First it was virtual pets, now Blizzard is selling an in-game beast that actually has a function in World of Warcraft. For $25, you can buy the "Celestial Steed," which is an admittedly awesome-looking winged horse with constellations for bones. You don't really get any advantage beyond any other mount, as its performance is tied to your own riding skill -- except for the advantage of not having to take part in any bothersome gameplay to acquire it. Along with the steed, a new pet, the "Lil' XT," is available for $10.Of course, if this is the kind of thing that interests you, you not only already know about it, but are currently in line for it. Queues in North America alone have reached 15,000, meaning that at one time, there was $375,000 waiting to be poured into Blizzard's coffers. Our friends at WoW.com note that "If queue numbers in the Store are correct, Blizzard is making over half a million dollars an hour on the Celestial Steed." In other words, it's already a resounding success. All we can do is hope that Blizzard finishes developing StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 before shifting its operations entirely into the fake horse business.
Update: What does WoW.com say about the number of people in the queue? It's over 70,000!
[Via WoW.com]
