I would happily buy2play Legacy WoW but NEVER subscribe

[melak]

...What makes WoW different relative to the cost of running? Nothing since its the same amount of players and staff or less since we're talking about vanilla not live....

That's a pretty big assumption. Neither you or I know what the actual cost is... but if you think about the steps involved in setting it up, the cost certainly isn't nothing. Even using Nostalrius as an example, there was a cost, and those guys were donating their time. Not to mention the level of polish that would need to come from blizzard would need to be higher (as good as Nost was.)
Also, those other games you mention have other ways of getting money. Classic WoW just isn't set up like league or similar games where you can buy hero packs, skins, etc. Unless you want to lock all the classes and races, character slots, etc behind a paywall that you can unlock them... NO THANKS.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=cost+of+wow+servers

"The server side of WoW consists of 20,000 computers, 1.3 petabytes of storage, 75,000 CPU cores, 5.5 million lines of code and 2 million words of text. The server upkeep costs $136,986 per day, the same as purchasing a sparkling new AUDI R8 every single day."

Keep in mind that's for 20,000 computers, not a single server for a small community that costs around $200 a month if you divide that price.

Nostalrius was running just fine for free, so why can't they reactivate it with our characters? Because Blizzard won't allow it, not because of the server fee's or technical limitations. But because they can't just let us play an old game for free, despite already making billions of dollars from it already. They're free to do what they want but they look more like walmart than a company that cares about its players.

That comparision is laughable at best. Nost was not created or ran its course in order to make money, Nost is not a company, Blizz is. And as nice as it would be to not pay a sub fee to play it, you just have to accept thats the most likely scenario. It would also mean it would have a greater lifespan. If Nost decided 6 months after launch that they did not want to continue put money and their own free time into it, they could just have closed shop, if you make money out of it, you can make a living out of it, see where im going with this? If you dont want to play if it will have a sub, just dont? ./Close thread?

[drabus]

Nostalrius was running just fine for free, so why can't they reactivate it with our characters? Because Blizzard won't allow it, not because of the server fee's or technical limitations.

Blizzard can't allow private servers to operate independently (which is what private servers are) without risking losing the intellectual property of their Vanilla Intellectual Property (IP). And this spans beyond the game, including using those places, characters, and themes in other mediums - such as books, movies, commercials, and similar business mediums. So they have to go through the motions to legally prove that they are defending that IP and it has not become "public domain". Once the IP is ruled to be public domain, other individuals and companies can actually build derivative works and copyright those works...not a good place for a business to be.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain

However, it may be possible for Blizzard to reach a licensing agreement with Nostalrius to meet the need but to do so without losing their right to their IP. Who knows what the cost would be (if anything). It is also possible for Blizzard to setup their own servers for profit.

But let's not confuse Blizzard with being out to ruin the fun of all of the private server community like a villain in a movie, they are protecting their copyrights for not just the WoW game, but even for their upcoming movie and possibly even the current "live" version of the game since they use many of the same cities, characters, and themes that were introduced in Vanilla.

I'm not a Blizzard fan boy here - I want Vanilla/Legacy servers as much as anyone. But I AM a business man, and I have experience on how these things work for US businesses.

Just another $0.02.

[Forcerius]

Nostalrius was running just fine for free, so why can't they reactivate it with our characters? Because Blizzard won't allow it, not because of the server fee's or technical limitations.

Blizzard can't allow private servers to operate independently (which is what private servers are) without risking losing the intellectual property of their Vanilla Intellectual Property (IP). And this spans beyond the game, including using those places, characters, and themes in other mediums - such as books, movies, commercials, and similar business mediums. So they have to go through the motions to legally prove that they are defending that IP and it has not become "public domain". Once the IP is ruled to be public domain, other individuals and companies can actually build derivative works and copyright those works...not a good place for a business to be.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain

However, it may be possible for Blizzard to reach a licensing agreement with Nostalrius to meet the need but to do so without losing their right to their IP. Who knows what the cost would be (if anything). It is also possible for Blizzard to setup their own servers for profit.

But let's not confuse Blizzard with being out to ruin the fun of all of the private server community like a villain in a movie, they are protecting their copyrights for not just the WoW game, but even for their upcoming movie and possibly even the current "live" version of the game since they use many of the same cities, characters, and themes that were introduced in Vanilla.

I'm not a Blizzard fan boy here - I want Vanilla/Legacy servers as much as anyone. But I AM a business man, and I have experience on how these things work for US businesses.

Just another $0.02.

The IP argument is nullified for two reasons:

- Multiple private servers, even monetized ones, are still currently running.
- They could use their own server with all Nostalrius resources

Its about money. They refuse to let us play for free, despite the billions of dollars they've already made and continue to make, and the fact that they wouldn't lose money. Whether that's good or bad is based on multiple reasons and a matter of opinion, so you can decide.

But the strongest argument I have from my perspective for why it should be free to play is that I would make it free to play if I were CEO for multiple reasons like how much profit we make already and the fact that the server would cost nothing due to community funding. But isn't that the same as a sub? No, because its to cover server costs and pay the staff, but nothing more. Even though surplus is inevitable from people wanting to donate. Not to mention "vanilla revival" merchandise. That would be enough for me as a CEO, along with making the community happy by giving them something they deserve. Why can't Blizzard do that? I know a company has to grow but maybe they should hire better developers to improve their games instead of milking the udder raw.

