If anyone watched The Wire (best show ever) and remembers "Hamsterdam".
I remember Hamsterdam lul. I see the connection but this is a bit different since the selling of items is not illegal, so this isn't really the police (blizzard) legalizing drugs (selling of items).
This may be an annoying and discouraging practice to some people (immoral even?), but you can't really liken it to organizing crime.
Reading that D3 will have a Money-Based AH literally makes me sick to my stomach. Someone that starts the game 6 months late, but has $100 to blow, will suddenly be more geared than me (who will have started on day one). Or some lazy-fat kid is going to be better geared than me because he mommy will buy him everything.
I hope you didn't play Diablo 2 then. Lazy-fat rich kid could buy more gear in D2 as well, just by blowing $100 at D2JSP or diablolegit or blahblahblah. Lazy-fat rich kid can buy items in ANY MMO OR ONLINE RPG EVER MADE.
Want to explain how this is different?
Did you even think about this?
I agree, such is the nature of any multi-player game in which items can be traded. If an item can be traded between characters, then those items WILL be sold to characters. How can you POSSIBLY stop 3rd party sites from selling items for cash? Nobody to date has thought of a single reasonable approach to preventing this sort of behavior. That's because no such approach exists.
Example: I meet someone in a game. I tell them I found a very good item. They respond by letting me know they wished they had that item, and that they would be willing to even pay for such an item. I tell them that if they send me $10 through Paypal, I'll give them the item. The deal is made, both sides benefit. Now tell me how the HELL anyone could possibly stop this transaction. The only evidence of the transaction would be in-game chat, but what if we talked about the deal over Ventrilo? Then there's zero evidence.
You see fundamental problem is that people will find a way to buy items, because it's so damn easy.
Person-A: Makes $20/hr at work, works 10 hours a day, 5 days a week. Plays game 1 hour a day.
Person-B: Unemployed, plays game 10 hours a day. Has Uber items as a result.
Person-A offers person-B $20 for an item that took person-B 5 hours to find. Both persons are satisfied with this deal.
This scenario has occurred in [insert <any> MMO to date].
Now that we know Blizzard is willing to basically sell their own items for $, it stands to reason that Blizzard will capitalize on this idea even further. I can see Blizzard employees setting up multiple auctions of legendary quality, thus driving down the value of similar items for the people finding them legit. I mean why wouldn't Blizzard do that? It only makes sense, seeing as how they're using this system for profit in the first place.
/conspiracy off
That said, I'm still looking forward to this new system. If for no other reason than times are tough and I'm willing to put in extra time (time aside from what would normally be spent for the sole enjoyment of the game) to make a small amount of cash. I'd just like to think we're not being thrown into a stacked-deck system that least benefits the people who would use 100% legit means of collecting items for the purpose of selling.
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I remember Hamsterdam lul. I see the connection but this is a bit different since the selling of items is not illegal, so this isn't really the police (blizzard) legalizing drugs (selling of items).
This may be an annoying and discouraging practice to some people (immoral even?), but you can't really liken it to organizing crime.
0
I agree, such is the nature of any multi-player game in which items can be traded. If an item can be traded between characters, then those items WILL be sold to characters. How can you POSSIBLY stop 3rd party sites from selling items for cash? Nobody to date has thought of a single reasonable approach to preventing this sort of behavior. That's because no such approach exists.
Example: I meet someone in a game. I tell them I found a very good item. They respond by letting me know they wished they had that item, and that they would be willing to even pay for such an item. I tell them that if they send me $10 through Paypal, I'll give them the item. The deal is made, both sides benefit. Now tell me how the HELL anyone could possibly stop this transaction. The only evidence of the transaction would be in-game chat, but what if we talked about the deal over Ventrilo? Then there's zero evidence.
You see fundamental problem is that people will find a way to buy items, because it's so damn easy.
Person-A: Makes $20/hr at work, works 10 hours a day, 5 days a week. Plays game 1 hour a day.
Person-B: Unemployed, plays game 10 hours a day. Has Uber items as a result.
Person-A offers person-B $20 for an item that took person-B 5 hours to find. Both persons are satisfied with this deal.
This scenario has occurred in [insert <any> MMO to date].
0
/conspiracy off
That said, I'm still looking forward to this new system. If for no other reason than times are tough and I'm willing to put in extra time (time aside from what would normally be spent for the sole enjoyment of the game) to make a small amount of cash. I'd just like to think we're not being thrown into a stacked-deck system that least benefits the people who would use 100% legit means of collecting items for the purpose of selling.
Bit coins anyone?