Tobold's Blog
Sunday, June 24, 2007
 
Wowhead sold for over $1 million

I never used the site much, but I was aware that besides Thottbot and Allakhazam there is a World of Warcraft database site named Wowhead. And the news is that they were bought by Affinity Media's ZAM Network. Affinity Media also owns, or did own, IGE, the world's biggest gold farming company. And according to some sources they paid over $1 million for Wowhead.

Of course that caused some huge discussion, especially the "gold farmers bought Wowhead" part, which they deny. Other worry that Affinity Media now owns all major WoW database sites, a monopoly situation. But whether you think that gold sellers are the devil or the salvation of WoW, does that really matter? Would you refuse 1 million dollars? I wouldn't. If IGE came tomorrow and offered me 1 million dollars for my blog, I'd sell it to them without hesitation. Having a successful website is a nice feeling, but having a million dollars in the bank is a lot nicer, and more future-proof. So I just say "grats" to the guys of Wowhead, and wish them the very best for the future.
Comments:
The problem here is that Wowhead is a community site, without the comments and data gathered by users the site is pretty much useless now that the Armory was improved.

Legally, they can sell it to whoever they want. Morally speaking, Houston, we have a problem.
 
You're an idiot caf.
 
Ah, happy anom comment. There is nothing better!
 
caf is right. Thott and Allahkhazam both stagnated after their buyouts, which is what opened the door for Wowhead in the first place.

Blizzard is trying to undercut them all with the Armory. Now if only it were designed for performance rather than the slow behemoth that it is.
 
...Money makes the world go around... Even virtual money it seems... ;)p
 
wouldnt the search engines still live on in terms of having quest data?

sure its a small thing but it may still have some sort of staying power...me thinks...
 
i think whatever happens people will still use these sites in large amounts. i am very pleased with the setup and style of wowhead and even if it is owned by goldsellers (simplification but doesnt matter) then that does not bother me, as i still wont buy gold

paul
 
WoWhead is by far the best WoW resource out there, simple to use and the filters make the site a dream to use.

The maps are fantastic, listing all NPC's and pointing out all quest givers too.

I just wish LotRo had something like this.

The only thing that concerns me is the client that is used to mine the data... I don't run it myself but you should always question the information it collects and how it uses the information.
 
Here's what I don't understand. Why doesn't the next develop just say to hell with it and off all crucial game info - in an easy to navigate database - on their official site.

If a player run site has the info - make sure the official site has the same exact info, as well.

That would solve the problem.

Oh, and agree - that previous anon comment was obviously written by a 9 year old, but let's not start bashing anon posters because of it.

Most of us are just as nice as the registered members.
 
Most of us are just as nice as the registered members.

You don't need to register to sign your comments with some sort of name, just select the "other" button under "choose an identity". While I agree that many anonymous posters are as nice as registered users, you will also have to admit that most of the "you're an idiot" comments are written anonymously. It is in your own interest to sign posts with some sort of nickname, just to not get confused with the few anonymous trolls.

Here's what I don't understand. Why doesn't the next develop just say to hell with it and off all crucial game info - in an easy to navigate database - on their official site.

I'd go one step further and integrate the information into the game. It would be a lot more cool if you could ask NPCs for directions to some landmark, or a sage for the location of a mythical sword.
 
I'd go one step further and integrate the information into the game. It would be a lot more cool if you could ask NPCs for directions to some landmark, or a sage for the location of a mythical sword.

This is an excellent idea, Tobold. I would really like to have this feature in any game.
 
Sure, as long as I don't have to travel to get the information. Otherwise I would rather use Thottbot or whatever is available. :)
 
Turbine actually has a LOTRO wiki and is putting all that information out there.

But yeah, if games simply didn't have the stupid "find this npc in the middle of nowhere" type quests that alone would be an improvement. Does someone actually think that's fun?
 
@yunk: yes, there is nothing worse than not knowing where your quest objective is.
The recent midsummer fire festival quests in WoW are a case in point.
'Go to Dire Maul/Scholo/Strat and check that the fire is still alight'.
Might help if I knew where exactly to go in those places.
A similar thing happens when you share a quest with someone;
eg 'once you have collected 10 spirit shards, return to Biggle Fizzlewit'. Um, seeing as how I never heard of the guy until someone shared the quest with me, how am I supposed to know where he lives?
 
Afte reading: http://www.techsoapbox.com/hot-off-the-presses-wowhead-sold-for-over-1-million/ I had never given much thought to the fact that even without buying gold, I'm still supporting RMT with my web traffic.

The question is, would I rather support RMT in a passive way, or become an Armory user? That's a tough call.
 
It would be a lot more cool if you could ask NPCs for directions to some landmark, or a sage for the location of a mythical sword.

The RPG Shadowrun on the Super Nintendo included this, and most single-player RPGs do, or at least those I played.

Each person you talked to would usually have a conversation menu where you could ask them about each of your quests, with responses from "Aar, Oi'm afraid Oi don't know nothin' about that," to "Aar, you be needin' to Kill 10 Rats for ol' Julian, eh? Well then, his barn is just over yon hill."
 
I like WoW Head and sites like it to help me with info about the game. I think if more sites like it were around they would not get so many pageviews and the Gold Farmers would not Dominate this area ( as in Quests and info about Questing).

1 Mil is allot and I wish them well.
 
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