[pc gamer] diablo III may not see launch in (south)korea

[QuantumPion]

Except to compete with the hard core farmers to get goods that are worth money (people aren't going to pay for the shit rares from lower difficulties you found a long the way) you're going to have to pay money and Blizzard is going to take a cut of that. To assume you're going to be able to compete with farmers casually is pretty silly.

Irrelevant. Someone spending more time at an activity makes more money doing that activity. That has nothing to do whether the activity is a form of gambling or not.

 

[RPD]

I thought this topic was already covered very well in the other D3 thread...

 

[Molondo]

I thought they said that the money is between players, blizzard will have no hand in it. Stop the knee jerking

 

[nyker96]

real money auctions? D3 is mostly a kid game, at least D2 was played mostly by HS kids. This real money auction could be a problem, what if they looses a ton of cash in the process? will their parents pay for it?

 

[Chiropteran]

actually im waiting for the US gov. to start busting them.

Any type of exchange or auction with real money needs to be regulated... its almost similar to a real gold auction if you think of it, only the gold is virtual.
Do you guys honestly think Ebay isnt regulated? Think back what happened to online poker even.

Activision is a pretty damn huge company, I seriously doubt they would do anything obviously illegal in such a blatant way. I guarantee you their lawyers have looked at the real money auction house details enough to be sure they aren't going to be shut down by the fed.

Also, online poker is coming back. Some recent case was decided favorably, and as it turns out it shouldn't actually have been shut down like it was. Oops.

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-10753961

http://www.aintluck.com/poker-beginners/poker-legal/

 

[darkxshade]

If gold in game has any actual use then it'll be pegged against the dollar. Then people will be asking, why bother using gold at all unless they need it specifically. Because gold can inflate real easily as I've seen in many games if it can be acquired faster than the need for it arises(because it can be farmed). Blizzard is going to need to control the supply of in game gold or it's intrinsic value relative to the dollar will drop to a point where actual dollars become the standard for all trades. It's a slippery slope.

Mark my words, the honeymoon period for this game will be the inital year where the gold supply is low because the game is too new. At first, gold will be fairly expensive, the prices will rise until it hits the sweetspot when there's just relatively enough for people to do their business then its supply will continue to increases because there's nothing stopping it from being acquired. At that point, you can begin seeing your dollars buying more gold as months go by.

I don't like it but if this game is legalizing real currency, I'll be damn sure I sell everything for hard cash and try to acquire anything with game currency.

 

[CPA]

actually im waiting for the US gov. to start busting them.

Any type of exchange or auction with real money needs to be regulated... its almost similar to a real gold auction if you think of it, only the gold is virtual.
Do you guys honestly think Ebay isnt regulated? Think back what happened to online poker even.

Adding a cash option was not a smart move, yes its a profitable one, but im sure its going to open a new can of legal issues namely the SEC.
These guys in case u didnt know:
http://www.sec.gov/

Its also a way to launder and wash cash which is why i have a good feeling the cash option wont be in for very long.
Ummmm buying is OK... its the reverse transaction which will lead to the can of legal worms.... its a currency exchange in way.



yes i also figure that.. which is why i have a feeling the our own government will soon come crashing in on them.
The SEC probably has no clue what Diablo3 is until they get word about the reverse cash auction house.... meaning converting back into real cash.

The US government doesn't regulate EBay or any other auction house. What would make you think they did? States may require auction licenses, but the Feds certainly don't nor should they.

 

[CPA]

Activision is a pretty damn huge company, I seriously doubt they would do anything obviously illegal in such a blatant way. I guarantee you their lawyers have looked at the real money auction house details enough to be sure they aren't going to be shut down by the fed.

Also, online poker is coming back. Some recent case was decided favorably, and as it turns out it shouldn't actually have been shut down like it was. Oops.

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-10753961

http://www.aintluck.com/poker-beginners/poker-legal/

And several states have been coming out recently stating they are looking at the legalization of online gambling as another revenue source.

 

[CPA]

Isn't the "Real Money" Auctions why they are forcing you to be online 100% of the time in D3?

Hopefully it does fall foul of regulators & they drop such nonsense. We need to to stop more companies going the Ubi route.

Why? Why does it matter that regulators come in and make them get rid of it? Don't like it, don't use it.

Why does everything have to be regulated. Jeez Louise.

 

[darkewaffle]

If gold in game has any actual use then it'll be pegged against the dollar. Then people will be asking, why bother using gold at all unless they need it specifically. Because gold can inflate real easily as I've seen in many games if it can be acquired faster than the need for it arises(because it can be farmed). Blizzard is going to need to control the supply of in game gold or it's intrinsic value relative to the dollar will drop to a point where actual dollars become the standard for all trades. It's a slippery slope.

Mark my words, the honeymoon period for this game will be the inital year where the gold supply is low because the game is too new. At first, gold will be fairly expensive, the prices will rise until it hits the sweetspot when there's just relatively enough for people to do their business then its supply will continue to increases because there's nothing stopping it from being acquired. At that point, you can begin seeing your dollars buying more gold as months go by.

I don't like it but if this game is legalizing real currency, I'll be damn sure I sell everything for hard cash and try to acquire anything with game currency.

Actually I was thinking about this, and I think it would be doable (or interesting at least) if Blizzard took kind of a Federal Reserve approach to it. Control the supply of gold to prevent that kind of eventual hyperinflation, maybe even set a static amount so that as more gold comes into the hands of the players, less gold is created. Kind of like what Bitcoin wanted to do, but with a central authority you could keep player spending in check and have definitive info on where the gold is and how much is out there.

