 minute of time every time you use it does the person who wrote it not deserve anything? What if it saves you an hour every day? I think those people who say that it is blizzard’s game and they deserve every dime that is made from are just plain silly. 26 months x $15 = $390 + $20 for the original game + $20 for BC + $70 for WotLK CE = $500. I am one of 11 million users plus. If I am average then that means they have made $5.5 billion. Wait they didn’t write lua or C+. They didn’t invent dwarves or elves or mages or warriors. They didn’t create an operating system or invent microprocessors. Should they receive money for what they have done? Yes they should, they innovated. They put together a group of things in a way that no one else did or no one else marketed the way they did. But, if they are so greedy as to say some other developer can not innovate in a way that involves their program then I am done with them. They have gotten their last dollar from me. I like their game but, I refuse to let them have anymore of my money.
