I finished World of WarCraft a couple of years ago. The end boss wasn’t too bad, you just had to remove your credit card info and wait a month, then you beat the game.
There were numerous reasons why I left. The core audience just wasn’t anything I was willing to put up with. The main reason was that I was just not willing to put in the extra forty hours a week to keep up with my friends, the people I would have wanted to play with.
I recall that when I was playing, it was difficult to get up level 60. It was an event. I mean, you got there and you took screenshots and opened a bottle of champagne because you earned it.
Now, not so much. Especially with the pyramid scheme they have going on.
Free mount with convincing your friend to join for two months. Free levels for every two levels your friend earns. Triple experience points when you and your friend quest together. This is of course, for very loose definitions of the word, “friend” as you are basically getting them to play an MMO with you. (It’s called World of WarCrack for a reason.)
I recall a time when I had to beg, borrow and steal gold from people in order to buy my mount at 40. Now they’re giving them away. Sure, it’s two expansions later, and honestly, an entirely different game. Some of this may be sour grapes, and I admit that. My highest character was a level 50 rogue, and I just could not find the extra time to grind my way to 60.
However, I find the idea of rewarding other players for recruitment both brilliant and repugnant. It’s a company out to make money, and this is a great way to bring players into a game that has already reached market saturation.
One can argue that there is no ethical dilemma at all, and there’s nothing wrong with this “game feature.”
Either way, an interesting and possibly controversial way to market an MMO.