World of Warcraft GDC Coverage

WoW Insider has some massive coverage of Rob Pardo’s speech at GDC, including bits from his presentation and a transcript of the following Q&A.

Of particular note is this bit, where Rob Pardo discusses the micro-transaction free-to-play model.

Q: Have you considered micro-transacrtions in WoW?
A: We chose to go with the subscription-based model instead of that approach. We’ve taken the approach that we want players to feel like it’s a level playing field once they’re in WoW. Outside resources don’t play into it — no gold buying, etc. We take a hard line stance against it. What you get out of microtransactions is kind of the same thing and I think our player base would feel betrayed by it. I think that’s something else you have to decide on up-front instead of implementing later.
Q: But it might make it easier for the casuals to catch up….
A: They aren’t going to be the ones spending the money.