Hardware isn’t the only thing that gets severe price reductions when Black Friday rolls around, as many gaming companies have been known for making attractive sales for their users just as well. Valve are perhaps the best known for this, as they seem to be running a sale every other week, and this Black Friday was no exception. Blizzard also decided to join the party this year, announcing great discounts for all of their titles at their official store.
“Diablo 3” and its expansion “Reaper of Souls” have been cut in half, each available for $20. Considering the total amount of content, and the improvements the expansion made over the original, $40 is a great price for the full package, especially with the ongoing support the game has been receiving.
Fans of “Starcraft” who don’t own the second game also got an attractive offer, as “Wings of Liberty” and “Heart of the Swarm” were reduced to $10. Last but not least, “World of Warcraft” saw a significant price reduction with a 75% discount, meaning gamers could get in the game for just $5, which buys not just the base game but all expansions as well – minus “Warlords of Draenor”.
Blizzard didn’t use to be so active in discounting their games, but the success of Valve with their constant promotions seems to be affecting all companies in the industry. EA, another studio known for charging perpetually high prices, have also started to make the occasional discount, although fans have been commenting that the company still has a long way to go until it reaches the level of quality that Valve have demonstrated.
Blizzard have several releases lined up for next year – the next installment in the “Starcraft 2” trilogy, “Legacy of the Void”, as well as “Overwatch”, an entirely new IP. The latter game has been in the headlines recently, as people have been pointing out the similarities with Valve’s “Team Fortress 2”. It’s expected to be a combination between TF2’s fast-paced shooter gameplay and a MOBA like “Dota”. The pricing model is not known yet, although it’s possible that the game will follow in the footsteps of TF2 and be offered for free.
The online community for “Diablo 3” has been going strong, especially with the game’s recent updates which addressed some of its major outstanding issues. The recent sale should help things even further, and it’s expected that player numbers will increase significantly in the coming days or even weeks. Whether the trend will continue depends mostly on how Blizzard are going to handle the game’s future updates, but so far they’ve shown a determination to support it in the long run.