Blizzard Disappointed over Marketing Cost Money

This year, BlizzCon gathered over 20,000 fans at the Anaheim Convention Center. Gamers from all over the world came to celebrate alongside Blizzard Entrainment the magic that were and still are Stracraft, Diablo and Warcraft. This year, Blizzard charged $125 for the entry fee, which makes perfect sense, since any self-respecting company would charge money to allow fans to purchase different items.

In addition to this, it also managed to convince some pay-per-view companies to buy airing rights. Simple math would tell us Blizzard should be staggering its way home from the weight of the money coating its pockets. But, it seems, somewhere in the accounting a mistake sprung, and Blizzard ended up loosing money instead of making it. Who would have guessed you need to pay for marketing?

Yesterday, at the 2009 Austin Game Developers Conference, Blizzard Entertainment Co-founder and Executive Vice President of Product Development Frank Pearce revealed to the whole world that, financially speaking, this year, BlizzCon was a bust. "BlizzCon is operated at a substantial loss for the company[...] It's a huge marketing opportunity, so that's the benefit we get out of that. But in terms of any kind of financial gain, it actually is a loss for us." Pearce said. Asked just how much money Blizzard lost at this year's convention, he refused to comment, invoking confidentiality and something about the competition hovering nearby.

Blizzard losses seem to come mainly from expenses made for accommodating the convention itself, this including renting the Anaheim Convention Center, offering guests over 2,000 computers to showcase demos and other products. Losses also come from the business schedule being affected, as many Blizzard employees were directed to assist with the convention, affecting productivity. Last, but most definitely not least, Blizzard had to pay for the guest appearance of Starcraft 2 star Tricia Helfer, comedian Jay Mohr, but also the musical performance of Ozzy Osbourne. Now, that might explain where all those money went.