'World of Warcraft' Virtual Horse Nets $2 Million in Just Four Hours

by Caleb Johnson on April 17, 2010 at 11:00 AM

According to 1UP.com, a new virtual horse generated about $2 million in sales within four hours of being made available to 'World of Warcraft' users at the Blizzard Pet Store.

By Thursday at 6:30 p.m. EST, according to WoW.com, nearly 140,000 nerds had purchased a 'Celestial Steed' (which costs $25 and offers no extra abilities) like it was going out of style. So what would make a person purchase a virtual horse that's "freshly born from the Twisting Nether?" Well, it could be the ability to "travel in style astride wings of pure elemental stardust." Or, maybe, these ~~people~~ dudes don't have anything better to buy from the confines of their video game lair (i.e. Mom's basement) -- aside from Cheetos and Mountain Dew, that is.

We know 'WoW' is fairly addictive, to say the least. But we had no clue it created an army of mindless mouse-clicking zombies that are hellbent on purchasing whatever add-on Blizzard releases -- no matter how useless. [From: 1UP.com and Wow.com]

Tags: blizzard, mmorpg, top, VideoGames, viral, Web, world-of-warcraft, wow

Comments

NickoApr 17th 2010 1:31PM

Neutral

For your information, there is a wide diversity of people who play WoW, not just your stereotypical "nerd." Doctors play it, firemen play it, army men play it, women play it, so on so forth. Furthermore, I know plenty (including myself) who think that buying from the online store is rather ridiculous. Please don't stereotype us.

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PonTelonApr 17th 2010 2:21PM

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Calling you out on your blatant sexism and stereotyping. Plenty of successful people play WoW, and the last stat I saw on the playerbase indicated that there are actually more female players than male. Stereotypes such as these(that gamers are losers and all male) immediately shut down communication about a really interesting story about the profitability of virtual goods. Games such as Second Life exist as a way for freelance designers to be able to make a living on virtual goods, and this article could have been an extension of that idea when the virtual goods are created and sold by the actual game company, for more than their monthly fee.

Really, I'm disappointed that you guys ran to insulting and stereotyping on a story that could have brought some really interesting discussion about our online culture.

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ChadApr 17th 2010 2:57PM

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Another ignoramus posting about something he knows nothing about.

Bigoted and prejudiced people like this journalist just goes to show the weakness and worthlessness of (most, and especially free) online journalism.

This person should be fired. He is an embarrassment.

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anonanonApr 17th 2010 3:04PM

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LULZ - just LULZ, to all you baddies who read this article and got upset by it's implied stereotypes and sexism.

let me try and explain this to you as best i can so you dont feed the trolls any more...

IT WAS INTENTIONAL! they wrote what the wrote on pupose to piss you off and illicit a response from you thus AFRIRMING/PROVING their point.

And chances are - if you werent smart enough to figure this out on your own, or at the VERY least you dont spend enough time lurking on the internet to recognize this article as a troll - PLEASE gtfo of my interwebz before your tiny little heads explode!

Also, it is an epic Mount, i bought one for my fiance's account. she loves it. i also loved this article. it's spot on. keep up the good work.

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PonTelonApr 17th 2010 3:17PM

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"IT WAS INTENTIONAL! they wrote what the wrote on pupose to piss you off and illicit a response from you thus AFRIRMING/PROVING their point. "

Calling out sexism and bigotry on a professional Blog proves that everyone who plays WoW is a dude in his mother's basement? ...your logic does not follow.

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anonanonApr 17th 2010 3:55PM

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lol - YOU cried/called out sexism/bigotry.

the point is if you are too stupid to read someting and realize what it states is falacies - (or that the very least that the authors are BLATANTLY using stereotypes to report on something as TRIVIAL as a fictitious mount in a VIDEO GAME - they CROSSED OUT PEOPLE, and inserted dudes - really? you didnt get that?) you probably shouldnt be allowed to read... or express your own opinion... but please! continue to whine more - your tears feed the trolls - and dont bother doing something more useful with your time - such as attempting to help those still suffering in haiti - i bet THEY wouldnt care right now if they were just some dude in his parents basement playing WoW - but i dont think they've quite got cable and power running to all those shanties... too bad - theyre really missing out on some EPIC MOUNT action!

OBVIOUSLY not everyone who plays WoW is a dude in his moms basement - i'm not - nor am i offended by the general steretypes of mmorpgs. why? i am not an idiot and posess common sense. which apparently these days qualifies you as a g damn super hero.

U mad bro?

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EdexApr 17th 2010 3:09PM

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olololol i sense so much butthurts

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hello ascaApr 17th 2010 5:30PM

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umm if i played WoW id pass on this as it is nothing more than eye candy seemingly. id stick with a steed i could get in game

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strider_mt2kApr 18th 2010 7:38AM

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Wow, Cheetos and Mt. Dew reference.

Do you work for Microsoft?
Because with that level of hip they could use you for their "Kin" rollout.

You know, what with you being so "hip" and "connected".

Seriously, lose the stereotypes and grab, if unsuccessfully, for a clue.

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mrsantovalentinoApr 18th 2010 10:38AM

Neutral

haha nerds

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GreyFox.meApr 30th 2010 2:45PM

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It's weird that the article makes the assumption that it is nerdy men that bought this. My sexist assumption is that it is women in their 30s that were the main purchaser here. :p

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AlphacideMay 8th 2010 12:15AM

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You call wow players nerds, AND use the "moms basement" thing!? I've never met a 30 yr old who lives in their moms basement while playing wow. Most the people that play it have full time jobs making 6 times as much as this poster. Seriously. If you confine yourself to unrealistic stereotypes with no backup evidence. You are far below anyone living in their mothers basement. Grow a pair, and be original. Tool.

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