Shiny Things

We're going to step away from the Capital Wasteland for a moment, and talk about another game.

World of Warcraft.

Now, I'll admit straight up I am biased against this or any other pay-by-the-month game.

I have to pay by the month to play, and I still get fucked out of the full $50 for the game? No thanks.

I've tried playing it three times now, and never made it all the way through the trial periods. Why? The game is boring from one end to the other. It's the same five quests over and over and over and over and over and fucking over again. Level thirty is just like level one, except that everything costs a hundred times as much.

And always, there are the legions of whiny piss-ant n00bs begging for money or power leveling.

I've long known there was something wrong with avid WoW players. Raiding for ph4t l3wtz six days a week aside, they all seem to have a... genetic problem. Ancestors of mine referred to it as "one in the woodpile", but I prefer to be less racist and imply that they instead have Magpie blood in them. Because hey, I seen plenty of white people who dress in ways that a New Orleans pimp would find gaudy and tasteless.

Then, they started with the 'vanity pets'. Items you buy that do nothing. There a parrots and cats and other such shit. Have no combat ability, grant no skill buffs, it's just decoration.

I thought the community's stupidity had topped out with the 'flying mount' nonsense, awhile back... but it seems they've reached a new low.

I've been seeing references here and there the last couple days to a glittery mount being sold for the game.

Tonight, I saw a link, and finally knew the true horror of what's going down in Azeroth.

http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100000942

I had assumed that the mount would be "bought" as others are - using game money.

Nope. $25USD. Nearly the same cost as a full expansion pack.

For a partially translucent sparkly pony with wings.

I don't even pity you people anymore. This has gone beyond sad, and is just pathetic.

Congrats to Blizz, though. Someone finally managed to steal the title of "biggest video game related waste of money ever". The title was, of course, formerly held by Bethesda for their 'horse armor' DLC for Oblivion.

I'm sure it'll make 'em another ten million bucks, and probably lure in a hundred thousand more players.

I'll ask it again: aren't we overdue for a nice plague? People used to get turned to pillars of salt for less, for fuck's sake.