BC download now available for North America as well

Rejoice! Now we North American types can also upgrade and download the Burning Crusade! I was heading over to www.worldofwarcraft.com just now and was hit with the following message:

• You can now buy account upgrade keys and download the game client for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade directly through the account management section of www.worldofwarcraft.com. With this new direct online upgrade method, you don't even need to leave your desk if you decide to upgrade to The Burning Crusade and join more than two million players who are already adventuring beyond the Dark Portal.

Pretty sweet, eh? Head over to the account management page to get your upgrade on.

I was chatting with Elizabeth Harper about why they might choose to offer direct download now, and not at launch. Here's what I came up with:

• Offering direct download at launch might irritate retailers.

• Offering it now might get a few people to buy who weren't motivated enough to go out to the store.

• It probably costs them relatively little to do this.

What do you guys think? Was it a sensible business move to wait until now for this? And how many of you are going to buy, now that you can do it without moving more than five or six muscles?

[thanks also to Doug for tipping us off]