World of Warcraft goes on a 75%-off sale, from Burning Crusade to Cataclysm for less than $20

Hey, everybody! Who else is excited for tonight's release of Guild Wa -- wait a second, what's this over here? A World of Warcraft sale? Well, that changes everything. Blizzard has put  World of Warcraft and each of its three expansions (Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm) up for sale at 75% off, making the full experience cost just less than $20. For those looking for specific software, that's $5 for the World of Warcraft+Burning Crusade Battle Chest, $5 for Wrath of the Lich King, and $10 for Cataclysm.

The funny thing is, Blizzard typically reserves these sorts of sales for holiday events like Christmas, or just before an expansion's release. While Mists of Pandaria's September 25 release date is rapidly approaching, starting a sale a month in advance seems a bit early. As alluded to above, however, the early sale makes much more sense considering Guild Wars 2, Blizzard's new non-subscription-based competitor, launches tonight. As an MMO fan, I'll admit straight away the biggest bar to starting a new MMO is having a subscription in a different one.

As always, Blizzard's marketing is a step ahead of the game, though you may recall NCSoft's trouble's with En Masse -- no MMO publisher is unfamiliar with the devious competitive environment. Despite that, this an amazing deal for a game no player shouldn't experience at least once. With Cataclysm's semi-modernization of the MMO's starting areas, and the impending release of Mists of Pandaria, I'd recommend maybe picking these up -- even if you put off playing them until later this year.