Diablo 3: Auction house to accept real cash

[BoberFett]

Good logic there Lou. Comparing Blizzard's method of making money on a video game to automanufacturers shutting your car down in the middle of traffic. What strawman school did you go to, because I would like to send my kids there one day.

Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. He asked why companies shouldn't do everything they can to make money. I gave him another good idea.

Whatever, you bozos enjoy throwing your money at Bobby Kotick, that's none of my concern. Have fun with that.

 

[sigurros81]

Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. He asked why companies shouldn't do everything they can to make money. I gave him another good idea.

Whatever, you bozos enjoy throwing your money at Bobby Kotick, that's none of my concern. Have fun with that.

I have this inkling your stupid answer wasn't intentional..................

 

[Schfifty Five]

Ridiculous money grab. Blizz has gone down hill. So glad I'm almost 40 and found other hobbies rather than money farming off players of games. Gonna check out Grim Dawn and Torchlight 2.

LOL at the 40 year old whining like a teenager about a computer game.

 

[sigurros81]

LOL at the 40 year old whining like a teenager about a computer game.

You're mean. Some people may not have taken off even in their 40s mmmkay?

 

[BoberFett]

I have this inkling your stupid answer wasn't intentional..................

What are all those periods at the end? Is that your brain dribbling out onto the keyboard?

 

[sigurros81]

What are all those periods at the end? Is that your brain dribbling out onto the keyboard?

Woh ho ho. You got me good there with your quick wit Mr. silvertongue! You completely redeemed yourself from the travesty of a comparison. I feel so embarrassed now for even making fun of your logic.

 

[Mandres]

for what it's worth this doesn't seem like a cash grab to me. It's more about control: control of their game and the items in it and preventing 3rd parties from profiting through their trade.

Everyone knows what a mess D2 turned into with the rampant hacking/duping and outside parties controlling the market for high-end items. Back when I played FFXI people always wondered why the devs didn't start their own brokerage for in-game currency and run companies like IGE out of business.

At least then it would be safe for players, and the profits could be put back into game development instead of keeping a warehouse full of Chinese peasants farming away for $1.00/day. Same thing happened in WoW, Aion and every major MMO. You can't stop gold selling, so why not bring it in-house and keep it regulated?

I don't thing their method is the correct one, but I think it's the right direction for MMOs to go in.

 

[Super56K]

I am for this. I just don't see how it's going to work ...unless they have really high/rare items.

Gone are the days of D2 when currency was a SOJ.

I'm a little excited about this too, but I'm worried about the longevity of the game. There aren't many details yet but I wonder about scenarios like these:

- Auction houses are swamped with goods 6+ months after release, devaluing everything to extremes. Why would a player spend x amount of time magic finding a piece of gear when it could be had for $.75 through the auction house? Or on the flip side, why would a player bother to sell a piece of gear if he would only get $.75 minus fees?

- A normal environment where, for a cheap investment, a new player can acquire powerful items for any character they decide to play (assuming a market drop after the newness of it all wears off)

I think it may be a recipe for accelerated end game status for the average to power gamer. For me, Diablo 2 at its best was building up a few choice characters that used good gear, not the best gear. With two auction houses slotted for D3 I wonder how quickly a player might get to that point where they ask, "Now what will I do?" (In D2 terms when a player had an account dedicated to mules alone).

 

[sigurros81]

for what it's worth this doesn't seem like a cash grab to me. It's more about control: control of their game and the items in it and preventing 3rd parties from profiting through their trade.

Everyone knows what a mess D2 turned into with the rampant hacking/duping and outside parties controlling the market for high-end items. Back when I played FFXI people always wondered why the devs didn't start their own brokerage for in-game currency and run companies like IGE out of business.

At least then it would be safe for players, and the profits could be put back into game development instead of keeping a warehouse full of Chinese peasants farming away for $1.00/day. Same thing happened in WoW, Aion and every major MMO. You can't stop gold selling, so why not bring it in-house and keep it regulated?

I don't thing their method is the correct one, but I think it's the right direction for MMOs to go in.

