McDonald’s, that ever-present fast food juggernaut, has partnered with one of the most popular video games of all time, World of Warcraft, and Blizzard to transform three burger joints in China into decked out shrines to digital bloodshed. With expansion pack Warlords of Draenor set to release in November Blizzard is doing it’s best to drum up hype in the second most populous nation on the planet. Maybe that’s why America doesn’t get this kind of full make over treatment. There just aren’t enough of us.
The golden arches in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou got the treatment, complete with some badass statues out front and a faux stone dragon keeping an eye on the greasy proceedings. You can check out the banner photo for the full effect.
Lord knows what kind of decoration a Chinese McDonald’s usually has. Certainly it must stick to the red/yellow/white motif. Paintings of Ronald McDonald cooking hamburgers? Maybe the Hamburglar uses them as his personal art showings. I just don’t know. What I do know is that the usual decorations were replaced with banners and posters touting the Alliance and the Horde.
The uniforms were also changed out for t-shirts declaring Horde or Alliance pride. No word if this has lead to any rifts within the staff resulting in two competing teams of cooks and cashiers being forced to use the same kitchen while performing raids on the other’s customers.
In addition to posters and cut outs, customers were treated to statues, and even a replica of Thrall’s hammer, ready for photo opportunities.
And di you know that McDonald’s delivers? Well, in China they do! (And I’ve heard of it in some places in the States.) For folks not wanting to leave their houses (probably because they’re playing World of Warcraft) Blizzard is offering points cards that can be turned into in-game items. Allow this to assuage any fears that this is another issue of the Chinese creating a convincing knock-off. Blizzard is totally on-board in the form of in-game rewards!
Photos by Eric Jou (via Kotaku)
Top Photo: WoW-themed McDonald’s in Guangzhou [PCGames.Cn]
