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World of Warcraft Auction House App Detailed

And it has a...subscription fee?


 Yep.
 Yep. "Per 30 days." This is a subscription-based iPhone app.
Blizzard is currently letting World of Warcraft players test the new Auction House app for the PC, Mac, and iPhone. Revealed earlier this year, the Auction House app is a program, outside of the proper WoW game, which allows players to interact with the auction houses on their server.
 
The most interesting thing about the app (and by interesting, I mean completely crazy) is its payment structure. Using the free version of the Auction House app gives WoW subscribers basic functionality, including the ability to check the auction house outside of the game, browse their current and recent auction purchases and sales, and receive notices when their auctions have sold or expired. However, if you pay for the full app, you'll be able to buy and sell items on the auction house, as well as create auctions from items in your bag or bank account and collect gold from those purchases, all from your browser or Apple developed phone.  
 
And that full functionality can be yours for the low, low price of $3. A month. That's right: An additional $3 subscription on top of the $15 dollars you're already spending on WoW each month. 
 
Who on earth would purchase this? Who in the world would pay a monthly fee to access non-gameplay portions of a video game? How could Blizzard be crazy enough to ask consumers to pay more money so they can more effectively make and manage fake money?!
 
I can't deal with this. I'm leaving this news story. Let's all leave this news story together. Let's show Blizzard that we're not going to support this nonsense.
 
...Okay, I think they've gone. The non-WoW players have gone to another page. We're in the clear. We can talk freely now.
 
Oh MAN! Mobile Auction House! How awesome is that, WoW players? I mean, okay, not really useful for me right now, because they removed the cooldown for my tailoring and I don't really need to be spending so much time farming eternal fire like I used to (and why would you not be farming eternal fire? You specialized tailoring into not-spellfire? Good luck with that, chumps). But, heck, even if I can use my phone to pick up frost wyrm pots before my guild tries to take down heroic Saurfang, that alone would be totally worth it! $3? Done. Fine. Every month. No question. How else am I going to get enough change to buy a Tome of Cold Weather Flight for my alts?
 


 
But you don't need to take my word for it. Go check out the app on Blizzard's site, or check the armory app for the iPhone. The auction house service is currently free right now, but it is only accessible to users who have characters on a select number of realms. Get on it! It looks...oh shoot! The non-WoWers are coming back! We'll pick this up later. Meet me at ICC. I'll bring the fish feasts.  


 The differences between the free and paid versions of the Auction House app.
 The differences between the free and paid versions of the Auction House app.

111 Comments

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mattbodega

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Edited By mattbodega

 Yep.
 Yep. "Per 30 days." This is a subscription-based iPhone app.
Blizzard is currently letting World of Warcraft players test the new Auction House app for the PC, Mac, and iPhone. Revealed earlier this year, the Auction House app is a program, outside of the proper WoW game, which allows players to interact with the auction houses on their server.
 
The most interesting thing about the app (and by interesting, I mean completely crazy) is its payment structure. Using the free version of the Auction House app gives WoW subscribers basic functionality, including the ability to check the auction house outside of the game, browse their current and recent auction purchases and sales, and receive notices when their auctions have sold or expired. However, if you pay for the full app, you'll be able to buy and sell items on the auction house, as well as create auctions from items in your bag or bank account and collect gold from those purchases, all from your browser or Apple developed phone.  
 
And that full functionality can be yours for the low, low price of $3. A month. That's right: An additional $3 subscription on top of the $15 dollars you're already spending on WoW each month. 
 
Who on earth would purchase this? Who in the world would pay a monthly fee to access non-gameplay portions of a video game? How could Blizzard be crazy enough to ask consumers to pay more money so they can more effectively make and manage fake money?!
 
I can't deal with this. I'm leaving this news story. Let's all leave this news story together. Let's show Blizzard that we're not going to support this nonsense.
 
...Okay, I think they've gone. The non-WoW players have gone to another page. We're in the clear. We can talk freely now.
 
Oh MAN! Mobile Auction House! How awesome is that, WoW players? I mean, okay, not really useful for me right now, because they removed the cooldown for my tailoring and I don't really need to be spending so much time farming eternal fire like I used to (and why would you not be farming eternal fire? You specialized tailoring into not-spellfire? Good luck with that, chumps). But, heck, even if I can use my phone to pick up frost wyrm pots before my guild tries to take down heroic Saurfang, that alone would be totally worth it! $3? Done. Fine. Every month. No question. How else am I going to get enough change to buy a Tome of Cold Weather Flight for my alts?
 


 
But you don't need to take my word for it. Go check out the app on Blizzard's site, or check the armory app for the iPhone. The auction house service is currently free right now, but it is only accessible to users who have characters on a select number of realms. Get on it! It looks...oh shoot! The non-WoWers are coming back! We'll pick this up later. Meet me at ICC. I'll bring the fish feasts.  


 The differences between the free and paid versions of the Auction House app.
 The differences between the free and paid versions of the Auction House app.
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ZombiePie

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Edited By ZombiePie

Well there's an app for everything...

