Correction: After listening to the conference call recording, Michael Morhaime did in fact attribute the 11.1 million subscribers to the end of Q2 only, so I heard it wrong. The Q3 meeting should be very interesting now and after the "F2P" WOW Starter pack I'm curious if they'll be reworking their Subscriber definition.

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Michael Morhaime adjusted their total subscriber levels to 11.4 to 11.1 million during yesterday's financial call. I've noticed that many people are, for some reason, saying that it only dipped to 11.1 for that quarter alone but it's higher now.

In actuality, Morhaime was reporting the 11.1 million subscribers as it stands right now (August 3 2011). It's not just subscribers for the second quarter 2011 ending June 30th, it's at this present moment.

This means that almost a month after the Cataclysm launch in China (July 12 2011), and over a month after the 4.2 content launch and simultaneous WoW Starter Edition launch (June 29 2011), they have still lost a considerable number of players.

The first month of a launch is when the largest number of players join too, and if you remember China made up about 50% of World of Warcraft's worldwide subscribers.

Something to think about.

I think there needs to be expansions into new territory and countries due to the growing boredom being experienced in existing regions. It's mostly the novelty wearing off too, and the "boredom" is typical of every game after a certain period of time. That seems to be one of their new strategies to increase subscribership.. but I wonder which countries are still left.

Robert Bridenbecker, VP of Blizzard Online Technologies had an interview with MTV where he described his surprise surrounding fans reactions to Diablo 3's online requirements. [LINK]

One of revelations that got the most attention was the fact that both the beta and the final version of "Diablo 3" would require a constant internet connection to play.

Does this remind you of the plot to "Wag the Dog"?

While everyone is really upset over another more important issue (RMT), Blizzard is diverting everyones attention to more minor concerns (Online Connection).

They didn't even mention RMT in the interview.

This either means that Blizzard is NOT surprised at all over the negative fan reaction to the new RMT system. Or, they're simply trying to change the subject and tell fans what they're "really" mad about. :)

Transferred from paxdora.blogspot.com [LINK]
Original Post Date: 8/3/11

Looks like they posted their 2nd Quarter results about 15 minutes earlier than the call. [LINK]

That's probably how a lot of websites release call information while it's still ongoing.. they just read ahead to all of the future announcements. :)

It looks identical to last quarter's release information.. everything is the exact same "Better than expected results.." and bragging about Black Ops, Cataclysm and Starcraft 2.

I wasn't even paying attention, but apparently Cataclysm launched in China on July 12th. There's nothing much else of interest in the company outlook, so I'm hoping something interesting might be mentioned on the call. I really hope it won't just be about the new Diablo 3 details that have already been released.

There's also another note; "Since Blizzard Entertainment has not confirmed a launch date for its next global release, the company's calendar year outlook at this time does not include a new game from Blizzard in 2011." Time will tell.

* They also claimed that Skylanders will be as big as Pokemon.

* There's worry about Starcraft 2, they're not making as much money as expected hence the new Starcraft 2 Starter Edition.

* Subscriptions have dropped again, they're now at 11.1 million subscribers worldwide which is back at what they were in 2008.

* Good comment on the new RMT Auction House; Mike Morhaime stated that their players WANTED THE FEATURE which is why they're doing it.

* They're working hard to ship Diablo 3 by the end of the year, but they're not making any commitments.

* They will be expanding World of Warcraft into new countries, but they're not allowed to say which yet. Michael Morhaime said; "There are other countries that we're looking at beyond these as well, but I don't have anything that I can talk about."