World of Warcraft has lost its appeal

Blizzard Entertainment announced this year at their Blizzcon event their new expansion coming to World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria...

.....What?  Pandaria? Like April Fools Day joke Blizzard did a few years ago?

This has to be a joke right?  When news first broke out I thought it was Blizzard intentionally trolling the gaming community.

No, they were serious.

Granted I quit WoW quite some time ago, their new expansions always gave me some incentive to come back.  Not this time...

Expanding on the lore of the Worgen and Goblins with the Cataclysm expansion was a great idea as both races were already in the game and the community could easily accept them.  People were skeptical when Blizzard release the Dranei because their origins coming from space didn't make any sense to the lore.  Blood Elves were accepted because they've always had a role in the Warcraft lore (despite them being incredibly over-feminine).  But Pandas?!

I just can't accept Pandas.  The first thing that comes to mind is Kung Fu Panda.. Granted the movie was funny, I couldn't take it seriously.  And I certainly had no interest playing as them.

Kung Fu Panda

If anything, it's my guess that Blizzard wanted to change the mood of the game as the last 3 expansions have been dark.  However, officially putting in a race that originally wasn't meant to be taken seriously was a pretty stupid move on your part Blizzard.