Diablo III to Feature Real Money Auction House for In-Game Items

This doesn't bother me as much. Maybe just another way to make some cash.

People need to understand some cold, hard facts about what's happening here.
 
First of all, RMAH is already happening. It's called forumgold, goldselling websites and itemshops, and they are still out there for Diablo 2 and basically every game that involves the acquisition of items and gold for the betterments of your character, spaceship or whatever.
 
Second, the whole "It's regional, Chinese gold sellers can't do that on my US server." argument is invalid. What counts is the region code of the game you buy, not from where you play. I can play US WoW and SC2 from Europe if I buy a US copy. So steps need to be taken to prevent this kind of BS.
 
Third, you can sell gold on the RMAH which means that the economy of one will always balance out the other. I actually foresee gold being the only commodity traded on the RMAH which people will then take to the gold AH to buy their items. Doing this keeps the gold to item value more or less stable and keeps one AH from devaluing the other.
 
Fourth, this is a huge market. Buying and selling ingame items/gold for money is a billion dollar industry. One big shot at Mythic, prior to Warhammer release stated they were approached by goldsellers and were offered a figure close to their estimated subscription volume for their first year in exchange for access to gold for the goldsellers to create at will. (I bet they wish they'd have taken that offer.. =D )
 
Fifth, unless Torchlight 2 finds a way to address this, you will be spammed ad nauseam with goldseller spam, because there is no way for people to trade what they want, items/gold for money. In Diablo3, not so much of a problem because nobody will go to some shady website to buy their gold when there's a RMAH where they can do that in.
 
Sixth, A LOT of people spend money for their items/gold. Figures like 20% have been thrown around in articles I've read regarding the subject. Let's be conservative and say 10. Easily one in ten of the people you play with has spent money to get ahead. There is no change in the status quo by doing this. Playing an MMO, you already play with people like this on a daily basis.

All in all, they are doing something nobody has done before. Provide a way for you to choose to what degree Real Money online trades affect your game play and keep the spam away from you, which frankly is the most annoying thing ever. I think it's as good a thing as we can currently expect from the situation.

Its bullshit, but theres enough normal people playing these games who will, hopefully, buy and sell using fake gaming currency rather than real money.

Totally going to sell shit to people with more money than sense as i play video games!

I dont really care about this. I am not gonna use the AH anyway.

Doesn't bother me at all.  I really don't care if a bunch of lazy folks want to buy their way up, i'm going to enjoy the game regardless. It seems like a very ignorable feature.  If they can be rid of the annoying ad spammers from Diablo 2, that would be great, I ended up quitting battle.net because the spammers made me play passworded games only.
 
The legal ramifications could be interesting, I mean will the government try to collect tax on all this virtual wheeling and dealing? What about international sales - Blizzard's Diablo servers have traditionally covered both Canada, the US, and Mexico, and most of europe or asia on the same server.   The one thing I don't want, is for this system to force international borders onto online gaming, with a hundred country-based regions limiting online play.
 
I have been avoiding all things blizzard this week, because i'm uninterested in listening to a bunch of kids whine about stuff like this.  Six years of WoW, i've learned that someone will blow things out of proportion, no matter what blizzard does regarding it's games.

As shady as this all sounds, I'll reserve judgement until I know who the "third party" actually is.

This is a great step for Blizzard to take for this game, and any other online games thay they'll release in the future. It brings a legitimate way to take advantage of an illicit activity that's been going on since online games began. The only people that this should offend is gold farmers and such, as now players can do this themselves, the farmers are no longer the sole profiters from buying in game goods. It's safe to say that farmers aren't going away any time soon, but now people who do buy items online have an easy and secure method to do so.

@firewrkninja said:

@ZeekDaGeek said:

@firewrkninja said:

it kinda makes me want to play this game more because not only do you get a game, but if you play it enough to get really cool stuff, then it could potentially pay for itself

Here's the reality of it. People in China, where it's profitable or equivalent compared to other jobs, will play Diablo III full time with high level characters killing the monsters that drop the items that people want. If you find a valuable item and list it on the AH you will need to pay a fee with real money in order to list the item. The person in China with 20 of the same item can under cut you by 5 cents and the average buyer will buy it from the lowest easiest price, without considering yours. You'll then need to take your item down as under cutting happens a few times and if your smart you'll only be out the first fee before you give up and realize the system is retarded. Otherwise you'll repeat the process and the only one making true profit is Blizzard.

Alright, so you don't take part in the AH, you're then only limited to your close friends who don't take part in the system unless you want to feel weak by random people joining your game with the best loot they bought for relatively cheap, because they spent 20 bucks and bought awesome gear that they have no rights to actually owning.

Oh you want to build up an awesome character to PVP with later? Nope, out of luck, someone bought the better gear then you. What do you do then? You either buy something to feel even or throw the game in the garbage where it belongs. As long as this system remains fuck Diablo III.

the auction houses are regional. ownt.

