Diablo III Free with Annual WoW Subscription

[Concillian]

That really is, and it might even get me to re-up WoW via an annual pass assuming the annual pass is $120 or so (i.e. averages out to around $10 a month, instead of the $15 a single month is now). Take the $60 for Diablo III off and that is a year of WoW for $5 a month which is right around what I feel it is worth at this stage.

The cheapest way to do a year of game time is $77.xx each 6 months. So it'd be around $156 minus the $60 for Diablo III, or $96 for a year (~$8 / mo).

They don't have any kind of separate billing for the annual pass, you just commit that you will keep your subscription for a year.

For people who would be playing WoW anyway until Diablo III will come out, it's $5 a month for them. There's ~ 4 months until Diablo III is out (~$60 in subs), then $60 for the game, so $120 anyway and you're getting 8 months for <$40 or something, so around $5 for 8 months while you have both games.

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There's going to be a WoW expansion within the next year??

It has to be. The Deathwing patch will be out before the year's done, probably before Thanksgiving. They have to be targeting Summer at the latest.

Perhaps what they're really doing is trying to keep people on WoW long enough that they feel obligated to buy the next expansion.

Pandaria has to be coming between when Diablo III is released and the end of the year obligation. Yes, this must be what they're aiming for. getting people who would quit with Diablo III to stay on WoW long enough to buy Mists of Pandaria before they quit WoW.