CNN's Game Over column has a feature covering the mammoth success Blizzard have had with World of Warcraft, and tucked away near the end the company reiterate they have no current plans for a console version, despite console makers showing an interest:
"While there is an interest [from console makers] and while that sounds cool to us, we're not going down that road at this time," said [Blizzard's VP of business operations, Paul] Sams. "Once we get to the point where we feel we've achieved best of class and it's sustainable... then we'll start contemplating those types of things."
Back in June, it was rumoured that Microsoft had tried to snag WoW as a title for the Xbox 360, but Blizzard turned them down, citing the lack of keyboard and mouse as obstacles to successfully porting the game.The CNN feature also sheds some light on Blizzard's strategy (and eventual success) with regard to China.
With Warcraft III, the company tackled the widespread piracy in the country by releasing the game at a reduced price that was "within arms reach" of the price of a pirated copy:
"The idea was let's create a real market of authentic players and see if we can change the mindset," said Sams. "Let's see if we can change the mindset by showing we're willing to meet them partway."
The gamble worked. While there were still millions of pirated copies available, Blizzard sold 1 million authorized copies. More importantly, it established a larger brand awareness of the "Warcraft" name. When "World of Warcraft" (which is essentially pirate-proof, since players must log on to Blizzard servers and pay if they wish to play) went on sale, Chinese gamers bought it in droves. At present, there are more than 1.5 million paying players there.
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