Wowhead on the acquisition
This is what I like to see. Wowhead, as promised, posted a much more detailed page on their acquisition by (as they put it) the ZAM network. According to Tim "Evilseed" Sullivan, Wowhead's CEO, "[ZAM] have no relation with IGE. They are all about content and building communities and tools to help gamers, just like what we've done with Wowhead." A very interesting Q&A follows; here are the bits that answer the questions that I've been most concerned about:
Q: Didn't you sell to a bunch of gold sellers?
Tim: Nope, and that would have been a deal killer. The ZAM guys are an independent content business, and they don't promote RMT (Real Money Trade). Period. You will never see gold ads on Wowhead or their other ZAM sites. We made sure that was true before proceeding.
Q: What is the deal with Affinity Media? Why all the secrecy?
John [Maffei, president of ZAM]: Affinity Media is a privately held company with gaming assets that operate independently. This includes the ZAM Network. The reason we are not more forthcoming in what the company owns and does it there are a lot of moving pieces. At one point, the company owned IGE but it was sold this spring. It was a private transaction so we can't reveal details. As head of the content network, I was thrilled we sold.
Q: How can I believe any of this is true? I read on another site that a former employee says this is all false.
John: I would strongly caution people not to believe all the rumors they read. For example, it came to my attention that the individual who leaked the story about the Wowhead sale supposedly not only owns competitive content properties but also is the partner in a successful RMT site. Like all Internet rumors, it is just that, but please consider the source when you hear damning stuff. Why not take a free shot at your top competitor. If the rumor above is true about the source of these comments, it is of course the height of hypocrisy.
Q: What will happen to Wowhead?
Skosiris [Wowhead co-lead dev]: Wowhead will continue on as the site everyone has come to know and love. Only, now we will have more resources to complete the plans we have already begun to make the site even better. Expect some great enhancements to the site soon!
If you have any further questions, Wowhead urges you to contact them at the address set up for this occasion, press@wowhead.com. Head over to their site to read the full piece first, as well as an official press release from ZAM. It quelled most of my fears about the sale, and now I can be happy for the good people at Wowhead, instead of worried about gold sellers invading my last sanctum. Congrats on the sale, guys!
P.S. Yes, I know we have gold ads. Please keep mailing them in so we can get rid of them. Thanks!
