Collector's Edition Pets, or "Is It Wrong to Want Blizzard Dead?"

It's not like we don't have enough trouble with pets when the cutest things you can get are cats, rabbits, and prairie dogs. We don't need Blizzard to screw us even more.

[Yes, prairie dogs are third in cuteness of what I've seen so far, and they're not that cute. But of course, this list doesn't include the Children's Week turtle. Adorable. (We'll get to him May 7-14, which is Children's Week.)]

No, they're saving the REALLY cute pets for people who shell out more money than everyone else. "You were obsessive enough to pay us gads of money for the exact same product," says Blizzard, "so here's a little consolation prize. We're sorry we screwed you. . . . Well, okay, not that sorry."

See, my problem isn't that collector's edition people get little extras, like uber-cute pets. It's that us ordinary folk DON'T get really cute pets. They don't even have to be as cute as the C.E. pets, as long as we just get something that's cuter than what we have now. Like maybe a sheep. I would definitely buy a sheep. It's no sleepy baby panda or baby murloc, but I do like sheep.

"They may occasionally burst into dance, complete with top hat and cane, in an amusing tribute to the character Michigan J. Frog." (WoWWiki)

I would maim and kill to be able to get Thesden one of these. He has a thing about murlocs. Unfortunately for Non-European folks, Lurky only exists because Blizzard gimped up and made it really hard for the EU buyers to get the REAL pet that was supposed to come with the Burning Crusade Collector's Edition, the Netherwhelp. So EU buyers get two. Doesn't that really really really suck?

"Unlike the pets from the Collector's Edition of World of Warcraft, the Netherwhelp's Collar item is attached and sent to all your characters, present and future, in the mail as soon as you upgrade your account." (WoWWiki)

The most important line in this is "Unlike the pets from the [original Warcraft] Collector's Edition." In the collector's edition of the base game, only ONE of your characters can get ONE of the pets available. And that is your first character. Period. So if you end up making a character you hate, you can't ever ever ever change it.

Also, Collector's Editions are limited.

I would pay real money to buy a single pet that I really like for myself or a friend. Seriously, I would. But I am NOT going to run around trying to find an out-of-stock collector's edition on Ebay that may or may not be usable. That's idiotic. Plus, you'd be stuck with all those annoying extras, like an art book. Nobody wants art books. Really, Blizzard, nobody. Do you hear me? So give us buy-able electronic pets and let us give you money that way. It will be cheaper for us and more lucrative for you.

But what REALLY makes this personal is that I thought until . . . well, tonight . . . that the Netherwhelp was a rare-drop dragon whelpling. And I had planned for ages to get one when I was high enough level (because I figured they'd be crazy hard to get). And it's just a huge let-down, you know?

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Below are original C.E. pets that would cost $100+, because people are selling the out-of-stock Collector's Editions for insane prices: Zergling, Mini-Diablo, and Panda Cub.


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I guess the purpose of this post is to taunt us all with what we can't have. And on that note, going to a Blizzcon gets you a baby murloc similar to Lurky, which means you would have had to fly to California or Korea at a time defined by Blizzard.

The codes for these went on Ebay starting at $300 the night of the California Blizzcon, and I have read that the codes are very long and all different from each other. You must turn in the first code to get a second code, which you give to an NPC in-game. Only one murloc can be acquired per code.

Murky (blue) / Gurky (pink)

It wouldn't bug me so much if it weren't an obvious marketing ploy that just succeeds in making people miserable. Really, they'd make more money selling electronic codes to special pets than they would selling the collector's editions. Do you know how much collector's editions go for on ebay? And do you really think people are buying them to get the art books? Please.