1. World of WarCraft
Group 2

2. Customer Segments

3. CUSTOMER ANALYSIS Young Technology-Savvy; Driven By Entertainment
Purchase Problems:
lack of steady income, quickly move on to next “hot” item.
Benefits Sought:
Entertainment, escape from day-to-day life.
Purchase History:
Continued subscription, returning if interrupted.
Characteristics:
Very comfortable with tech and virtual worlds, primarily a way to “pass the time”.
Use Situation:
In free time, somewhat heavy but continuous.
Young Technology-Savvy;
Driven By Entertainment
Growth Trends:
Was growing strong, slight dip this year.
Buying Behavior: Largely peer-influenced, affected by other releases.
Size:
8 million worldwide.

4. Competition segments

5. Less Direct Competition
COMPETITION SEGMENTS
MMORPG’s
Rift
Aoin
Entropia
Guild Wars
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Free MMORPG’s
RuneScape
Fiesta Online
Second Life
Evony
Battlestar Galactica
Direct Competition
Computer Games
Dead Space 2
Mass Effect 3
Dragon Age 2
Portal 2
RAGE
Internal Competition
(Blizzard Entertainment Products)
Diablo
StarCraft
Less Direct Competition
Alternative Entertainment
Movies/DVD
Board Games
Music/IPod/IPad
Television
Books/E-Reading
Telephone/Smartphones
Sports
Game Systems
Nintendo Wii
Sony Playstation 3
Microsoft XBOX 360
Nintendo DS
Sony PSP Go
Substitutes

6. Competition ANALYSIS Direct Competition: RIFT (Trion Worlds)
Position/Trends:
Innovation/MMO market changes daily.
Scope/Objectives:
Rift was created as an “improvement of existing MMO games”
Capabilities/Weaknesses:
-Strong Investors
-”Launched in Wow's Shadow”
Positioning Strategy:
Innovative (Just launched first high end graphics F2P)
Target Markets:
Rift is our “love letter” to the gamer who has followed the natural progression of MMO gaming
Direct Competition:
RIFT (Trion Worlds)
Unique Capabilities:
Several big name investors.
Competitive Advantage:
One of the first MMORPG with high end graphics that ran across several platforms.

7. Marketplace ANALYSIS Massive-Multiplayer Online Games
Growth Rate/Life Cycle
Actual/Potential Size
Participants/
Structure
Massive-Multiplayer Online Games
Trends/Success Factors
Cost/Profitability
Historical Background
An online game in which a large number of people play the game and simultaneously interact in a persistent world.

8. Environmental Trends
Increase in health focus on national scale, fighting obesity, increasing activity
Economic downturn
Technology innovations- hardware (graphics cards, processors, etc)
International conflict
Technology innovations- software (development of new games, more realistic virtual worlds)
Mass Prediction Technology
Cross Cultural Exposure
Increase in Tolerant Market
Gaming Industry Growth –20% annually
Increase in Security Concern
Aging of customers – ideal player age 16-34
Growth in social networking

9. Environmental analysis
Immediacy
Low
High
Increase Health Focus
Increase in Tolerant Market
Technology Innovations
Hardware
Software
Growth in Social Networking
Gaming Industry Growth
Security Concern
International Conflict
Cross Cultural Exposure
Mass Prediction Technology
Economic Downturn
Aging of Customers
High
Impact
Low

10. Blizzard Entertainment
A Division of Activision Blizzard Inc.
A. Financial Performance
2010 sales revenues: $1.6 billion (an increase of $460m from 2009)
Market Share: “The leader in terms of subscriber base and revenues generated in the subscription-based MMORPG category. “
B. Other Performance Indicators
Quality: Dedicated to providing gamers with the greatest high quality entertainment experience
Service: around the world 24/7 game support to WOW players
Brand Loyalty: establish long-term relationships with gamers
New Product Activity: developing new content for all 3 of their franchises: WOW, StarCraft and Diablo; Working on an unannounced project that will become their next generation MMORPG.
C. Determinants of Strategic Options and Choices
Strategy: “Maintain and Build upon Our Leadership Position in the MMORPG Category and PC Online Categories”
Strategic Problems:
Possibility of new technologies that replace MMORPG games
If consumer preferences trend away from MMORPG games
If new business models emerge

11. RESOURCES http://us.battle.net/wow/en/ http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/