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Slashdot has a link to the article. The WoW database site Wowhead has been sold to Affinity Media for $1 Million US.
Hint: Affinity Media = IGE, a major gold-selling site that already owns Thottbot and Allakhazam.
In totally unrelated news, that has no bearing on this whatsoever, I'll soon be starting a Lurker Lounge WoW database. Please contribute!*
-Bolty
*contributing to this database in no way qualifies you for any potential share of profits in the future. All your posts are belong to Bolty.
Quote:Considering the mods here are generally liberals who seem to have a soft spot for fascism and white supremacy (despite them saying otherwise), me being perma-banned at some point is probably not out of the question.
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I think I speak for a lot of us on this matter: @#$(*
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That's funny, a notice earlier this week on Wowhead when the rumors started flying stated that their new owners weren't related to IGE in any way.
Slashdot has got it wrong. Here's Wowhead's own press release. And here's a better news story from Gamasutra.
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I have no reason to trust a press release, and every reason not to. Not that it might contain outright lies, but that some words can be interpreted to mean different things, and corporate holdings are not exactly clear. The Gamasutra article only included quotes from those with plenty of interest in keeping up appearances, and can't be trusted. I remain skeptical. There are 2 sides to the debate, and no trustworthy sources.
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06-26-2007, 09:24 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-26-2007, 09:28 PM by q4m.)
This is really a bummer. I use wowhead almost exclusively. Wowhead is fast, concise, and a pleasure to use. I hope it doesn't turn into a pile of crap like ala
![[Image: 398611nxqZf.png]](http://wow.tachyonsix.com.nyud.net:8080/armory/sig.php/398611nxqZf.png)
![[Image: 398692clWcy.png]](http://wow.tachyonsix.com.nyud.net:8080/armory/sig.php/398692clWcy.png)
-=Terenas=-
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Tacita - 70 mage
-=Stormrage=-
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Raylyn - 21 Human Pries
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Quote:Slashdot has a link to the article. The WoW database site Wowhead has been sold to Affinity Media for $1 Million US.
Hint: Affinity Media = IGE, a major gold-selling site that already owns Thottbot and Allakhazam.
In totally unrelated news, that has no bearing on this whatsoever, I'll soon be starting a Lurker Lounge WoW database. Please contribute!*
-Bolty
*contributing to this database in no way qualifies you for any potential share of profits in the future. All your posts are belong to Bolty.
I'm going to kill the President!
*Calls FBI, "Hey, found a post that belongs to this Bolty guy that says he's going to kill the President!"
:rolleyes:
~Frag
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Eh... Not that I like the idea of Wowhead being affilliated with IGE, but what's the big deal? As long as they don't change the way things are run (which I don't see any reason for doing), Wowhead will remain my favorite item database.
Earthen Ring-EU:
Taelas -- 60 Human Protection Warrior; Shaleen -- 52 Human Retribution Paladin; Raethal -- 51 Worgen Guardian Druid; Szar -- 50 Human Fire Mage; Caethan -- 60 Human Blood Death Knight; Danee -- 41 Human Outlaw Rogue; Ainsleigh -- 52 Dark Iron Dwarf Fury Warrior; Mihena -- 44 Void Elf Affliction Warlock; Chiyan -- 41 Pandaren Brewmaster Monk; Threkk -- 40 Orc Fury Warrior; Alliera -- 41 Night Elf Havoc Demon Hunter;
Darkmoon Faire-EU:
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Quote:Eh... Not that I like the idea of Wowhead being affilliated with IGE, but what's the big deal? As long as they don't change the way things are run (which I don't see any reason for doing), Wowhead will remain my favorite item database.
The "big deal" to me is the amount of money the site got sold for.
Reminds me of the numerous offers I got from companies who wanted to buy this site when it was at D2's heyday. I never had a number attached to any such offers, but it makes a guy wonder. :-)
-Bolty
Quote:Considering the mods here are generally liberals who seem to have a soft spot for fascism and white supremacy (despite them saying otherwise), me being perma-banned at some point is probably not out of the question.
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Quote:Eh... Not that I like the idea of Wowhead being affilliated with IGE, but what's the big deal? As long as they don't change the way things are run (which I don't see any reason for doing), Wowhead will remain my favorite item database.
Database sites are always partially a 'community resource'. Though a small team may build and maintain the site, they are only able to collect the enough data to be relevant through the participation of many people (call them 'contributors') running the client software and making submissions. Still others (call them 'users') give the site traffic, comments, and word-of-mouth recommendation. Think about it as a park where locals volunteer to maintain the grounds, but anyone can visit.
When a community resource is sold, people get antsy:
1. Contributors see nothing from their efforts--This could be particularly galling depending on how you read comments like this from the purchaser of WoWhead:
Quote:How much did you sell for?
Mystadio: Enough so that we can do fun stuff but not enough that we can stop working. We plan to be in this space for a long time as both consumers and entrepreneurs.
John: I wish I had built Wowhead.
2. Contributors had no say in who bought Wowhead--Some folks might not begrudge Wowhead their payday, they just want their efforts to only support what they find ethical.
3. Users want to know who they're dealing with--Some folks came to Wowhead as a reaction to the ownership of Thott and Allakhazam. Wowhead was an "independent" site that wasn't owned by "The Man".
4. It's the internet and everyone loves a good scandal!
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Quote:4. It's the internet and everyone loves a good scandal!
Reminds me a bit about when Microsoft bought Bungie. It's not really related, but hey, blame my mind!
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Quote:I have no reason to trust a press release, and every reason not to. Not that it might contain outright lies, but that some words can be interpreted to mean different things, and corporate holdings are not exactly clear. The Gamasutra article only included quotes from those with plenty of interest in keeping up appearances, and can't be trusted. I remain skeptical. There are 2 sides to the debate, and no trustworthy sources.
