Diablo 3: Auction house to accept real cash

[BD2003]

I don't see why Blizzard doesn't just take it to the next step.

Just offer pre- max level characters for dollars. They can generate a ton of income that way. Then instead of having players sell the items, just have the item sale go direct to Blizzard for upgrades. Have no cap on the upgrades, so that the more money players dump into the equipment, the more they can keep adding bonuses. If someone wants to spend $900 to add +900 strength to their favorite weapon of choice, then let them.

Meanwhile why not make the weapon rarity even higher? That way if a player has a one in one million chance of finding the weapon they want, it will make them that much more likely to buy one from the Blizzard shop instead.

Video games driven by stockholders will eventually take this step.

Yep, they'll get there eventually. Their brand is strong enough...for now.

My interest in buying ATVI stock is now inversely proportional to my interest in their games.

 

[Beev]

That's what I don't want to see. I don't want a super, super rare item to just be listed on the AH by some "player" named BlizzardRares for $20 with unlimited stock. Fuck that, honestly. I don't see them doing that, though.

 

[skace]

Jesus Christ, why the hell do people keep linking 'player to player' sales to something like Blizzard directly selling you max level characters?

'player to player' and 'blizzard to player' are 2 completely, COMPLETELY different concepts. One empowers the player to do what they want with the loot they acquire (which generally every player wants):
- I want to give this loot to my alt
- I want to trade this loot for something else
- I want to sell this loot for money

The other is a method of microtransactions commonly used in F2P games and is often frowned upon by the general public. Even in games that support microtransactions, the gray line is often drawn between items that would affect gameplay not being sold and items that are superfluous visual modifications being sold.

The biggest difference between these 2 concepts is that player 2 player will never effect the rarity and number of items in the game. All items found and sold are found the exact same way (unless duping occurs, however I'm sure Blizzard knows duping well enough by now). Certainly, if Blizzard sold imaginary items, they could drastically flood the market with a supposedly very rare item. I don't see them wanting to do this.

Can we please stay on topic? And if I missed the announcement that Blizzard will now be selling gear directly themselves I apologize. Because as it currently stands, this is a lot of misdirected whiny bullshit from people who don't know what they are talking about.

 

[badb0y]

This should have been done in Diablo 2 because:
A.) It already happened whether you wanted to admit it or not and
B.) It would have made me a lot of money considering I dumped so many hours into Diablo 2.

 

[Chiropteran]

As far as Blizzard is concerned their "cut" of World of Warcraft auction house sales is not at all similiar to their cut of Diablo III auction house sales. Virtual gold in thieir own game is worthless to them.

Not really. Farming or doing daily quest for gold is keeping some people playing. It is not worthless at all to take some gold out of the system, it needs gold sinks to keep gold valuable in game.

Also, transaction fees, gold or real cash, are needed to prevent AH spamming and useless auctions. It's bad enough on World of Warcraft when some idiot lists 200 auctions of a single item overpriced by about 5X over normal cost, where you can't see the other auctions until you scroll through all these trash auctions first. Imagine how annoying that would be on a cash auction site. Fees limit this behavior.

 

[Josh123]

I don't see why Blizzard doesn't just take it to the next step.

Just offer pre- max level characters for dollars.

Selling entire characters is something Blizzard is considering, but it wasn't ready to confirm that feature just yet. - Gamespot

I won't be surprised if they do end up doing what you say.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/diab...irtual-world?sid=6326112&mode=previews&page=2

 

[BD2003]

Jesus Christ, why the hell do people keep linking 'player to player' sales to something like Blizzard directly selling you max level characters?

'player to player' and 'blizzard to player' are 2 completely, COMPLETELY different concepts. One empowers the player to do what they want with the loot they acquire (which generally every player wants):
- I want to give this loot to my alt
- I want to trade this loot for something else
- I want to sell this loot for money

The other is a method of microtransactions commonly used in F2P games and is often frowned upon by the general public. Even in games that support microtransactions, the gray line is often drawn between items that would affect gameplay not being sold and items that are superfluous visual modifications being sold.

The biggest difference between these 2 concepts is that player 2 player will never effect the rarity and number of items in the game. All items found and sold are found the exact same way (unless duping occurs, however I'm sure Blizzard knows duping well enough by now). Certainly, if Blizzard sold imaginary items, they could drastically flood the market with a supposedly very rare item. I don't see them wanting to do this.

