Battle.net Account merging

[Sargeras]

We’re pleased to introduce the Battle.net account -- a brand-new way for players to manage their Blizzard Entertainment games, make online Blizzard store purchases, log in to World of Warcraft, and more using just one set of login information.

World of Warcraft players now have the option to create a Battle.net account, merge a World of Warcraft account (or multiple accounts) with it, and begin logging in to the game, the Armory, and the forums using their new Battle.net account login information.

Merge your World of Warcraft account now - http://us.battle.net/account/creation/landing.xml

Some of the benefits of the Battle.net account include:


* Fewer passwords to remember. One single login lets you access World of Warcraft, the online Blizzard store, and more -- including upcoming games such as StarCraft II and Diablo III.

* Opt in to upcoming Blizzard Entertainment beta tests. Put yourself in the running to be invited to test upcoming games.

* Easy access to your classic games. Store your CD keys for classic Blizzard Entertainment titles, and then download the games whenever you wish.

* And more to come… We’re planning to add more features in the future, including tools to help friends communicate between games and bring players closer together.


At this time, signing up is completely optional -- but if you’re interested in taking advantage of the benefits of the Battle.net account today, check out the FAQ for more information, or create an account now.

FAQ- http://us.battle.net/faq/index.html
Create an account- http://us.battle.net/account/creation/landing.xml

It's basically Blizzard's version of Steam. Valve has been doing it for years, and SOE implemented their own version sometime ago. At the moment, it's optional, but eventually it'll be mandatory.

[miir]

SOE was doing this before Steam even existed.

[Sargeras]

Steam: September 12, 2003
Station: May 19, 2003

Close enough.

[miir]

...and Steam when it first came out was nothing like it is today. It was a fucking horrible software license and distribution system... I'm guessing you weren't trying to play HL2 on release day.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Steam as it is today, but man it was just awful for the first few years.

At it's inception, Station was a single sign-on solution for all SOE products.





Oh and horray for Blizzard for doing this 6 years later.

[Sargeras]

You say that as though this is something Blizzard should have done years ago, and WoW didn't even exist 6 years ago. Just a few RTS's. One game with one subscription-base so far. They're doing it now to be ready for their next MMO launch.

SOE had 3 or 4 subscription-based games with numerous expansions already out before Station was launched. Seems like they were behind the times, plus their customers ranting that they didn't want to pay for 3-4 subs. At least Blizzard is thinking ahead.

Once again, Miir turning a WoW thread into a dick measuring contest with SOE.

[Truant]

Lol, don't be mad at the fisherman who puts the bait in the water when you're the fish who bit.

[miir]

[Animalor]

The awesome thing about this is that I was able to associate my CD Keys for all the Blizzard games (except Diablo 1) I own in there and they were all recognized and associated with my account.

Now that this is in there, I have access to an electronic download version of all of them if I want. From Starcraft and it's expansion all the way to WoW: TBC (I haven't bought WotLK).

[Dregor Thule]

It's not a perfect system yet. I merged my account and suddenly wasn't able to log in due to the parental controls somehow being turned on Was something I could fix, just saying! I do like that I'll be able to associate my CD keys with my account so I can just download the games from them.