Why I am grateful for Blizzard (Thanks Shy at Wow)

I was pretty bored today, and didn't have any new blogs to read, so I started going through the archives of some of my favorite blogs, specifically to see how their blogs started and eveolved over time.  It was actually quite an enjoyable experience.  Then I came across a post that made me stop, and come back to my blog to add a new post.  I must apologize to Shy at Wow for stealing her idea, but I felt like my response was too much to be a comment on hers, and was also important enough to be seen rather then buried in the comment section of a blog written years earlier.  Her blog post focused on the reason she loved Blizzard, and that is what I intend to do to.  (One of the comments thanked Blizzard because if they hadn't made this game, they would not have made some of the really good friends they have made in game...I was just kinda touched by that one, and it is true...so it will be one of my reasons too)

1.  For only making GREAT games. 
     I have been playing Blizzard games clear back to Warcraft I, and I have loved every one.  They all became the "picture of excellence" in that genre.  I appreciate that they never rush out a crap game to make quick money, but instead wait until it is good enough to be the best game around of that genre.  They kind of remind me of Pixar with their movies, or disney during the Little Mermaid to Lion King span.  It is refreshing to see a company that puts making a great game above making money, and ironically enough, they have proven making a great game results in more money anyways, so thank you.

2. Starcraft open play maps
    Many an hour was spent in college playing rpg games built using the starcraft engine.  I still remember the epic William Wallace battle, played out with starcraft troops, as well as the well designed Matrix game, also played out with Starcraft troops.  It was such an simple concept letting users make their own maps, and yet, that is the brilliance of Blizzard, using player input to make their games better.

3. Diablo II (enough said)
    Diablo II is still my favorite game I ever played, and the cinematics in it still give me chills.  The story was the first game I ever played that had a story that made me emotionally connected to a game (I know, I am a nerd) but it was just a great game on every level, and every so often, I still go back and dabble in it a bit.

4. Patience
    Sometimes it is frustrating when there is a problem with a blizzard game and it seems to take them forever to fix it, but referring back to number one, they don't rush to fix problems and potentially break the game worse (with only a few exceptions).  They instead endure the constant abuse from the trolls, and fix it in their own time and in the right way.  I am grateful they are patient and choose to fix things right, instead of quick.

5. Friends
    I am not social by my very nature (I am an aspergers adult and so making friends is not the easiest thing to me.  I am very grateful that they created a way for me to do my favorite thing, play video games, and make it easy to make friends while I am at it.  I have some close friends who are my friends because of this game, but will continue to be my friends even when this game ends.

6. Saving me money
    I used to buy atleast one, somtimes two console games a month, prewow.  Since I started playing WOW three years ago, I have bought three console games total.  So, while $15 a month may seem like a lot, the way I devour games, it has saved me hundreds of dollars.

Blizzard is a model of how companies should be run, gaming or otherwise.  It is not coincedence that their games are always the best, and thanks to them, gaming as a whole has improved.  For every wow killer out there, there has been a game that was great, not because of what they did, but because of what they learned from WOW.  Without WOW, the current MMO genre of games would not be nearly as good as they are.

THANK YOU BLIZZARD!!!!
A Loyal Customer!