Well up until now the new content was free. But I guess BC will have a lot more stuff than the sum total of all the prior patches?
 

they've got the resources, and now with a more stable infrastructure and well tuned processes and pipeline Blizz should produce stuff of TBC expansion (or near to it) every year. They already have a franchise from the RTS. I bet they want to know deepen the lore and expand the virtual space of the game in order to broaden the franchise appeal. Sort of what Mythic did with all of their expansions. I don't think it will just be upping the cap every year. I bet it will be also new territories, new epic quest cycles, and new tasks to enable stuff like character customization to happen. They've got a lot of resources and a big palette of ideas to deepen WoW with.
 

I think that Blizz has had the resources for an expansion for quite some time, but opted to wait since they have had a monopoly on the market since shortly after release. With a handful of MMORPGS coming out within the next year, Blizz knows that they are going to have their hands full trying to keep players shelling out the 15 bucks per month when the only content they are offering via patches are new uber raid scenarios. I think that Blizzard devs and execs are privy to information on the new list of MMO's that will be released, and have concluded that their reign may now be in jeopordy so pumping out new content is the best thing to keep people playing World of Warcraft. I could be wrong, and games like Vanguard, Warhammer Online, and Age of Conan could all just be flops waiting to happen, but I for one am excited to see what 2007 will offer in terms of new games and I hope you all are too. :)
 

I want new classes! And more character slots for them! :(
 

I agree with Wolfgang. A lot of people, me included, have seemed bored with WOW this spring and summer. I would have left in a heart beat if it were possible to play Age of Conan or Warhammer right now. At the moment, other developers are playing catchup compared to Blizzard, but by next summer (hopefully, XMas 2007 at the latest) there ought to be a couple of next gen, big budget games with good franchises. I think next year is when we see the first game that has been programed with WOW in mind, hopefully taking some of the great things they have done with the solo game and improving on WOW in general.
Blizzard, knowing that competition will get stiff next year, needs to get its players thinking that great new things are just over the horizon. If BC comes out this Christmas, I foresee a situation from January or February 2007 on where Blizzard promises its players all sorts of great things that will be in the new expansion. And said new expansion will have a level cap jump, so you better play now and get your characters to 70 so they can partake in the new content of expansion '07.

My other concern is that, from my complete outsiders perspective, BC doesn't really appear to be nearly as ready as it should be if it is to ship in quarter 4. I could be wrong, but my inclination right now is to get out of WOW for about a month or so following the expansion, because I think it is going to be incomplete or have major problems. Let other people pay $15 to put up with that for a month, I'll play something else.
 

Looks like we'll be having Christmas gifts every year then. I want more features though. Better and the best. CAn't wait to have one.