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Shinri

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Edited By Shinri
@empire_man said:
" j "
wow nice man! nice input!
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NoXious

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Edited By NoXious

Matt Kessler? Did I miss something?

EDIT: And after a bunch of douches ruined the Inscription market on my server by flooding the basic glyphs, I just don't Auction House anymore.
Earned my 10k gold and do not intend to spend it on useless crap, gimmick mounts are useless as I am a Druid and my Flight form is superior...
My paladin has Faction mounts that are specific to his class or fit it perfectly (Argent Charger / Hippogryph) so in the end gold has no use for me but material cost.

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Hitchenson

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Edited By Hitchenson

It's an awesome idea, but it's one that should be included for the already existing subscription fee.

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weegieanawrench

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Edited By weegieanawrench

That is fucked up. On the other hand, Blizzard found a way to keep their loyal customers connected at all times.

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dbz1995

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Edited By dbz1995
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Kallim

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Edited By Kallim

but.... why would you pay for something that would take you 2 min to do with your wow client on your pc xD

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carlthenimrod

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Edited By carlthenimrod

$3 a month for that is absurd. That comes out to $36 a year which is basically the same as a year of XBL Gold.

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solidlife

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Edited By solidlife

No thanks. ill do it in game

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Jimbo

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Edited By Jimbo

WoW Remote Auction House will be the second most-played game on Giant Bomb, mark my words.
 
(Matt Kessler is MattBodega - yes it took me a while to figure out too)

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PlasmaMachine

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Edited By PlasmaMachine

Does it surprise anyone anymore? If the same World of Warcraft fanatics can spend $25 USD on a mount, clearly they'll spend an extra $3 USD a month on an Auction House app.

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OllyOxenFree

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Edited By OllyOxenFree
  lol at WoW players who will pay for this.
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Kahoona

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Edited By Kahoona

What benefits does the normal subscription fee come with these days?

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Tasus

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Edited By Tasus

I'm interested

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Codeacious

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Edited By Codeacious

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat... 
 
Well, I guess if people pay for it... =\

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fwylo

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Edited By fwylo

They talked about this a while ago and it sounded awesome.
 
It's pretty awesome.  If I wasn't just a casual WoW player and I would buy it for sure.
 
I feel like this might mess up the economy now though on some servers.  You are going to have people owning the auction house.  If you have enough gold you can just BUY everything that goes up.  Then re-list it at a higher price so you make money off of it.  Some servers are going to have people that run the AH.

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fishmicmuffin

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Edited By fishmicmuffin

The fact that people will actually pay for this is what surprises me. Blizzard wouldn't make it if they didn't think there was money to be made.

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cap123

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Edited By cap123

great article :)
 
but i would never pay for this in a million years if i still played WoW

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Darghan

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Edited By Darghan

The community has been asking for this forever. 

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fwylo

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Edited By fwylo
@carlthenimrod:  That's like 24 dollars less than XBL Gold...  That means WoW mobile AH is like %60 percent of the cost of XBL.  Aka not close.
 
Unless they lowered the price and I didn't know about it?  I renewed like 2 weeks ago though so I doubt it.
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bcjohnnie

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Edited By bcjohnnie

Wow... I didn't know much about Matt.... when I clicked on that link and scrolled through that seemingly endless list of WoW achievements I felt like Shelley Duvall in Shining when she is flipping through Jack Nicholson's "novel" just to see the same thing written over and over again on each page....
 
I never got that into WoW, and I'm a little scared by all of this.

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vager

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Edited By vager

All I did in WoW was crafting and playing the Auction House game until I quite a few weeks ago. This makes me excited but, I don't know if I want to go back playing WoW right away again.

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MordeaniisChaos

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Edited By MordeaniisChaos
@fwylo said:
" @carlthenimrod:  That's like 24 dollars less than XBL Gold...  That means WoW mobile AH is like %60 percent of the cost of XBL.  Aka not close. Unless they lowered the price and I didn't know about it?  I renewed like 2 weeks ago though so I doubt it. "
Well it seems like every two seconds they've been given like 3-6 months out for like crazy low prices, but I dunno. 
Also, I hope they don't get bitched out too much, I think it's pretty reasonable to charge monthly for that, especially considering the work it probably took to be able to do that. The only question is, will they allow you to also do it on PC for the same fee??? Say your at a friends, or at work, and can't access WoW? That would make the value unquestionable, and it's already pretty decent.
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ZmillA

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Edited By ZmillA

at least it looks like a quality product

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Bigandtasty

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Edited By Bigandtasty

$3-a-month subscription fees? That sounds...bad. A $10-20 flat fee sounds more reasonable. Hell, a $40 flat fee sounds more reasonable.
 
