Blizzard Auctioning World of Warcraft Server Hardware
World of Warcraft junkies can now own a piece of the game's history.
Die-hard World of Warcraft fans with a little cash in their pocket will get a chance to own a piece of the MMORPG's history next week. Starting Monday, October 17, Blizzard will be auctioning off server-blade hardware that once played host to World of Warcraft's virtual realm in its earliest days. The net proceeds from the auction will benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, one of the world's premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases.
"World of Warcraft realms are like the virtual neighborhoods of the game’s community -- they contain the spaces where millions of players have made friendships, forged friendly rivalries, and created lasting memories," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Each winner in this auction will own a small monument to those collective experiences. The best part is that this auction benefits a great charity doing tremendous work in helping children from the U.S. and around the world."
According to the company, approximately 2,000 of the original HP BladeSystem server blades from about 500 different World of Warcraft realms will be auctioned. The server blades will also be prettied up for the occasion, crammed inside a custom windowed case featuring the World of Warcraft logo and an additional commemorative plaque signed by the World of Warcraft team so that onlookers peeking in know it's not just a piece of discarded junk.
Thursday Blizzard said that the HP server blades were preserved after a series of World of Warcraft infrastructure upgrades. They will now be offered in batches over the next four weeks, starting Monday. The auctions will take place on eBay and will be managed by online auction specialist Kompolt. For more information on the auction schedule as well as a detailed FAQ, head here.

Starting Nov 5th, Blizzard will be auctioning off replica pens of the real pens used by Blizzard employees to make notes, draw pictures on napkins, and write obscene things on the bathroom stalls. These pens were used by the real blizzard employees, including janitors, window washers, and mail room operates, and some worthless crab.
Proceeds will first be offset by costs of collecting said pens from said employees and then will be distributed to several organizations that will introduce new players to World of Warcraft and the upcoming Titan.
Tune in next week for used toilet papers by the actual designers!
**End Alert**
occupy"insert city"
net proceeds= gross proceeds - auction operating expense
So, technically ironmb is right.
What are they supposed to do with them? Besides those racks can still be useful for someone, the attached WoW logo is just for marketing purposes. Otherwise I'm sure they are functional server hardware they are selling which someone can use.
It's still milking their fanbase for more money. They'll pay extra just to get the WoW logo and the server's "super history"...
Starting Nov 5th, Blizzard will be auctioning off replica pens of the real pens used by Blizzard employees to make notes, draw pictures on napkins, and write obscene things on the bathroom stalls. These pens were used by the real blizzard employees, including janitors, window washers, and mail room operates, and some worthless crab.
Proceeds will first be offset by costs of collecting said pens from said employees and then will be distributed to several organizations that will introduce new players to World of Warcraft and the upcoming Titan.
Tune in next week for used toilet papers by the actual designers!
**End Alert**
I'm guessing you didn't see the part about the proceeds going to charity.
i am sure that not all of the funds will go to charity....there is a catch somewhere, there always is
What Blizzard is getting is Free PR. They had all these server sitting around gathering dust and instead of throwing them out they decided to auction them from a charity. Why do people try and make a conspiracy theory out of everything?
It's not milking unless Blizzard keeps the money. This is a donation sponsored by Blizzard where they happen to give you a "prize."
"Net proceeds" is a questionable term.
It is if you failed accounting in high school.