Wow, someone actually making sense in a thread? WTF.

As for my two cents, I don't even see the big deal. I have never spend actual cash for in game crap, and I probably won't, but I don't see why this is such a tragedy. D2 and soon to be D3 for me has always been a cooperative experience, and fighting hordes of enemies to get the good lootz was part of the experience. I can see it being an issue if the game was a competitive game, and D3 is still going to be mainly a cooperative game, so what's the big deal if people spend actual money on virtual shit, not going to hurt me any.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

I'm a little excited about this too, but I'm worried about the longevity of the game. There aren't many details yet but I wonder about scenarios like these:

- Auction houses are swamped with goods 6+ months after release, devaluing everything to extremes. Why would a player spend x amount of time magic finding a piece of gear when it could be had for $.75 through the auction house? Or on the flip side, why would a player bother to sell a piece of gear if he would only get $.75 minus fees?

- A normal environment where, for a cheap investment, a new player can acquire powerful items for any character they decide to play (assuming a market drop after the newness of it all wears off)

I think it may be a recipe for accelerated end game status for the average to power gamer. For me, Diablo 2 at its best was building up a few choice characters that used good gear, not the best gear. With two auction houses slotted for D3 I wonder how quickly a player might get to that point where they ask, "Now what will I do?" (In D2 terms when a player had an account dedicated to mules alone).

It really doesn't matter whatsoever what other people choose to do with their time or money, does it? You are still free to play the game however you wish. Blizzard is merely legitimizing the market that is going to exist regardless, REALLY can't see why so many people have pantywads right now.

Nothing has changed. People sell virtual stuff for real money. People buy stuff instead of spending time. BFD. The only real distinction between Blizzard doing it and some third party is who is pocketing the middleman fee, and I don't see why anyone would prefer that to go to someone OTHER than blizzard.

 

[gorcorps]

I'm a little excited about this too, but I'm worried about the longevity of the game. There aren't many details yet but I wonder about scenarios like these:

- Auction houses are swamped with goods 6+ months after release, devaluing everything to extremes. Why would a player spend x amount of time magic finding a piece of gear when it could be had for $.75 through the auction house? Or on the flip side, why would a player bother to sell a piece of gear if he would only get $.75 minus fees?

- A normal environment where, for a cheap investment, a new player can acquire powerful items for any character they decide to play (assuming a market drop after the newness of it all wears off)

I think it may be a recipe for accelerated end game status for the average to power gamer. For me, Diablo 2 at its best was building up a few choice characters that used good gear, not the best gear. With two auction houses slotted for D3 I wonder how quickly a player might get to that point where they ask, "Now what will I do?" (In D2 terms when a player had an account dedicated to mules alone).

The problem with your statements are that you assume everybody will jump on the items just because they can. If they spend $0.75 on an item, then that means they'd rather spend 75 cents for a virtual item then play what we're presuming to be a fun game for hours.

If the game is truly fun, then you'll WANT to keep dumping hours into it. If you have the option of spending a buck on an item that would take 10 hours of game time to complete... then you just decided that you'd rather pay money then play the game. Then why bother playing the game if you don't want to spend time with it?

 

[BoberFett]

Woh ho ho. You got me good there with your quick wit Mr. silvertongue! You completely redeemed yourself from the travesty of a comparison. I feel so embarrassed now for even making fun of your logic.

I have a feeling you have so many things to be embarrassed about that what's said on this forum shouldn't even enter your top ten.

 

[Super56K]

It really doesn't matter whatsoever what other people choose to do with their time or money, does it? You are still free to play the game however you wish. Blizzard is merely legitimizing the market that is going to exist regardless, REALLY can't see why so many people have pantywads right now.

Nothing has changed. People sell virtual stuff for real money. People buy stuff instead of spending time. BFD. The only real distinction between Blizzard doing it and some third party is who is pocketing the middleman fee, and I don't see why anyone would prefer that to go to someone OTHER than blizzard.

Well, I did start off by saying I'm a little excited about the auction house announcement so my panties are feeling alright right now.

