Those money grabbers over at Blizz HQ, what are they like? It’s all about the cash to them. Many an indignant gamer has complained about the financial decisions of this gaming giant as they are the ones so very in control of many fans’ most loved games.

It only requires a look at their business decisions of late to know that I’m right: Start with World of Warcraft, The monthly fee is an inevitable part of any MMO, so we cannot begrudge them of that, but the money goes into creating updates that the gamers are expecting, yet the same gamers who are paying these monthly fees have to pay for the expansion when its released. Secondly we have the announcement that Starcraft 2 will be split into three shipments, the latter two being expansions to the original with extra units and a continuation of the storyline. Then there is Diablo 3, is there any need for blizzard to make this game really?

The answer: No, actually, they don’t need to make this game, they don’t need to make Starcraft 2, they don’t even need to make a World of Warcraft expansion if they don’t want to. They are raking it in as it is! In actual fact, I believe Blizzard to be one of few games companies that relish in the fact that their ten year old games are still going strong, or at least a lot stronger than any other games of that period.

Yet still when I look at the many forums in the communities of Blizzard games, all I see are complaints. I wrote this article to hopefully address the 3 worst complaints, I hope I can speak for many like myself who often observe, but never find it worthwhile to comment lest our input be lost in a tsunami of outrage at something which the ‘Victim’ has very little justifiable anger for.

• “Blizzard only care about the money”
Blizzard have become a victim of their own success, with a massive money making enterprise such as World of Warcraft, how could they possibly please every single player? Myself, I hate the game, I played it up until The Burning Crusade, found the game to have lost its soul, and left. Yet I do not resent them for the single the fact that Blizzard have tried their best to meet the gamers needs. So if they only care about the money, why would they spend so much of it on new developments such as Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3? Quite honestly if you were to break down the average WoW players argument at Blizzard, it quite often is peppered with revealing cynicism and bitterness that has no justification, and therefore comes out in unsubstantiated comments on forums. To the WoW players: Blizzard does not owe you anything, and if they gave you this game for free, you would owe them an incredible amount, never forget that.

• “Blizzard do not release content fast enough”
Forgive me here, but who the hell do you think you are to expect them to use all their resources to painstakingly create new and elaborate encounters just to keep you busy? As if that wasn’t bad enough, these elitist players have the nerve to complain when Blizzard attempt to make this content more accessible to everyone, justifying their rage saying “these players aren’t good enough, therefore they don’t deserve to experience it”. You may be the worst skier in the world, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t entitled to enjoy the mountain if you pay for the holiday. Once again: Blizzard doesn’t have to respect the top tier raider, just because of their “skill” (Those inverted commas will never be large enough to encompass my dislike for the elitist attitude), they are the most expensive customers, they pay the same as everyone else, but they stretch Blizzards resources to the limit. Funnily enough, I respect the very very top level raiding guilds, as in... the top 5. There are momentary lapses, usually by a single member of the guilds in question, yet on the whole they maintain a respect for blizzard.

• “The game is imbalanced, Blizzard doesn’t care”
Bullshit. So they are taking longer than you hoped with that new Warcraft patch? Sorry to hear that, but if you prefer quicker updates, EA is probably the company for you, They just patched FIFA in October! It is ironic that all the forum posters that consider themselves an expert in their particular field of Blizzard gaming (be it “UD IS WEAK!” “MAGES GET OUTDPSED BY LOCKS!” or “SHAMANS SUX!”) are the ones whose narrow-mindedness has lasted so long it has given them the attention span of, well... it would be an insult to insects everywhere to make a comparison. Patching takes time, balancing is a laborious process. What good is it for Blizzard’s bank balance if their games are terrible?

I don’t expect this article to change your opinion, as with all sources, you're opinion shouldnt be based on one article you happened to read, however there are FAR too many gamers who either haven’t taken the time to consider another point of view or flat out just ignore it because they can't be bothered to think about it. Perhaps my arguments are far from perfect, but I consider those that I have deconstructed in this article to have more gaping holes in them. Hopefully if you initially agreed with the title of this article, you will have taken the time to consider carefully the meaning behind my words before dismissing them as invalid, as for those that share my views, Pass on your naivety and positivity to those who are in dire need of some, after all... Optimism won’t make you feel any better, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth it.