$265 for a WoW mount: Flying Spectral Tiger comes to China
Blizzard’s Chinese partner NetEase recently outdid the recent WoW controversial Brutosaur release. They announced the Flying Spectral Tiger mount, making it the most expensive mount ever available for purchase!
Flying Spectral Tiger story
The history goes like this. While providing Chinese players with WoW products like SoD, Classic, and TWW expansion, NetEase makes many unique decisions oriented toward the Chinese market. Mostly, the differences come from store purchases; for example, you can easily buy a unique store mount to use in the Classic version of WoW or even Hardcore. For instance, before the flying version, a regular version of Spectral Tiger was available for sale.
Recently, NetEase released a Flying version of Spectral Tiger in the Battle.net store. And to buy a Flying Spectral Tiger mount in the store will cost you 1888 CNY. Converting this sum to USD will result in a $265 for a flying mount, which outmatches Grizzly and Brutosaur by a mile!
The recent Chinese version can fly at 310% speed and is available for the WoTLK classic. It should also be noted that SoD and Classic Hardcore also feature this mount, but of course, it can’t fly. After the purchase, the mount will be available to buy from a vendor with 1500 gold, and it will move at 100% speed in Classic Hardcore and SoD.
The Flying Spectral Tiger doesn’t differ from the regular Spectral Tiger, except for the ability to fly, which has sparked controversy across social platforms. After all, the Spectral Tiger was a rare mount available from the Warcraft TCG game code. Its cost can easily rake up to 5000 USD on various markets. Right now, it’s only available to mount collectors. In April 2023, Ion Hazzikostas even said that Swift Spectral Tiger wouldn’t return, ensuring it would retain its value for collectors.
And yet, now, NetEase has released Spectral Tiger, ignoring Ion Hazzikostas’s words. NetEase is China’s publisher company, which can have its own rules and restrictions, as well as unique marketing decisions. Chinese players who bought the regular version of Flying Spectral Tiger in the past can buy a new Version with a discount, making it a little bit cheaper.
You may wonder if the Flying Spectral Tiger is available in WotLK Classic. Even though WoW Classic is now featuring Cataclysm, it should be noted that Chinese players are still playing WotLK Classic due to the NetEase and Blizzard’s fallout, which stopped their journey in WotLK Classic at the Ulduar phase. It wasn’t until the two companies renewed their partnership in April 2024 that Chinese players were able to pick up their adventures in Azeroth.
Players’ reaction to Flying Spectral Tiger
Players mainly discussing the Brutosaur drama were surprised by this mount’s release. They immediately started mocking Blizzard for such a week of mount releases. We don’t know the Chinese players’ reaction to this matter. The main headline for this was that the mount price, $265 for a Flying Spectral Tiger, is absurd for many players. People were amused that NetEase didn’t even add unique animations or effects. Also, this version is not even an epic mount and counts as a common Mount. It should be noted that the Chinese market is vastly different from the EU and the US. That’s why NetEase can make its own unique decisions regarding in-game purchases.
In all honesty, we don’t know if Blizzard profits from this particular purchase. NetEase and Activision Blizzard’s business relationships are complex, and most people need to know which parts of NetEase’s initiatives and Blizzard’s are.
So, what do you think of this situation? Be sure to share with us in the comments.
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