World of Warcraft Credit Card

[Donnie Peters]

Less than a month after Electronic Arts announced a line of credit
cards based on The Sims video game, the MMORPG market's reigning cash
machine announced its own branded cards.
A new wave of e-currency has dawned upon us with the announcement from
Blizzard that they are offering World of Warcraft themed Visa cards
that turn real world spending into fake world game time. Blizzard
Entertainment has teamed up with the First National Bank of Omaha to
offer a Visa card for World of Warcraft players.
Gamers who use one of 13 "World of Warcraft" Visa cards each has a
different character from the game like a blood elf, dwarf and paladin
will receive a 1% credit on ever dollar purchased. This credit can be
applied to the $14.95 monthly subscription fee that gamers pay to
explore the world, or it can be used to purchase merchandise or in-
game equipment.
So, if you want to rack up a lot of time, hand this to a big
spender.MAKE magazine said we'd be seeing something like this a year
ago, and it looks like they were right.
World of Warcraft has over 9 million users around the world playing
this massively multiplayer game and this is a great way to tap into
that market. There are rewards programs for just about everything out
there, from gas to cash back, so videogame points makes sense. I
expect to see other game companies jump into this new business
opportunity assuming this one takes off. Just think of an Xbox 360
card that earned you Microsoft Points or a Wii card that earned you
Wii Points. This can go well beyond MMO games, although Sony Online
Entertainment certainly will take a long hard look at this, as its
archrival Blizzard has opened a new revenue stream.
I foresee credit card companies and game makers rewarding their
customers who spend money in the real world by giving virtual rewards
in the near future. They will use gifts of virtual currency such as
Blizzard's World of Warcraft gold and Second Life's Linden dollars.