[drabus]

The IP argument is nullified for two reasons:
- Multiple private servers, even monetized ones, are still currently running.
- They could use their own server with all Nostalrius resources

For the first point, in order to protect their IP, they need to demonstrate that they are "actively defending" their intellectual property through legal channels. They do not need to stop all forms of it, just prove that they are actively protecting their IP. And to do that against the largest private server should meet that requirement.

In regards to your second point, that could still be an option. We just don't know yet what is going to come from the Blizzard-Nostalrius meeting. I doubt it would still be free, but stay tuned.

...I would make it free to play if I were CEO for multiple reasons like how much profit we make already...

You make it sound like the CEO owns the company. Activision actually owns Blizzard. The CEO is hired by and reports to the Activision CEO or the Activision Board of Directors (BOD). (I'm not familiar with their corporate structure.) The BOD is elected annually by the Shareholders. The shareholders are interested in making money and thus hire a BOD with the expectation that the value of their shares is going to go up.

And that is why someone with your perspective would not be hired as CEO of a major corporation.

Its about money.

You are 100% correct about this point. It's ALL about the money. And therefore it is going to cost some money from the players to have a LASTING Vanilla/Legacy server experience. And I for one would be willing to pay a subscription to have lasting and stable vanilla/legacy server without threat of shutdown and having to restart somewhere else. Because I miss my WoW, and the current "live" game is not what I enjoy playing.

I know I won't be able to change your mind and we can agree to disagree. But from a businessman's perspective, I want to make sure that it's out there that this is all about business sense (and thus money) and not about squashing the dreams of Vanilla players. It's not personal, it's business.

I hope that Blizzard and Nostralius can find a workable business model that results in a lasting vanilla server. But I'm quite sure the word "free" will not be part of that model. Maybe they will surprise me, and I'll be happy to post a topic on the message board to say how wrong I am.

[Fixxxer27]

For the people not wanting to pay for legacy, please learn about business!! Blizz isn't going to pay hundreds of thousands of not into the millions to give us legacy and say "enjoy the gift". We will have to pay the sub fees.

I am totally ok with needing to keep the game "current" meaning having to buy legion and keeping my sub to get a chance to play legacy again. All blizzard would need to do is add a classic or legacy tab at the bottom of the realm selection screen once they get the code figured out. Keeping the game current means better support, better service, and better game play experience. 90% of the people that want legacy are in the same position as I am. This will also bring the community closer and may grow the community on retail servers that I/we that have stuck around have been missing for the last 6 1/2 years. I have been an active sub since 2005 with no breaks. I do not feel like blizz has done me any wrong by changing T H E I R game. They are doing what was best for their business at the time. Now, bringing legacy back will be best for business now, so it all makes sense to me.

Please don't kill the movement by saying it needs to be free or no way. When you do you become the cancer in the movement and will ensure that we will never see legacy servers. Thanks for your time and good luck to the Nost team with their meeting with blizz.

[Forcerius]

I just want Blizzard to be more like Tesla than Walmart with how they do business. Tesla is profitable but its not all about money.

I may be overly critical of them. They make good games that i've played for years. And their artists are talented to say the least. But I don't think its worth paying more for vanilla when everything is considered like how much i've already paid and played and my perceived value of the game compared to alternatives. Along with the benefits and losses that Blizzard has already gone through or will go through by releasing a server that mimics Nostalrius.

[drabus]

I just want Blizzard to be more like Tesla than Walmart with how they do business. Tesla is profitable but its not all about money.

That's a very good desire. Hopefully, the results of the Vanilla/Legacy movement will be something that is acceptable to the community as a whole, and not a blatant money-grab. No one wants that.

Let's hope it is something reasonable.

Cheers.

[gamerspt]

We're on the verge of getting Legacy Servers and people are complaining about a freaking Subscription Cost? Jeez....

[melak]

For the people not wanting to pay for legacy, please learn about business!! Blizz isn't going to pay hundreds of thousands of not into the millions to give us legacy and say "enjoy the gift". We will have to pay the sub fees.

I am totally ok with needing to keep the game "current" meaning having to buy legion and keeping my sub to get a chance to play legacy again. All blizzard would need to do is add a classic or legacy tab at the bottom of the realm selection screen once they get the code figured out. Keeping the game current means better support, better service, and better game play experience. 90% of the people that want legacy are in the same position as I am. This will also bring the community closer and may grow the community on retail servers that I/we that have stuck around have been missing for the last 6 1/2 years. I have been an active sub since 2005 with no breaks. I do not feel like blizz has done me any wrong by changing T H E I R game. They are doing what was best for their business at the time. Now, bringing legacy back will be best for business now, so it all makes sense to me.

Please don't kill the movement by saying it needs to be free or no way. When you do you become the cancer in the movement and will ensure that we will never see legacy servers. Thanks for your time and good luck to the Nost team with their meeting with blizz.

They would most likely have 2 seperate clients, it makes no sense to have 2 games in one (which you are refering to). But besides that, ignore this thread, OP just QQs about how it should be free because Nost ran it for free (for the players).

[orestes]

Agree with OP and from what I've discussed with friends who used to play oldschool WoW, they all share the same opinion. It's just stupid to pay a monthly fee for content that's 10+ years old. I would gladly pay for new content that's as good as vanilla or tbc, but we all know that's not going to happen cause Blizzard makes casual, mobile-tier games nowadays. So yeah, if you want to support their laziness and greed go for it. I'd rather wait for the next private server (Corecraft 2020 Kappa).