Can we please stay on topic? And if I missed the announcement that Blizzard will now be selling gear directly themselves I apologize. Because as it currently stands, this is a lot of misdirected whiny bullshit from people who don't know what they are talking about.

They're in control of their own world, drop rates, etc. Even if they're not selling items directly, they have the tools to maximize their profits via drop rates, comparative item strength, etc.

The point is that rather than these factors being manipulated to create an engaging experience that players want to play, they can be manipulated to make players want to pay. Naturally they have to strike a balance to ensure that the game is engaging enough on it's own to keep players playing and transactions.

But the sky is the limit as to what they will potentially do going forward. They've already broken this "fourth wall" separating virtual goods and real money...who knows what wild stuff they can come up with to monetize the game in the future.

I personally hope it's an experiment that fails so dreadfully that players reject it outright and they backtrack and spend their mental energy on making the game fun in and of itself.

 

[AstroManLuca]

So how long do you think before the game is completely overrun by Chinese item farmers?

 

[Josh123]

I'm wondering how they are going to prevent duping. If duping starts up then it's going to be a real shit storm.

I'd be seriously pissed if I spend my own money on an item then later it be deleted because of it being a dupe.

 

[BD2003]

I'm wondering how they are going to prevent duping. If duping starts up then it's going to be a real shit storm.

I'd be seriously pissed if I spend my own money on an item then later it be deleted because of it being a dupe.

Being that they're forcing online only, every item generated can be verified by them, encoded with a serial number. If WoW didn't have a duping problem, neither will D3.

 

[Wyndru]

How dare they charge a fee for a service provided! They should follow in the footsteps of ebay and paypal and offer a fee-free auction house transaction system.

They are adding a currency type which isn't necessary and does nothing to change the aspect of the game.

Basically they are creating something that adds no value to the gaming experience to make money which to me is the definition of greed.

It's like 2nd Life.

This should have been done in Diablo 2 because:
A.) It already happened whether you wanted to admit it or not and
B.) It would have made me a lot of money considering I dumped so many hours into Diablo 2.

Everyone would have had this idea in D2, and everyone in D3 will too, so the actual cost on most rare and unique items will bottom out fast. Especially if it's anything like the deep undercutting that happens on WoW AH.

Also, the farmers will still be out there running bots and collecting stuff lowering the prices as well. This is probably why they did a flat fee, and not a percentage, so even worthless items selling for pennies they get the same cut. I really doubt anyone is going to make any significant money doing this. It's just a way for Blizz to pad their already enormous coffers.

 

[Glitchny]

People seem to have missed the part where Blizzard stated it will be a flat fee per auction, they are not taking a % of the price, so introducing new expensive items isn't that big a deal. The loot system is also randomly generated so I don't see them adding "new items" to the game through the AH only.

 

[BoberFett]

If you choose to ignore the real money value of wow gold, you can also choose to ignore the real money value of diablo 3 items.

No, you can't. When the way most player trade items is with virtual gold and a handful go outside the system and use real money, you can still probably find what you want using the virtual only system.

Now that Blizzard has made real money the official trading currency of D3, the ONLY way to get what you want in this game that's designed as a social system is to use real money.

Sure, you don't have to buy things with real money, but you're being willfully ignorant if you believe that it doesn't affect the gameplay of those people who choose to do so.

 

[Glitchny]

They are adding a currency type which isn't necessary and does nothing to change the aspect of the game.

Basically they are creating something that adds no value to the gaming experience to make money which to me is the definition of greed.

It's like 2nd Life.

They are actually adding a player to player auction service that many players of D2 have been ASKING FOR. Players have wanted a secure way to trade items in D2 instead of having to go to 3rd party sites and risk getting ripped off for awhile now. All blizzard is doing is filling that space with their own product that people wanted, which adds value for those people.

 

[BD2003]

They are actually adding a player to player auction service that many players of D2 have been ASKING FOR. Players have wanted a secure way to trade items in D2 instead of having to go to 3rd party sites and risk getting ripped off for awhile now. All blizzard is doing is filling that space with their own product that people wanted, which adds value for those people.

Couldn't you always trade in D2?

Or by "trade" do you mean trade for real money, otherwise known to English speakers as buying and selling?

 

[Chiropteran]

No, you can't. When the way most player trade items is with virtual gold and a handful go outside the system and use real money, you can still probably find what you want using the virtual only system.

