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Blizzard on Gold selling: Effects and Consequences
Recant
Member UncommonPosts: 1,586
If this has been posted earlier apologies, I missed it. Blizzard just released a pretty lengthy diatribe on the effects of Gold selling, the page is on their official site:
www.wow-europe.com/en/info/faq/antigoldselling.html
Perhaps in response to a UK bank denying WoW transactions because of all the scams?
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
Comments
Banks deny you transactions if you don't play by the rules.
So if Blizzard rips off too many of that banks customers, that bank may stop dealing with them.
For example, if Blizzard banned me but did not refund me and I asked my credit card agency to cancel the payment.
If this happens a few times it is normal for banks to block transactions with said company.
The same would be true if you bought gold by credit card and the gold didn't arrive. If you then asked for a refund and didn't get it. If a few of the bank's custiomers did the same, then the bank would blacklist transactions with that company too.
Lots of game services get blacklisted by banks.
Steam is blacklisted by loads of them. companies have a legal obligation to provide a method of renumeration in the event of customer dissatisfaction, those that do not offer this risk blacklisting.
I think other reasons for persisent credit card disputes will be unauthorised access. Little johnny used his dad's card to resub or buy a game and didn't tell him. And dad disputed a charge he didn't think he'd agreed to.
That the peoples' fault, not Blizzard's. I f you want to cheat, boo hoo.
There is a difference between cheating with game money, and cheating with real money.
One is "boo hoo" banned from the game, the other is "boo hoo" banned from the bank.
I have no problem with people buying gold because it's upto them, I just hate all the gold spam in chat.
That post looks like a desperat cry because they cant handle it. the post is written to shame ppl who have bought gold. and the fact is that the ppl who bought the gold would never even care.. wow is a game about ME, ME, MEEE!!
If Players got hacked and their gold sold to someone he would just tell him he was a noob for compromising his security. I know ppl who have bought gold from these companies and nothing ever happened to them. when i started playing EVE-Online i heard it was legal to buy ingame money (ISK) so i did in order to get fast start. but the next day all the money i bought were removed from my char and a warning was sent to me. note that I later found out that it IS legal to buy isk in eve, as long as you buy Game Time Cards and sell them for ingame money..
/whine
The bank stated that players can still make payments to blizzard, they have to confirm those payments. They have to prove that they are in fact the cardholders in order to make the payements, I do not think that this is in any way a bad thing, in fact I think that more banks should do the same. It prevents your card from being used without your consent. It is for your protection. It keeps kids from stealing parents credit cards and runnin g up charges, and prevents people from stealing that card to make those transactions. I would like to see more banks doing this in regards to all games and risky sites. You have to call the bank to make the payment and receive authorization. If more banks implemented this the amount of credit card theft used to pay for memberships would decline.
1. Getting keylogged and compromising your account's security is a burden placed on the USER not the company. There is nothing Blizzard can do about it because it exists outside of their "jurisdiction".
2. Supply and demand. I didn't read anything that made blatant attacks on those who buy gold. Just simply stating the fact that without demand there is no need for a supply.
I personally don't care either way when it comes down to RMT/botting/PLing. But I think Blizzard put it in the best way possible that it's not THEIR fault your an idiot (not you personally).
"They essentially want to say 'Correlation proves Causation' when it's just not true." - Sovrath
I place the blame of the gold and powerleveling problems squarely on the developers for making games that people would rather pay somebody else to play than play it themselves. Think about it.. If the game was truly fun, you would want to play it yourself. I don't outsource sex.. well because its good.. But I do outsource my tax returns, landscaping and oil changes.... and sometimes MMORPG leveling.
Here's a recent article I wrote on the subject.
Not only do gold sellers steal accounts, they steal credit cards to start accounts.
And people playing games they don’t find fun have mental issues. And I’m not just saying that to be mean, they really do have mental issues. Think about it.
I’m going to play a game that isn’t fun. So I pay someone to play it for me. F*cking crazy.
Thanks Recant for the excellent link. Very interesting read. I'm sure this thread is gonna get twisted twelve ways to Sunday before it runs it's course.