I think for it to really work the players would have to not know it though

 

[darkxshade]

Actually I was thinking about this, and I think it would be doable (or interesting at least) if Blizzard took kind of a Federal Reserve approach to it. Control the supply of gold to prevent that kind of eventual hyperinflation, maybe even set a static amount so that as more gold comes into the hands of the players, less gold is created. Kind of like what Bitcoin wanted to do, but with a central authority you could keep player spending in check and have definitive info on where the gold is and how much is out there.

I think for it to really work the players would have to not know it though

Players would know because the problem with keeping gold in check is that once the set pool of gold has been doled out entirely, it will be hoarded by the most active players. Which means it'll be real difficult for new/casual players from obtaining currency(if the rate for which it is dropped is limited by how fast it's used) forcing them to pay real dollars to get anything. That's no fun and not everyone can afford that, esp if Bizzard takes a cut so naturally they'd quit. And even if you could control the supply of gold, you can't control the drops. And if you can't sell drops for gold, that breaks the game but if you can sell the drops then you can't control the gold. There's a lot of economics involved, I'm surpised they aren't hiring mathematicians and busines majors on the Blizzard hiring page.

 

[DeathReborn]

Why? Why does it matter that regulators come in and make them get rid of it? Don't like it, don't use it.

Why does everything have to be regulated. Jeez Louise.

Regulation, when used properly, helps prevent companies abusing the public. Not everyone wants to live in a hippie state with no regulation. If exisitng regulation is a problem then maybe what they're trying to do isn't exactly kosher.

If the game had the ability to play without a Internet connection (often get zero on trains) in SP then fine, but restricting even that is what my issue is with. Since the Auction house is why that's there, I want it to either change or go away. If they can make the SP component offline, they should do so.

p.s. My names not Jeez or Louise...
And yes I do know it's a saying but still...

 

[SMOGZINN]

If the game had the ability to play without a Internet connection (often get zero on trains) in SP then fine, but restricting even that is what my issue is with. Since the Auction house is why that's there, I want it to either change or go away. If they can make the SP component offline, they should do so.

The AH is only one of several reasons that they went to online only play.

Online only play is the only known effective active DRM that actually reduces piracy. They are literally only selling you half the game, the other half resides on their servers.

Online only play prevents all the cheating that was rampant in D2, which in the end improves the quality of the game and enjoyment of the majority of their consumers.

Online only play allows them to dynamically modify the game in a number of interesting way with only small client side patches. More control allows them to better monetize the game.

Online only play allows them to collect all sorts of interesting statistics about you. Information is valuable.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Online only play is the only known effective active DRM that actually reduces piracy. They are literally only selling you half the game, the other half resides on their servers.

Online only play prevents all the cheating that was rampant in D2, which in the end improves the quality of the game and enjoyment of the majority of their consumers.

Online only play allows them to dynamically modify the game in a number of interesting way with only small client side patches. More control allows them to better monetize the game.

Online only play allows them to collect all sorts of interesting statistics about you. Information is valuable.

Even if Blizzard included a single player it wouldn't greatly increase piracy. The main reason I'm ok with it is because Diablo games are mainly online games anyway. Also, Diablo 2 had online only characters, and it didn't stop hacking. WoW has problems with hackers. Just about anything besides some small number modifications are going to require client patches. Do you even know what you're talking about?

 

[Grooveriding]

Even if Blizzard included a single player it wouldn't greatly increase piracy. The main reason I'm ok with it is because Diablo games are mainly online games anyway. Also, Diablo 2 had online only characters, and it didn't stop hacking. WoW has problems with hackers. Just about anything besides some small number modifications are going to require client patches. Do you even know what you're talking about?

I agree, but there are small caveats to this. Yes Diablo 2 had online only characters and an online-only mode. The thing is a lot of information was stored client side and passed to the server. Diablo 3 is much different, almost everything that happens in the game is stored server side and sent to the client.

At the time D2 came out Blizzard had no idea what would end up happening with the popularity and extent of hacking that would go down. The code is ancient and not designed to contend with all the rampant hacking that went on.

I have no doubt there will be hacks in D3, but the biggest thing that will kill the game that made a mess of D3; duping - will not happen.

I may pass on the game. I am really not liking all the bullshit going down with the cash grab money auction house crap. Not only delaying the game but adding a pretty crappy element to it imo.

 

[DeathReborn]

The AH is only one of several reasons that they went to online only play.

Online only play is the only known effective active DRM that actually reduces piracy. They are literally only selling you half the game, the other half resides on their servers.

Online only play prevents all the cheating that was rampant in D2, which in the end improves the quality of the game and enjoyment of the majority of their consumers.

Online only play allows them to dynamically modify the game in a number of interesting way with only small client side patches. More control allows them to better monetize the game.

Online only play allows them to collect all sorts of interesting statistics about you. Information is valuable.

Don't forget going "Online Only" was also in order to stop Mods, since they don't like them.

Online Only hasn't stopped piracy, yes it makes it harder but they'll still lose out on a lot of sales to pirates. I'm against DRM's that disrupt the consumer, this is just one of those.

"Online Only" sucks for those who want to access it on the move, particularly in distinctly 2nd world mobile internet access countries like the UK.

Online Only limits sales. Just look at what it's done for Ubisoft.

Online Only draws negative PR from fans & reviews.

Online Only with lots of small patches... oh joy, I'm going to love waiting for them to break something with one of those...

Online Only does not stop cheating & if anything makes it more profitable for those that find ways around the system.

Collecting information for profit brings more regulation as they'd have to comply with things like the Data Protection Act in the UK. So again, they have to be very careful to not fall foul of the law.

I could go on all day but I'll stop there for the sake of brevity & my own sanity.

We can do these swings & roundabout posts all day long, you support the idea of Online Only, I don't, we're not going to change so may as well just accept it.