the cenarion hatchling finally decided to come out of hiding! :P
the blizzard PetStore has a new baby to adopt! yes, it's the cenarion hatchling, an exact copy/twin of the hippogryph hatchling (vocalizations and everything).
the unique part about the new hatchling, though, is that between now and july 31, 2011, 100% of the profits will be donated to the american red cross to provide help and aid to japan and those affected by the japanese earthquake and tsunami.
note: remember that when purchasing ANY in-game redeemable item from the PetStore, that you are purchasing from your region specific store. the codes bought from the US store cannot be applied to a EU WoW account and vice versa.
i've already stated my views on selling a companion for such a somber matter as the japanese disasters. however, i do have to agree with those who have pointed out that any help, regardless of how it's obtained, is better than none at all. at the very least, i'm very glad to see blizzard went all in with this donation. 50% of profits just wouldn't seem right.
some may argue that this sale comes too little too late, but i think blizzard was smart on holding off a bit before selling this type of product in an effort to help the earthquake and tsunami victims. with the passage of time, there's less of a controversy over the sale of a companion for such a serious cause.
another plus to this pet, is that those who are unable to afford the original hippogryph companion may actually have a chance to own one now too. :)
finally, yes, it's a bit "lazy mode" for blizzard to reuse an existing model and skin/coloring for a PetStore item, but my hope is that we'll see an update in a future patch. even if the model doesn't change, i'd like to at least see different coloring. being a cenarion hatchling, you'd think that it would at least look more like an actual cenarion hippogryph right? :P
ps: maybe it's because i'm a druid and i have deep ties with the cenarion circle and moonglade, but the message that was attached with the pet was especially touching for me. i'm moved that keeper remulos' words can be applied to both real life and in game. well done, blizzard. :)
Perks N Peeves by Quintessence is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
I don't understand the whole too little too late argument that I keep hearing from people. Disasters don't just suddenly get fixed and everything is peachy. There's still parts of Louisiana that haven't been fixed. Haiti isn't fixed. Japan will takes years to fix.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to buy this pet (bought 3 actually, 2 for my friends) and glad that 100% goes to the red cross to be used as they see fit.
@pandy: i think what most people mean is that they were expecting blizzard to act quicker and put out a pet or some item to help aid japan and the tsunami victims sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteThe most disappointing part of this is the downright laziness of Blizzard to pop out a third carbon copy pet in the last half year. I'm really getting tired of that; can't even be bothered to recolor them? I mean geez.
ReplyDelete@Harval: yea, i was disappointed to see that it didn't at least have different coloring than the original hippogryph.
ReplyDeletei'm going to remain hopeful that there will be an update to this pet in the future (at least its color), but i won't be holding my breath.