Posted by Amatera on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 - 8 Comments
Tags: asus, beer stein, contest, fifth anniversary, gaming mouse, gunnar optiks, nvidia, onyxia, ppk gaming glasses, prizes, sweepstakes, taverncraft
Five years — a fifth of my own life — I’ve been playing World of Warcraft. Though many MMOs have been around longer, none have been able to sustain their steam (and, in fact, increase in popularity) for more than a couple years, let alone half a decade. And for all the bitching, whining, and idle threats of quitting, it’s the fanbase that Blizzard has to thank for sticking with the game for as long as they have. With Icecrown Citadel and Cataclysm in the pipeline, I don’t see those subscription numbers flagging anytime soon, either. That’s why the company wants to show its fans some extra love as WoW’s milestone anniversary approaches. For each week, over the next five weeks, Blizzard will be offering a different sort of prize for players to win.
The first part of the sweepstakes kicks off with sponsors Taverncraft, who will be offering up one of their beautiful “Charge of the Great Dragonflights” beer steins. Normally you’d have to shell out $89.99 for this awesome piece of drinkware, but it can be yours for the exciting price of FREE if your account is active as of October 26, 2009 (don’t try to re-sub at this point, it won’t apply). That’s right, all you have to do is simply be an active subscriber to enter the contest. No need to fill out forms or answer a stupid quiz. But there is something of a catch. Each week is dedicated to a different set of accounts depending on when they were originally created (though, once again, they must still be currently active). I’m sure some of you are shrugging your shoulders and saying to yourselves, “A fancy mug! So what?!” Well, perhaps a few of the other prizes are more to your liking (and, in general, the prices and quality only go up!).
- Week 1 (Accounts created on or before October 26, 2008): 5 players will receive Taverncraft “Charge of the Great Dragonflights” stein.
- Week 2 (Accounts created on or before November 2, 2007): 5 players will receive Gunnar Optiks PPK Gaming Glasses.
- Week 3 (Accounts created on or before November 9, 2006): 7 players will receive one ASUS ENGTS250 DK/DI/1GD3 video card.
- Week 4 (Accounts created on or before November 16, 2005): 5 players will receive a prize package containing one SteelSeries QcK Limited Edition Mousepad, one SteelSeries World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse, and one SteelSeries Siberia V2 Full-Size Headset.
- Week 5 (Accounts created on or before November 23, 2004): 3 players will receive one ASUS ENGTX260/HTDI/896M Nvidia video card, and one Game Card redeemable for one year of World of Warcraft game time, and one Autographed Onyxia Print with an approximate retail value of $19.99. 2 players will receive one ASUS Republic of Gamers 3D Vision enhanced laptop, one Game Card redeemable for one year of World of Warcraft game time; and one Autographed Onyxia Print.
Sure beats an iPod, right? Even the glasses should be handy for people who stare at the screen for far too long (i.e. most WoW players). Of course, the way this is set up, players who have been subscribed the longest have not only better prizes to choose from, but also more chances to win them across all tiers.
Since there’s no other way to increase your chances or enter the sweepstakes, I’ll just say good luck to everyone out there! Hope you win! Even if you don’t, remember that you can still pick up an Onyxia Whelpling from your in-game mailbox later this month.
Sweepstakes page and complete rules can be found here.
Related Posts: BlizzCon 2009: Onyxia Revamp, Get Out Yer Carvin’ Knives: Blizzard’s 2009 Pumpkin Contest, Onyxia Gets an Update in 3.2.2, Looking Forward with Project Lore, My One Year Anniversary,

By Staffan on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 9:15 pm
The sweepstakes are apparently US only. No word on the EU site about whether we’ll have a similar thing.
By Staffan on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Or rather, USA, Canada-minus-Quebec, and New Zealand.
By amanda on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Man my luck to this sort of thing is so low its not even funny. Well good luck to those with better luck.
Hopefully the everybody else will be able to join in on the contest, to bad shipping is a bitch other wise I doubt there would be such problems
By denalo on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 1:03 am
xD well atleast you’re account didnt get hacked and then perma closed just before the event started. still getting that stien would be awsome * even though i dont drink 0.o…well i can always put milk or pop in it lol if anyone who reads ze blogs gets one gratz to u in advanced
By Uhnk on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 6:09 am
Wow… how exciting (note deep sarcastic tone). Blzzard makes billions a year, claims over 11 million subscribers and only a handful of prizes in a sweepstakes that obviously is stacked against any new players is all they can come up with? Just give everyone an in game pet and be done with it, jeez. And my guildies wonder why I’ve actually been tinkering with DDO lately?
By Rogue4Life on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 8:29 am
well, i have a chance at 3 prizes at least. and while they are cool prizes (come on anything free is sweet!) I would have to agree that the limited number of winners is kind of a bummer. while i am sure Blizz’s payroll and expenses are up there to keep our gaming world going adding a few more winners to the list surely wouldn’t break their bottom line.
Good Luck everyone!
By Matt on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 8:51 am
@Unnk - Dude seriously cry much? What game have you ever played that randomly sent their players gifts in real life? Get real man. This is a special promotion, people need to get over the fact they can’t have or win everything Blizzard puts out there. I want to win the lottery too but I don’t think crying to my state government probably won’t change their mind.
By Tharon on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
@Matt,
Sure it does…. Cry to the State and the pay you to shut up… LOL… How do you think Uhnk makes his living?