@fwylo said:

" @carlthenimrod:  That's like 24 dollars less than XBL Gold...  That means WoW mobile AH is like %60 percent of the cost of XBL.  Aka not close. Unless they lowered the price and I didn't know about it?  I renewed like 2 weeks ago though so I doubt it. "
 
XBL Gold (at least in the U.S.) is $50 for every 12 months. Additionally, one can often find 12 month cards for $35 or so, especially on Amazon.
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notsonic

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Edited By notsonic

so glad i quit wow.  

ever since the activision merger it seems blizzard only sees dollar signs anymore.  
 
the drop in quality from burning crusade to wrath, cataclysm being just a rehash, starcraft 2 coming in multiple parts, and now this?  
 
cant wait for call of duty: modern warcraft.

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InsanePotato

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Edited By InsanePotato

Getting taken squarely from behind by Blizzard: There's an app for that.

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Kinarion

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Edited By Kinarion

I'm so impressed by this.  And by that I mean completely shocked that I didn't see it coming.  I let out an audible "No..." when I saw this was going to have a subscription fee.  
 
So ballsy, so brilliant, so Activision-Blizzard.

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Kazona

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Edited By Kazona

Anyone that actually pays a subscription for this should be committed for life.

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noremnants

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Edited By noremnants

Nobody is making you buy this. Don't like it, fine then don't subscribe to it.

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TheAdmin

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Edited By TheAdmin

I'm not going to pretend I don't play WoW... I don't right now - but will be back for cataclysm. 
 
I would never pay for this - I would think about using the free version - but I wouldnt wouldn't pay to do this outside the game. 

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BionicMonster

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Edited By BionicMonster

there are some players that once they hit 80 they just play the auction house until they're ludicrously, virtually, rich.

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Mezmero

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Edited By Mezmero

Whoever you are who wrote this story, you are crazy.  Still, pretty interesting stuff.  As someone who doesn't own an iPhone nor a WoW subscription (never again), I could care less, but I appreciate the info.

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Innovacious

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Edited By Innovacious

 Who in the world would pay a monthly fee to access non-gameplay portions of a video game

Non-gameplay? There are people who spend most of their time "playing" the AH. Just like people who spend all their time buying low and seeling high on eBay, it happens in WoW aswell. I know this sort of thing is what alot of people have wanted for a long time. I wont be paying for this but TBH, its not alot of money. Since the Internet has got popular people seem to think charging extra for convenience is wrong, but i still do for many things.

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JamesKond

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Edited By JamesKond

I wonder if you can sell stuff from your bag without paying the regular WoW sub but only the app sub, that would be some crazy economics/gold farming shit ;D

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zaglis

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Edited By zaglis

This is how much Activision Blizzard cares about its fans. Extra 3$ a month.

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Xeiphyer

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Edited By Xeiphyer

I don't like or play WoW, but this seems pretty cool. Anyone who has ever gotten addicted to an MMO knows that even when you can't be playing, you are browsing websites and forums about the game, so this will sell very well.
 
I gotta say though, $3 a month is pretty insane. It will still sell insanely because people are addicted, but its highway robbery.

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Burns098356GX

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Edited By Burns098356GX

Blizzard is a money making machine. I still won't buy it though.

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carlthenimrod

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Edited By carlthenimrod
@fwylo said:
" @carlthenimrod:  That's like 24 dollars less than XBL Gold...  That means WoW mobile AH is like %60 percent of the cost of XBL.  Aka not close. Unless they lowered the price and I didn't know about it?  I renewed like 2 weeks ago though so I doubt it. "
You over-payed sir. Currently it costs $35 on Amazon for a year.
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fwylo

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Edited By fwylo
@carlthenimrod: Damn it. I live in Canada so that might be an issue.
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Evilsbane

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Edited By Evilsbane

I would stick my head in a bucket of vipers before I spent 3 bucks a month for this shit. I like WoW just fine (Don't play it but it is a good game) but this is just sad.

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JoelTGM

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Edited By JoelTGM

There's something wrong with you if you pay money every month to be able to buy and sell virtual items for virtual money.

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JoelTGM

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MikkaQ

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Edited By MikkaQ

3$ a month for auction house or some pizza.... 
 
 
Pizza.

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liako21

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Edited By liako21
@DOUBLESHOCK said:
" @daggity1 said:

WHAT.  That's so pathetic, how can gamers be this stupid.  140k people waiting hours and hours to be able to purchase a virtual item, and for 10-20 bucks!  Come on.  "
 
Virtual crack cocaine!!! Its crazy personally
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Hilbert

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Edited By Hilbert

Better not show this to my sis, she'll freak out.
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Edited By RIDEBIRD

First I was like, AWESOME, and only 3 bucks!! Was gonna buy it. 
 
But yeah. 3 dollars a month? That's just fucking stupid, what the hell.. No way I'll pay for that, pointless. 
 
Regarding Celestial Steed, that's an ugly ass horse.

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Luck3ySe7en

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Edited By Luck3ySe7en

I think Blizz would be better off just charging a flat 5 or 6 bucks for the full app instead of adding another subscription to their subscription based game. If its true that most wow players are the casual type, they are going to lose out on that sale and limit themselves to the addicts.... well shit, lets face it, most people who play are addicts. Hell, cataclysm might bring me back.