Didn't you sell to a bunch of gold sellers?
Tim: Nope, and that would have been a deal killer. The ZAM guys are an independent content business, and they don't promote RMT (Real Money Trade). Period. You will never see gold ads on Wowhead or their other ZAM sites. We made sure that was true before proceeding.
What is the deal with Affinity Media? Why all the secrecy?
John: Affinity Media is a privately held company with gaming assets that operate independently. This includes the ZAM Network. The reason we are not more forthcoming in what the company owns and does it there are a lot of moving pieces. At one point, the company owned IGE but it was sold this spring. It was a private transaction so we can't reveal details. As head of the content network, I was thrilled we sold.
Seems pretty straightforward to me. I am unable to extrapolate any meaning that says "We're now owned by IGE."
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06-27-2007, 02:52 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-27-2007, 02:52 PM by lemekim.)
Quote:Slashdot has a link to the article. The WoW database site Wowhead has been sold to Affinity Media for $1 Million US.
Hint: Affinity Media = IGE, a major gold-selling site that already owns Thottbot and Allakhazam.
In totally unrelated news, that has no bearing on this whatsoever, I'll soon be starting a Lurker Lounge WoW database. Please contribute!*
-Bolty
*contributing to this database in no way qualifies you for any potential share of profits in the future. All your posts are belong to Bolty.
Funny that you mention starting your own site... Because that's exactly what WorldofWar.net did on the very day that it was announced that Wowhead was bought out:
http://wow.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=399111
Wowdigger? Golddigger is more like it, right? ;)
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*sigh*
The problem is the source, not the words.
Quote:At one point, the company owned IGE but it was sold this spring.
The words are pretty straight forward, as you said. This means it was sold to a separate company/corporation. Of course, it could also mean that that separate company/corporation is 75% owned by the same people that own Affinity Media. So yes, completely different legal companies, but with board members that are board members at both companies, have mutual interest if no real legal ties between the two companies. Same people, different names on various companies. This could be true, but they would have many reasons not to say this. I have no idea if any of that is true, and I don't care to do any research. My point is simply that I don't trust what they say, because the possibility exists that it is true, and if true, they reason to not disclose. Press releases are just corporate spin, and can't be trusted. They're all carefully worded to not contain any lies and to only present the most flattering slices of truth, and therefore, can't be trusted to tell much of the whole story. That was the whole point of my post. There is still lots of wiggle room in what they have said.
They're not lying when they said they sold, but selling doesn't actually mean much, unless you're willing to take their words at face value. When it comes to corporations/private business, taking their words at face value and expecting them to paint a clear picture of the truth, seems pretty naive to me. I am, by nature and by experience, very jaded and distrusting, especially of business entities, but at this point I doubt I need to point that out.
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Wowdigger's layout is clearly heavily influenced (to put it flatteringly) by wowhead. Definitely not ready for prime time, though, in my opinion. Common drops from Karazhan, if searched for by full name, do not yield hits. At best, the structure is there and sound, but the actual data is incomplete. I toyed around on it yesterday while wowhead was down, since I consider wowhead to be a superior resource to any of the other resource sites that I'm familiar with.
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Quote:Funny that you mention starting your own site... Because that's exactly what WorldofWar.net did on the very day that it was announced that Wowhead was bought out:
http://wow.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=399111
Wowdigger? Golddigger is more like it, right? ;)
You're being rather unreasonable here. They might have chosen to make the announcement due to the acquisition, but they must have been beta testing for a couple of months, at least. Making the announcement on the day of the acquisition is just good sense; they're offering an alternative that is not affiliated with IGE in any way, which is what some people will want.
Earthen Ring-EU:
Taelas -- 60 Human Protection Warrior; Shaleen -- 52 Human Retribution Paladin; Raethal -- 51 Worgen Guardian Druid; Szar -- 50 Human Fire Mage; Caethan -- 60 Human Blood Death Knight; Danee -- 41 Human Outlaw Rogue; Ainsleigh -- 52 Dark Iron Dwarf Fury Warrior; Mihena -- 44 Void Elf Affliction Warlock; Chiyan -- 41 Pandaren Brewmaster Monk; Threkk -- 40 Orc Fury Warrior; Alliera -- 41 Night Elf Havoc Demon Hunter;
Darkmoon Faire-EU:
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Quote:You're being rather unreasonable here. They might have chosen to make the announcement due to the acquisition, but they must have been beta testing for a couple of months, at least. Making the announcement on the day of the acquisition is just good sense; they're offering an alternative that is not affiliated with IGE in any way, which is what some people will want.
It sure doesn't look to me like it was beta tested for several months. From what I remember about the management of that network, they are not exactly making this site for the benefit of the WoW players. They saw an opportunity to make money, and they jumped at it, that's what businesses do. I stand by my pun.
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That's your prerogative.
Earthen Ring-EU:
Taelas -- 60 Human Protection Warrior; Shaleen -- 52 Human Retribution Paladin; Raethal -- 51 Worgen Guardian Druid; Szar -- 50 Human Fire Mage; Caethan -- 60 Human Blood Death Knight; Danee -- 41 Human Outlaw Rogue; Ainsleigh -- 52 Dark Iron Dwarf Fury Warrior; Mihena -- 44 Void Elf Affliction Warlock; Chiyan -- 41 Pandaren Brewmaster Monk; Threkk -- 40 Orc Fury Warrior; Alliera -- 41 Night Elf Havoc Demon Hunter;
Darkmoon Faire-EU:
Sieon -- 45 Blood Elf Retribution Paladin; Kuaryo -- 51 Pandaren Brewmaster Monk
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