 

[Red Storm]

The problem with your statements are that you assume everybody will jump on the items just because they can. If they spend $0.75 on an item, then that means they'd rather spend 75 cents for a virtual item then play what we're presuming to be a fun game for hours.

If the game is truly fun, then you'll WANT to keep dumping hours into it. If you have the option of spending a buck on an item that would take 10 hours of game time to complete... then you just decided that you'd rather pay money then play the game. Then why bother playing the game if you don't want to spend time with it?

Some people can only have fun if they have the best gear. These are what we call "pay to win" folk. Of course it doesn't always work out that way, but the point is they can leapfrong players who have put effort (hours) into a game simply because they have more (disposable) money. If it's a singleplayer game there's no problem with this at all, but in a competitive multiplayer setting, it can be quite bad. I'm not entirely sure how Diablo's MP works as I personally despise the series, but I figured I'd give my 2 cents.

 

[Super56K]

The problem with your statements are that you assume everybody will jump on the items just because they can. If they spend $0.75 on an item, then that means they'd rather spend 75 cents for a virtual item then play what we're presuming to be a fun game for hours.

If the game is truly fun, then you'll WANT to keep dumping hours into it. If you have the option of spending a buck on an item that would take 10 hours of game time to complete... then you just decided that you'd rather pay money then play the game. Then why bother playing the game if you don't want to spend time with it?

That's kind of what I was getting at, but it isn't about a player not wanting to put in the time. It's more about wondering if there could be a disproportionate amount of players that take the fast track (or quickly build up wealth through the auction houses), only to shelve the game after 6-12 months. It could be too much of a good thing.

 

[pontifex]

Some people can only have fun if they have the best gear. These are what we call "pay to win" folk. Of course it doesn't always work out that way, but the point is they can leapfrong players who have put effort (hours) into a game simply because they have more (disposable) money. If it's a singleplayer game there's no problem with this at all, but in a competitive multiplayer setting, it can be quite bad. I'm not entirely sure how Diablo's MP works as I personally despise the series, but I figured I'd give my 2 cents.

if you're that competitive then you'll have the items long before any one can buy them.

 

[TridenT]

Eh. People with bots and dupe hacks are gonna get fucking silly rich in the real world now or devalue everything on the market to where the rarest and best items in the game are less than a quarter each.

HRs are duped in D2 and that's the only reason they're even remotely common. I've found a few in my time that have dropped but I think they always dropped from that one guy in Hell Chaos (Is a skeleton king mage thing and usually does a ice nova on death).

I'm not really pleased with the idea of an auction market too much. PvP is still going to be broken by how many hours/dollars/bots/hacks you've put into the game and not skill level.

 

[Dumac]

Eh. People with bots and dupe hacks are gonna get fucking silly rich in the real world now or devalue everything on the market to where the rarest and best items in the game are less than a quarter each.

HRs are duped in D2 and that's the only reason they're even remotely common. I've found a few in my time that have dropped but I think they always dropped from that one guy in Hell Chaos (Is a skeleton king mage thing and usually does a ice nova on death).

I'm not really pleased with the idea of an auction market too much. PvP is still going to be broken by how many hours/dollars/bots/hacks you've put into the game and not skill level.

PvP was always broken.

Hopefully the switch to always-online will cut down on bots and dupes. I'm sure Blizzard is going to put a lot of effort into it, especially with the auction house.

 

[Zebo]

Yeah! How dare these companies come up with new ideas to make money! Damn them! Quit making money you sons a bitches! I mean what kind of company wants to increase profits? The nerve...

They have that right likewise I have right to opt out for games more open. If it weren't D3 with good reputation blizz had no one would take a second look.

This guy sums up my thoughts exactly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBrESZJlNvQ

I've long been growing uncomfortable with how much Blizzard is charging for certain services with WoW, and then SC2 name changes and non laddering regionally without buying another copy. This ebaying your items, charged, sold or not, charged 3x if sold, no modding whatsoever, is leading me to never want to give Blizzard money ever again. There are plenty of games without money farming you into perpetuity.

