Diablo III now significantly worse!
Aug 3, 2011 10:38:36 GMT -5
Post by Feynman on Aug 3, 2011 10:38:36 GMT -5
There's also the ethical ramifications of how the cash auctions in Diablo III work. Obviously the best items in the game aren't going to be sold of in-game currency... people are going to sell them for cash, because there's a market for it. By allowing gold to be purchased with cash as well, that means that those without disposable incomes are going to be farming as much gold as possible in order to convert said gold to cash, with which to buy the best items. That wouldn't be quite so bad (disregarding for a moment the obvious balance issues of selling power) if not for the fact that Blizzard takes a cut (multiple cuts, in fact) from every sale.
Essentially, a sizable portion of the game's population will be working as gold farmers, and then when they make trades Blizzard gets money. Diablo III's auction house is a giant self-contained gold farming company where the employees (the players) are paying the company (Blizzard) for the privilege of working. It's disgusting.
Back to simple gameplay ramifications, the big problem here is that Blizzard is selling power - the best gear is going to be sold for cash, essentially locking power behind a pay wall. Online games should never, ever sell power. These games are competitive, both directly via PvP aspects, and indirectly, as these games encourage competition to see who can get the best gear. Selling power undermines this competitive aspect.
Blizzard is selling power, undermining the integrity of the loot-finding gameplay Diablo is based on. They're also exploiting their userbase as built-in gold farmers for their own benefit. It's disgusting.
I don't believe that microtransactions are inherently evil, and they can be used effectively add value and flexibility for the playerbase while also providing an excellent source of money for the developers. But it has to be done in ways that don't harm a game's balance and integrity, and don't exploit the userbase. Blizzard's auction system fails both of those checks.
Incidentally, this is a video worth watching on the subject of microtransactions:
www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/3689-Microtransactions
Essentially, a sizable portion of the game's population will be working as gold farmers, and then when they make trades Blizzard gets money. Diablo III's auction house is a giant self-contained gold farming company where the employees (the players) are paying the company (Blizzard) for the privilege of working. It's disgusting.
Back to simple gameplay ramifications, the big problem here is that Blizzard is selling power - the best gear is going to be sold for cash, essentially locking power behind a pay wall. Online games should never, ever sell power. These games are competitive, both directly via PvP aspects, and indirectly, as these games encourage competition to see who can get the best gear. Selling power undermines this competitive aspect.
Blizzard is selling power, undermining the integrity of the loot-finding gameplay Diablo is based on. They're also exploiting their userbase as built-in gold farmers for their own benefit. It's disgusting.
I don't believe that microtransactions are inherently evil, and they can be used effectively add value and flexibility for the playerbase while also providing an excellent source of money for the developers. But it has to be done in ways that don't harm a game's balance and integrity, and don't exploit the userbase. Blizzard's auction system fails both of those checks.
Incidentally, this is a video worth watching on the subject of microtransactions:
www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/3689-Microtransactions
