MMOHut, "Once upon a time it was taken for granted that the high maintenance and development costs associated with MMORPGs could only be recouped by the monthly subscription model. Early entries into the genre all had a similar pricing model starting somewhere near $10/month and eventually moving up to the current $14.99/month we see in games like World of Warcraft....."
Blizzard Entertainment has announced the opening of beta registrations for “World of Warcraft: The War Within,” inviting players to explore new subterranean worlds beneath Azeroth.
Danish from eXputer: "Despite Blizzard's attempt to give a fresh new spin to World of Warcraft, some fans still seem to be stuck in the past."
HG writes: "Blizzard is usually pretty bad at keeping secrets, but the company somehow managed to keep this one under wraps until now. Plunderstorm is a special limited-time event that’s basically World of Warcraft’s take on the Battle Royale genre."
Makes you think a little bit about pricing versus freemium (cash shop) models.
It still feels like a genre that's still trying to find its niche among gamers willing to pay monthly and gamers willing to pay for good items.