People are blaming Blizz for all the gold buying huh? That's typical. Some people really should just be shot. I can't stand anyone who buys gold or bots or anything of the sort. There's no point in it and it ruins people's gaming experience. The people who sell gold or make bots really should be punished some how, they're just scum. The people who buy gold and use stuff like bots should be permabanned from online gaming. What is the point of using such things if they play the game for you? That defeats the purpose entirely. In closing I'd like to say that if you blame game companies for the gold-buying problem, than I think you should be slapped.
to nr 2: I agree 100%
Blizzard may have put it in the best way possible. but im afraid it doesn't reach out where it should. Informative information is allways good and I hereby take back what I said which is in opposition to what I've said in this post.
While I do not condone gold buying, and particularly power level, your argument is flawed. What if a game is ONLY fun in some parts and you cannot get to it without going through the non-fun part? It is not crazy for people to bypass the non-fun part with money.
Having said that, I actually think that the most fun part of WOW is the questing/leveling. I think they may even be more fun than the end-game content. So there is no way I would use these services. In fact, I plan to level another toon just to quest in the zones I missed the first time around.
Then you have a problem with people buying gold, because the reality is that one does not exist without the other. Gold selling spammers don't exist in a vacuum.
originally posted by zergwatch
I place the blame of the gold and powerleveling problems squarely on the developers for making games that people would rather pay somebody else to play than play it themselves. Think about it.. If the game was truly fun, you would want to play it yourself. I don't outsource sex.. well because its good.. But I do outsource my tax returns, landscaping and oil changes.... and sometimes MMORPG leveling.
Here's a recent article I wrote on the subject.
Yeah and people who rob and steal in real life are not at fault because if they were given enough money by the rest of us, they wouldn't need to.
Maybe if the game isn't fun for you, you should play another game instead of making excuses for cheating and spoiling everyone else's fun.
originally posted by arngorf
/whine
I know ppl who have bought gold from these companies and nothing ever happened to them. when i started playing EVE-Online i heard it was legal to buy ingame money (ISK) so i did in order to get fast start. but the next day all the money i bought were removed from my char and a warning was sent to me. note that I later found out that it IS legal to buy isk in eve, as long as you buy Game Time Cards and sell them for ingame money..
CCP's hypocrisy of wanting to be the exclusive gold seller is a separate issue. Either it's wrong for everyone including the developer or it's fair game for everyone.
I don't see this as hypocrisy at all. I actually think it's a brilliant solution and middle ground. They are not selling gold, they are allowing their players to sell gold, but not for cash---for play time.
This helps young players who have more time than money and who might not be able to afford the monthly fees otherwise, and it helps older players who have more money than time. What it doesn't do is create a secondary market.
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im to lazy too use grammar or punctuation good
To put it simply and bluntly.Any one that sells,buys,bots,ect. are liars and cheats.period Every one has to agree to the terms of use..those pages you click,yes I agree to.They state in very plainly and in great detail what your not supose to do.
And people playing games they don’t find fun have mental issues. And I’m not just saying that to be mean, they really do have mental issues. Think about it.
I’m going to play a game that isn’t fun. So I pay someone to play it for me. F*cking crazy.
doing boring repetitive tasks isn't fun so people buy it to get to the fun part......... I mean we have jobs in the real life so we don't need a 2nd
And people playing games they don’t find fun have mental issues. And I’m not just saying that to be mean, they really do have mental issues. Think about it.
I’m going to play a game that isn’t fun. So I pay someone to play it for me. F*cking crazy.
doing boring repetitive tasks isn't fun so people buy it to get to the fun part......... I mean we have jobs in the real life so we don't need a 2nd
So play a game that is fun and isn't boring and repetitive for you or stick with games that support RMT and stop making excuses for cheating and ruining other people's fun in games that forbid RMT.
The simply fact is that you shouldn't be playing a game that requires you to pay someone else to play it for you or to get you certain items/gold. The defeats the object of the game. If you plan on doing it to "get to the fun part," chances are that you're going to be pretty useless in your inexperience to the other players who legitimitely reached their levels.
That's really an overly simplistic way of looking at it. A typical MMO is not "a game," it is many games. Few people will enjoy every aspect of a well-made MMO. The problem is, most MMOs are so linear, it is often difficult or impossible o get to the parts you like without spending a lot of time on the parts you don't.
Two perfect examples:
1. You love, I mean LOVE, to raid. But you hate to grind gold to pay for your repairs. In fact, you don't have time for both. But you can't have one without the other.
2. You play WoW. You are a hunter. You are in a great guild full of good friends, but which has a lot of hunters, and desperately needs another priest for raids. You would love to switch over to a priest, but it will take you months of grinding through the same content you just completed to get there....too late to help you guild.
What do you do? Quit?