Now that Blizzard has made real money the official trading currency of D3, the ONLY way to get what you want in this game that's designed as a social system is to use real money.

Sure, you don't have to buy things with real money, but you're being willfully ignorant if you believe that it doesn't affect the gameplay of those people who choose to do so.

What you say makes no sense to me.

Lets say you have a wizard robe of power and you want a barbarian axe of slaying. For the sake of argument lets say the robe is worth slightly more than the axe, generally. In a non-cash AH world of diablo 3, you can sell your robe on the ah and use the gold to buy the axe. Alternatively, you can find someone directly who has the axe you want and needs the robe, and trade. It's likely that the player will accept the trade because the robe is of slightly higher value and it's free profit to the player.

Now, in the cash-AH world of diablo 3, what changes? Not a thing. You could either sell your robe on the AH and use the money you earn to buy the axe, or you could find another player who has the axe and try to convince him to trade with you directly. It is just as likely that the player would accept the trade because again, even with a cash AH, a slightly more valuable item is worth trading for. In fact, you might find it easier to get a player to agree to a direct trade, since it would cut out blizzard's fee.


So, how is this going to change the game at all? It's not.

 

[Wyndru]

They are actually adding a player to player auction service that many players of D2 have been ASKING FOR. Players have wanted a secure way to trade items in D2 instead of having to go to 3rd party sites and risk getting ripped off for awhile now. All blizzard is doing is filling that space with their own product that people wanted, which adds value for those people.

Does it need to be real life money though? Is that what the D2 community was asking for? I thought they just wanted a global area to buy/sell items so they didn't need to create a session and meet a player directly.

I've been out of the community for a while, but I'm surprised many D2 players wanted real money transactions.

 

[Chiropteran]

I've been out of the community for a while, but I'm surprised many D2 players wanted real money transactions.

You guys keep ignoring the fact that there will be both cash AND gold auctions. If the majority don't want cash transactions, gold auctions will be more popular and a viable source for a lot of gear. If not, it just proves that players would rather work with cash.

 

[BD2003]

Given that you're the most vocal proponent here, I'm curious...do you think this change is going to make the game better? Or are you looking forward to making money off of it?

You've continually defended this....why? What do you have at stake here?

 

[Beev]

I approve of it.

Since I'm going to play alone or with, at most, two other friends I really don't care about it. In fact, I'll probably sell all of my extra items purely for cash. Why not, right? And what does it hurt? Nothing. The game will be no different than D2 was for me, except now I can make $5 here and there rather than vendoring or storing items I will never use.

 

[Wyndru]

You guys keep ignoring the fact that there will be both cash AND gold auctions. If the majority don't want cash transactions, gold auctions will be more popular and a viable source for a lot of gear. If not, it just proves that players would rather work with cash.

I'm not ignoring that fact, I just don't agree with their decision to include real life transactions when there is already a perfectly functional currency included in game. It cheapens the game for me, and shows me what direction the company is going in.

Just wait until people start complaining that they get hit with a AH fee each time they need to take an item down and repost it because the undercutting is so rampant. People are going to be freaking out.

 

[Juddog]

Given that you're the most vocal proponent here, I'm curious...do you think this change is going to make the game better? Or are you looking forward to making money off of it?

You've continually defended this....why? What do you have at stake here?

He probably employs Chinese workers in a WoW sweat shop and is looking to hire some workforce for D2 for phat loot.

 

[Ross Ridge]

You've continually defended this....why? What do you have at stake here?

He's a fanboy. His entire sense of self-worth is dependent on Diablo III being a success.

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

He probably employs Chinese workers in a WoW sweat shop and is looking to hire some workforce for D2 for phat loot.

I smell a business plan! Good thing I spawned a 6 year old not long ago!

 

[Juddog]

That's what I don't want to see. I don't want a super, super rare item to just be listed on the AH by some "player" named BlizzardRares for $20 with unlimited stock. Fuck that, honestly. I don't see them doing that, though.

With Bobby Kotick in charge, he might just cause that to happen. At some point Bobby will be in a meeting boardroom and Eureka! Why not just cut out the middleman and sell direct?

Unlimited supply of a virtual currency and unlimited supply of ultra rare hard to get items, and characters. They're already admitted that they're considering something along those lines. Once the Diablo 3 peak hits and the subs start to fall, they'll need something to keep raking in more and more dollars, and the shareholders will want blood before they're satisfied.