 

[JSt0rm]

I'll buy for the single player

 

[styrafoam]

Integrity/security is a BS excuse. Each game will have to maximize profits from now on, blizzard wasn't going to get away with a subscription fee for diablo so here we are. No offline mode insures every player is only a few clicks away from the auction house. 3rd party sites will still allow you to sell your items, and you won't be triple charged to boot.

The truely sad part of it for me is blizzard controls item drops, and the big plan for money making this time around is fees from people selling each other items. Do they take the absolute lowest road possible and make good items so rare that the chances of actually getting a desirable drop on a character you are playing are ultra slim? Will everyone have a built in need for the player auctions? Will they overtune the difficulty at certain points to send people to the auction house? In the past it would have been easy to point to blizzard's track record and say no, its just a convenience option. As of late, not so much.

 

[Wyndru]

for what it's worth this doesn't seem like a cash grab to me. It's more about control: control of their game and the items in it and preventing 3rd parties from profiting through their trade.

Everyone knows what a mess D2 turned into with the rampant hacking/duping and outside parties controlling the market for high-end items. Back when I played FFXI people always wondered why the devs didn't start their own brokerage for in-game currency and run companies like IGE out of business.

At least then it would be safe for players, and the profits could be put back into game development instead of keeping a warehouse full of Chinese peasants farming away for $1.00/day. Same thing happened in WoW, Aion and every major MMO. You can't stop gold selling, so why not bring it in-house and keep it regulated?

I don't thing their method is the correct one, but I think it's the right direction for MMOs to go in.

Maybe it's just me, but I predict a ton of hackers trying to dupe/bot/steal even more with this model, being it can reward actual cash directly through the game without having to lure people to another website to purchase.

All anyone needs to do is steal accounts to do the hacking/bot farming on, then trade the items to a legit account(s) and sell it. It wouldn't be hard for some of these big gold selling sites to setup something like this. It almost seems easier to me than what they do now, by spamming chat trying to get people to actually trust their website and buy items.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Not too sure what to think about this. On the one hand, I'd rather Blizzard be the middleman and regulator of cash transactions between players instead of gold sellers and have no problem with them taking a cut in exchange for securing said transactions. On the other hand, this essentially makes Diablo III a farm for Blizzard. We farm the game, Blizzard farms us. The label "game" is just a disguise at this point. Now it's just all a gray area between entertainment and a side job.

Welcome to the new world of Techo-feudalism.

 

[Mandres]

Maybe it's just me, but I predict a ton of hackers trying to dupe/bot/steal even more with this model, being it can reward actual cash directly through the game without having to lure people to another website to purchase.

All anyone needs to do is steal accounts to do the hacking/bot farming on, then trade the items to a legit account(s) and sell it. It wouldn't be hard for some of these big gold selling sites to setup something like this. It almost seems easier to me than what they do now, by spamming chat trying to get people to actually trust their website and buy items.

There will be no more anonymity for people engaged in buying and selling though. If all transactions go through the blizzard auction house then they will retain complete logs and be able to track scammers/dupers very easily.

Gold selling companies don't make most of their money by farming gold/items to sell. They make it by buying gold at a low price (from players) and selling high (to other players). The only control over the exchange rate is competition from other companies. With this sytem, Blizzard can maintain the price of gold at a level that is healthy for the game and not predatory, and stop outside companies from making huge profits of the players of their game.

 

[Chiropteran]

I've long been growing uncomfortable with how much Blizzard is charging for certain services with WoW, and then SC2 name changes and non laddering regionally without buying another copy. This ebaying your items, charged, sold or not, charged 3x if sold, no modding whatsoever, is leading me to never want to give Blizzard money ever again. There are plenty of games without money farming you into perpetuity.

If blizzard did not have a cash AH, you would either have to not sell your items for cash, or pay some other site's fee. If you would have chosen to not sell your items, then nothing is preventing you from exercising that option even with the cash auction house.

People complain about anything. "FU blizzard, by giving me the option to give you a small percentage of my earnings when selling your digital items for cash, you FORCE ME TO GIVE YOU TOO MUCH MONEY, SO I QUIT!"