Quote:
Originally Posted by bolinp78
Because the "real" gamers (if this came out ten years ago it would be me) know that when you bring real money into the mix on such a direct level you lose the immersion that the game provides and hooks you with.
This game is a generation gapper; There are going to be quite a few gamers that played the first few Diablo games a decade ago that are going to be adamantly against an auction house featuring real money.
When a game becomes more about power-leveling and farming and less about storyline, lore, PvP, and the like, is when you lose a lot of your fan base that knows what it feels like to be immersed by a game beyond the $$. Instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment for getting a certain item, or killing a boss hoping he will drop something that your character can use, you'll just be worried about how much you can get for it on the auction house. Instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment for getting a particular item, you know in the back of your mind (no matter how much of a purist you are) that as long as you are willing to shell out the cash you can have that item right now without really working for it in game.
Not only will this deter the old school gamer, but it will also deter the newbie and the casual gamer who comes to realize that in order to stay up with the crowd they are going to feel pressured to shell out real cash. I realize that there are going to be auction houses for both real money and in-game gold, but the in-game gold auction house is just going to be a stepping stone for the real money auction house where the really good stuff is.
The bottom line is Blizzard is tired of being cut out of the shady gold selling practices that went on in their previous games, and they want their share. They are understandably disguising this motive by telling everyone that they are trying to protect them and their accounts. News flash, the gold sellers aren't going to go away and Blizzard just wants to cash in on your love for the game and your desire to have a better crossbow than your friends.
In my opinion, it's not a good idea at all to try and monetize MMORPG's in this way. But this is what gaming has turned into; That's just the way it is. Blizzard realizes the amount of immersion they create with games such as these, and the cash cow that they can be even years after release. It's too bad they are selling out.
I was considering purchasing the game when and if it ever comes out, but not after this announcement.
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very well put. perfect, and I completely agree.
i will still be purchasing the game, but I completely agree with you for what it's going to turn the game into.
If you thought the bots running in D2 were bad enough before....you're about to see a whole new level of it. You're going to have people outsourcing everything to machines to try to get the latest/greatest thing.
On the flip side the general 'price' of things will greatly drop. but as you mentioned, bolin, it will also belittle your accomplishments.