Where's the money in WoW?

April 29th 2009 at 23:19, 20 Comments,

I think anyone with a calculator and a couple of brain cells firing in the right directions can conclude that World of Warcraft is a billion dollar business. Whats less obvious (and perhaps more interesting) is how the whole eco-system around WoW is doing. We've got millions and millions of players deeply engaged in the same activity – in most cases this means a serious opportunity for smaller businesses to earn a living feeding off the larger phenomenon.

Its actually surprising to me how little money there appears to be here.

The e-sport PvP part is negligible, and I just don't see it taking off with the current spectator and game possibilities. Sponsor money is riding on pure hype at the moment, and it won't get easier in the current marketplace.

Community portals are dime-a-dozen, with sites like MMO-Champion, World of Raids, Wowinsider, Curse and now Ensidia leading the charge. So are any of these portals making real money? Strongly doubt it. Despite an incredibly focused audience, the banner/adsense market really isn't what it was 5 years ago, and if either of these sites cover more than just the basic costs with advertising, let alone any kind of proper salary, I'll be genuinely surprised. If you've got the arab millions behind you, I guess everything is possible – but community-portals isn't making anyone rich.

My own theory was that paid add-ons would take off in a big way – but Blizzard effectively shut this down a couple of weeks ago.

What do you think? Is the WoW eco-system in a financial shithole? Would you invest in dingblog.com, mmo-champion.com or similar sites? Is there a successful business model? Where is the money in WoW?

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To be continued :)

Comments

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Marilyn
April 30th 2009 at 01:11 - Quote - Report
Best post I've ever read here on dingblog. Hm, I had a few beers tonight and I wont post my FULL post in this comment. I'll leave that to the first thing I do tomorrow morning.
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Favre
April 30th 2009 at 05:22 - Quote - Report
Nice post Brian, and good to see you are doing well in Ulduar. Give Dalby/Gaystar/Whateverthefuck he is called now a jab to the ribs and let him know I need a decent Holy Paladin for hard modes. I look forward to reading with interest your future blogs.
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Ignition
April 30th 2009 at 10:39 - Quote - Report
Hey Fav, long time no see! I'd tell you I miss ya, but I wouldn't want to give you the satisfaction ;)
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Dalby
April 30th 2009 at 11:05 - Quote - Report
Not for sale Favre! NOT FOR SALE! Make Rythalor spec holy I hear he is da shizzle :D
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Ignition
April 30th 2009 at 13:52 - Quote - Report
Idea for a WoW business: Guild headhunting? ;) Where's the transfer sums in WoW and why should it be any different from soccer! We await your initial offer, Favre.
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Favre
April 30th 2009 at 14:47 - Quote - Report
Its Dalby, you should be paying me.
But  a packet of salt & vinegar, two kitkats and a chunk of my ego should cover it. Rythalor is not with us anymore. I see you have Zohar now on his hunter, fella /w me the other day to ask me some advice.
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Marilyn
April 30th 2009 at 14:54 - Quote - Report
Ok I promised my full response, here goes. The gaming business on the internet is in it's early stages of development. Sites that you speak of arent making good money, reason for that is pretty simple. These sites use adsense / ad networks such as tradedoubler as their main part of their income, some sponsor deals with DELL or Intel perhaps. Their Income Revenue models are old, it worked well 5 years ago. Internet is in a state of change and sites need to adapt to this, and evolve. I can pretty much with full certenty say that Ensidia, or mmo-champion dont even have a Business model plan or strategy to penetrate the market. I can however, assure you that dingblog has, I really hope you will be around for v2 to witness what we are creating!
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Marilyn
April 30th 2009 at 14:55 - Quote - Report
certainty*
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Ignition
April 30th 2009 at 16:11 - Quote - Report
Its good to hear that this is on your mind Marilyn, if you plan to base your income on the site :) I've thought for long that ad-support is a dead fish – and it didn't get any better by everyone doing it. I see business plans today that have advertising as their main income model and I feel like shouting in their face. The math is just not there, not even in napkin form. I'm a big fan of making a product or service that people actually pay for because they feel it adds value. Warcraftmovies.com is one of the few living examples of that (I've been a premium member there for years now). I've got a post on sponsorships coming up, but suffice to say its not positive. I am however looking forward to see how dingblog will pan out as a business case :)
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Marilyn
May 1st 2009 at 03:56 - Quote - Report
You are an intelligent man my friend! I reckon we should speak more often than over eachothers comments, so let me know and we'll discuss further on msn!

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Ignition
May 1st 2009 at 16:22 - Quote - Report
I'm generally on msn@interworks.dk if you need something.
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Exade
May 2nd 2009 at 04:50 - Quote - Report
Very enjoyable read. You make very solid points and it's a real pleasure to read through this kind of post. Keep them coming.
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Ninquelen
May 3rd 2009 at 16:24 - Quote - Report
I'd invest in dingblog! Save me some stocks Marilyn, I'll be the first in line ^^
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Ninquelen
May 3rd 2009 at 16:26 - Quote - Report
And most importantly: Very interesting read Ignition =) I enjoyed it a lot!
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Sigy
May 5th 2009 at 07:30 - Quote - Report
An intelligent man he might be, but he's still confused about the mechanics of Brutallus :)
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Marilyn
May 5th 2009 at 13:03 - Quote - Report
lol
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Ignition
May 5th 2009 at 18:49 - Quote - Report
Sigy... just focus on your 6 adds bokay?
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Sigy
May 6th 2009 at 11:53 - Quote - Report
You have until tomorrow to unveil your repair bot, gogo Igni
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Beefheart
May 8th 2009 at 10:51 - Quote - Report
Good post mate very well thought out. I don't think advertising made that much money even 3 years ago, as people are far more wary of clicking random site links now. The more time goes on the more aware the customer base becomes about the mechanics of the advertising machine, which as we can see has severely curtailed its effectiveness. Wow subscriptions will always make blizz money, but for the scavengers feeding on the scraps it's every man for himself hence goldselling sites buying up allakhazam and thottbot. In answer to your question there is no money there unless it is illegal, immoral or underhanded. Same old story really :)
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Beefheart
May 8th 2009 at 10:56 - Quote - Report
Sorry for the necro , apologies for the wall of text in the previous comment. Don't know how I missed this post before. Oh btw if you implement the Guild paid transfer system, can I sell some of my Guild without them knowing it please :)

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