Wowhead

Wowhead

Front page for Wowhead
Web address http://www.wowhead.com/
Commercial? Yes
Type of site
 Searchable database
Registration Free
Available in English, German, Spanish, French, Russian, Portuguese
Owner ZAM Network
Launched June 26, 2006
Alexa rank
 Negative increase 1,606 (December 2015)[1]
Current status Online

Wowhead is a website that provides a searchable database, forums and armory services for the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft (WoW). The site first started out as a talent calculator for the game. It was in beta from April 4 to June 25, 2006,[2] and the database was released on June 26, 2006.[3] Wowhead functions as a user generated database relying upon players of WoW themselves, though the information is uploaded automatically through a client side program.

Client software is available for both the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh platforms.[4] Users can manually add comments to database items or discuss the items themselves in a moderated forum.[5] Comments placed on database items are moderated by the community themselves, with members having the option to "down-rank" outdated and unuseful posts to the point where they are purged, and "up-rank" posts of significance so that they are highlighted.[6] The database is automatically cross referenced by the software between items, non-player characters and zones or dungeons.[7]

Wowhead garnered some attention when it was purchased by the ZAM Network, a subsidiary of Affinity Media which formerly owned real-money trading firm IGE.[8] The ZAM Network also owns other gaming and World of Warcraft information sites such as Thottbot and Allakhazam.[9]

On July 22, 2009, Wowhead announced that it would be offering its members access to premium service for a recurring subscription in order to help support the website. The premium service offers enhanced usage of the website, removes ads, grants a wider range of forum privileges, and allows paying members to skip to the front of the process queue for WoW armory requests.[10][11]

References

  1. ↑ "Wowhead.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  2. ↑ I might be one of Wowheads first members. - WoW General - Wowhead Forums
  3. ↑ Wowhead News. June 26, 2006.
  4. ↑ Schramm, Mike (2008-06-03). "Wowhead Warcraft database releases OS X client". The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW). AOL Media. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
  5. ↑ "About Us - Wowhead". Wowhead.com. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
  6. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". Wowhead.com.
  7. ↑ Gilbert, Dan; Whitehead, James; Whitehead, James II (2007). Hacking World of Warcraft. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 125–126. ISBN 978-0-470-11002-7.
  8. ↑ Dobson, Jason (June 25, 2007). "Affinity's ZAM Network Acquires Wowhead, Confirms IGE Split". Gamasutra. United Business Media. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  9. ↑ "Thottbot Owner Acquires Wowhead". Edge Magazine (Future plc). June 25, 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  10. ↑ "Wowhead Premium announced". Wowhead.com. 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  11. ↑ "Wowhead Premium features". Wowhead.com. 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-08-04.

External links

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