World of Warcraft offers One Time Passwords

Blizzard offers a One Time Password device for it’s European customers but not the North American or Asia Pacific customers? Blizzard is using a One Time Password device (it appears to be event based) to allow for strong authentication to it’s EU servers. There’s no indication on what manufacturer they’re using, or if it’s OATH compliant, but it is still a “real” two factor authentication, as users will need to have their device with them to log into the account management web pages or to the game servers.

It’s optional, and available for 6 euros to EU customers.

There are three things that makes this interesting:
1) real two factor authentication is available in a game before it’s available in some banks
2) Someone at Blizzard feels that users will appreciate the extra authentication (for a game!)
3) It’s not available in North America

I’d get one just to play with it – not that I think my WoW account needs that kind of protection – but it’d be fun to see what it’s like and how they implemented it. Unfortunately, I have a North American account (although, I can play on EU servers, so maybe?). The EU is a smaller market than North America, so perhaps this is a “pilot” program that may eventually make it to the US?

What I still find incredulous is that while banks and financial companies (which do have information I’d like to protect with strong authentication) are using a fake two factor login while a video game is using real two factor authentication. The contents of a WoW account are (arguably) worth less than my bank account – depends on your feelings of the game – my account is certainly worth a lot less to me than my bank account.

UPDATE 7-1-08: Blizzard seems to be offering them for NA servers as well (at least they claim that it can only be shipped to the US).