It was posted that the charity event was a success. I question that. Professor GreyRose posted this message;
Wizard101 players showed their strength as a community in benefiting two worthy organizations – Austin Children’s Shelter and Child’s Play. From Dec. 14 to Jan. 5, players were able to purchase an in-game riding mount, the “Meowmodon”, for approximately red5 with all proceeds from the sales going to the two charities. The red26,000 raised by Wizard101 players will be evenly distributed between the charities. The endeavor was the first for the award-winning, magic-themed massively multiplayer online (MMO) game.
Wizard101 selected the two beneficiaries – Austin Children’s Shelter and Child’s Play – to support the local Austin community as well as the global gaming community. Austin Children’s Shelter provides emergency shelter and care for abused and neglected children, and Child’s Play is a game industry charity dedicated to providing games and toys to children in hospitals worldwide.
“Wizard101 fans have shown that there truly is strength in numbers,” said Elie Akilian, CEO of KingsIsle Entertainment. “We were thrilled to see the Wizard101 community band together to benefit these two great organizations.”
What I would like to know is this;
If indeed KI was looking to raise money for a charity, why take a mount that it had in inventory and downgrade it? Would it not have been more appealing and worthwhile to have actually increased its stats instead thereby making it more appealing and more sought after which would have generated more money thereby for the charities? Allowing in game money as well as crowns for this mount would have been a better idea as well, given that in game gold would have caused a new record of players to be playing and "farming" for such a mount as well as purchasing selfsame mount with what all are allowed. However, then KI would have had to have matched the gold to crown conversion with at least half what the mount would have been bought with crowns but they seem reluctant to do that. After the mounts were purchased, what happens then?
Several things actually. First KI gets public recognition for a charity donation. They in turn get a boost in interest in their game. They also get a hefty tax write off which does the company well. So KI has a win win situation. Who then gets the down side? The subscribing players do. Not the crown players nor the free players but the ones who pay monthly to put up with the abuse. KI still has issues with report button activity and the vulgarity in the commons of all worlds increases. That's both verbal AND visual. Yet that seems to get a deaf ear. KI has a chance to be the best game ever yet they seem to let every opportunity pass them by to create a better game.
New worlds keep getting pushed back, leaving wizards wondering if there will ever be a new world to come or will we all be limited to whats here. Problems in the arena rise as pvp becomes more of a joke than ever. Ranked matches are won by low level wizards who can't do anything but gold card their way through and would be lost to even think on their own skills that they would learn in time. Gold Card Commandos and Bolt Babies run amok in what was once a place to actually pit your skills against another school and an opponent that actually thought and was not program and pixels.
Beggars line the streets asking for anything from treasure cards to mounts and there are still those who look to make a quick "buck" off of unsuspecting children who do not know that codes do not work. Yet its all okay by KI standards. Marriages go on in game and dating is not even funny any more. What with the constant "Who needs a girlfriend/boyfriend?" being spammed from one end of the spiral to the next and the amusement is wearing fast.
In game moderation is supposedly done by KI employees yet in the year and a half we have played, I have yet to see any of them. We started about a week after the game went live. To date, I have never nor do I believe I will ever see an employee of KI in game. Nor do I believe that the report button will work past the splash screen that says thank you for reporting. So whats the use? I have started to question that myself.
When will the paying subscribers. The ones that actually sustain KI get the benefits that we deserve? Being able to go to the only locations allowed by KI to sell our wears and actually make changes to them are centrally located in WC. The self same location most of the problems dwell. Its not all free players doing it either. Some know that when reported nothing will come of it anyway so what do they have to worry about? When KI will you actually start doing something about these issues and when will the people who came to love this game get what they so rightfully deserve? Do I expect this to make the post? No, KI will probably ban it yet again but the issues still remain. They will NOT go away KI till YOU take action. Quit hiding behind buttons that do not work and fix the problems you let grow out of hand.