Why should we be forced into such decisions?
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im to lazy too use grammar or punctuation good
Now for your first question. You most certainly can have them both, it will just take more time. Skipping a raid or two in order to get gold for repairs means you will still be raiding, just not as much. That's exactly how the developers intended you to play the game in the first place.
With regards to your second question, the fact that you chose to be a Hunter and on top of it all joined a guild full of Hunters is not the developer's problem. They did not force you to roll a Hunter or to join your guild. If the guild desperately needs a Priest, someone else can re-roll one. If no one has the time, then frankly your guild needs to slow down a little because clearly they're in deeper water than they can handle.
Your scenarios most definitely exist, but not as a fault of the developers. People get themselves into their messes in the large majority of cases. There is therefore no excuse for hurting the game economy or involving oneself in illegal practises due to regrets. As I mentioned before, and stress yet again... if you play an MMO, you must be willing to invest time into it.
Now for your first question. You most certainly can have them both, it will just take more time. Skipping a raid or two in order to get gold for repairs means you will still be raiding, just not as much. That's exactly how the developers intended you to play the game in the first place.
With regards to your second question, the fact that you chose to be a Hunter and on top of it all joined a guild full of Hunters is not the developer's problem. They did not force you to roll a Hunter or to join your guild. If the guild desperately needs a Priest, someone else can re-roll one. If no one has the time, then frankly your guild needs to slow down a little because clearly they're in deeper water than they can handle.
Your scenarios most definitely exist, but not as a fault of the developers. People get themselves into their messes in the large majority of cases. There is therefore no excuse for hurting the game economy or involving oneself in illegal practises due to regrets. As I mentioned before, and stress yet again... if you play an MMO, you must be willing to invest time into it.
I really don't care how you view what people should or should not do. And I'm not saying that it is right for people to buy gold or use powerlevelling in a game that forbids it.
All I'm saying is that it's not insane for people to play a game, a PART OF WHICH they don't enjoy. To the contrary, there are very easily explained, rational reasons why people would do it, and why they would want to pay someone to play the rest of it for them. That doesn't make it right.
Part of playing baseball is sweeping the baselines, cleaning off the bases, and mowing the grass. Most baseball players don't do that themselves. They pay other people to do it for them.
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im to lazy too use grammar or punctuation good
Now for your first question. You most certainly can have them both, it will just take more time. Skipping a raid or two in order to get gold for repairs means you will still be raiding, just not as much. That's exactly how the developers intended you to play the game in the first place.
With regards to your second question, the fact that you chose to be a Hunter and on top of it all joined a guild full of Hunters is not the developer's problem. They did not force you to roll a Hunter or to join your guild. If the guild desperately needs a Priest, someone else can re-roll one. If no one has the time, then frankly your guild needs to slow down a little because clearly they're in deeper water than they can handle.
Your scenarios most definitely exist, but not as a fault of the developers. People get themselves into their messes in the large majority of cases. There is therefore no excuse for hurting the game economy or involving oneself in illegal practises due to regrets. As I mentioned before, and stress yet again... if you play an MMO, you must be willing to invest time into it.
I really don't care how you view what people should or should not do. And I'm not saying that it is right for people to buy gold or use powerlevelling in a game that forbids it.
All I'm saying is that it's not insane for people to play a game, a PART OF WHICH they don't enjoy. To the contrary, there are very easily explained, rational reasons why people would do it, and why they would want to pay someone to play the rest of it for them. That doesn't make it right.
Part of playing baseball is sweeping the baselines, cleaning off the bases, and mowing the grass. Most baseball players don't do that themselves. They pay other people to do it for them.
To extend your metaphor, it also takes several hours a day of physical workout to maintain yourself as a professional athlete...and those athletes can't pay anyone to work out for them.There is a way to cheat this, though...they take steroids. Kind of like powerleveling, huh?
The problem with your post is that it does not take anyone else into consideration. Just becuase you enjoy raiding, doesn't mean everyone does. If you allow one person to use money to bypass content that they did not enjoy, it would only be fair to let others do the same. How would you feel if someone who did not enjoy raiding was allowed to acquire the best weapons and equipment in the game just by paying a small fee? Most of the full time raiders I know would have a coniption. If you don't allow both, then you shouldn't allow either. The only thing it does is allow one group to have an unfair advantage over the other."Those who dislike things based only on the fact that they are popular are just as shallow and superficial as those who only like them for the same reason."