First, welcome to the internet, I'm sure you'll like it. Second, look at StarCraft which is regioned, the highest level players of StarCraft own a copy for every single region they would like to play in. You can use Virtual Private Networks to choose which ever region you would like to connect if it's restricted by IP address. That's only the example you may be aware of. Even if I wanted to go play an Asian game which often require proof that you live in the country I'm often able to join the community if I find the right website to sign up for me.

There is no reliable way to prevent people who wish to play in another region from doing just that.

^ not to mention you get a few free item listings per week so that entire first paragraph isn't true at all.
 
Oh and it's probably already been said - but there's no loot ninja'ing. Drops on your screen can only be looted by you.

@firewrkninja said:

it kinda makes me want to play this game more because not only do you get a game, but if you play it enough to get really cool stuff, then it could potentially pay for itself

Here's the reality of it. People in China, where it's profitable or equivalent compared to other jobs, will play Diablo III full time with high level characters killing the monsters that drop the items that people want. If you find a valuable item and list it on the AH you will need to pay a fee with real money in order to list the item. The person in China with 20 of the same item can under cut you by 5 cents and the average buyer will buy it from the lowest easiest price, without considering yours. You'll then need to take your item down as under cutting happens a few times and if your smart you'll only be out the first fee before you give up and realize the system is retarded. Otherwise you'll repeat the process and the only one making true profit is Blizzard.

Alright, so you don't take part in the AH, you're then only limited to your close friends who don't take part in the system unless you want to feel weak by random people joining your game with the best loot they bought for relatively cheap, because they spent 20 bucks and bought awesome gear that they have no rights to actually owning.

Oh you want to build up an awesome character to PVP with later? Nope, out of luck, someone bought the better gear then you. What do you do then? You either buy something to feel even or throw the game in the garbage where it belongs. As long as this system remains fuck Diablo III.

Every MMO out there has a thriving black market and no amount of policing has ever come close to working. Just because you were unaware of it, doesn't mean it didn't have the exact same impact on your game play that this RMAH will. Hell, even Everquest 1 still has a thriving market like this and it's older than D2 is.
 
Who cares. I'm 100% for it personally. They aren't "selling power" anymore than they are linking the in game economy to the real world economy via a secure link rather than allowing 3rd parties which are notoriously untrustworthy (and yet amazingly popular) thrive off their product.
 
Anybody against this is either naive or just incapable of understanding the situation.. no other way to put it. Worst case scenario it makes gold actually viable for trading (even if it's a 100000g to 1$ ratio atleast its not worthless like D2) and makes trading vastly simpler than it ever was in D2 and allows you to eventually cash out your accumulated items/characters when you quit the game. Oh noes. 
 
Not to mention - who cares what other people do? It's f'ing diablo ffs. You co-op to kill monsters. Who cares if some other person has a better sword than you.. roflmao.. jesus.

Supply is 100% controlled by Blizzard.  Every single item being sold on the AH belongs to Blizzard, they are only allowing you to keep a part of the profits for finalizing a sale for them. If the players owned the items the AH would be completely pointless as they would be able to legally sell their items outside the game and keep the full profit themselves. The way you're portraying it Blizzard is supposedly stepping in as a third party to make sure the seller and the buyer is getting a fair deal. But who is gonna make sure the seller and the buyer doesn't get screwed by Blizzard, considering they also have a stake in the deal ? If you're thinking Blizzard would have no reason to screw the players, as it could lead to less sales etc, how does the same not apply to any major gold-selling site ?

You cant monopolize something that everyone has access to. So in game Auction House (from the information provided) is player driven in the content that is on it, in so far as it can be. With the game world they have access to being their own to far. So where is the problem exactly? Of course they are creating the system to give them money, but in what way does it "favour" them? Like I said, supply is not controlled by them, this remains a player driven market.

@Arath said:

Why is it questionable for Blizzard to regulate market trade where they are the sole supplier?

You don't see any issue with a system where the ones that has the most to earn are also the ones making the rules ? It's basically the same as what happens in black markets, since there's no third party to control the market the big traders make all the rules and stack the deck to be all in their own favor.

Why is it questionable for Blizzard to regulate market trade where they are the sole supplier?

@Stahlbrand said:

A lot of hysterics here, but Isn't this just like the argument for legalizing and regulating soft drugs?

A) real money trading has been, and will always continue to be epidemic

B) RMT exists as a black market, controlled by scumbags

C) RMT scumbags increase victimization (gold farming) and over-inflate value

D) Inflated value of RMT goods leads to secondary crime (fraud, theft)

At least if Blizzard creates a structured and regulated environment for RMT they can control it, observe it closely, and hopefully ameliorate the criminogenic factors.

I will play the game without participation in RMT, or broader BattleNet online garbage (just co-op with my brother) so it is no big deal to me directly, but if it reduces gold farm spam and unfortunate consequences of black market RMT, I can support it.

That still doesn't change the fact that it's questionable for Blizzard to be the ones to regulate the trade in a market where they are the sole supplier. To put in gaming terms, it would sorta be like having EA or Activision taking over the job for ESRB.

Wow, people are comparing this to the legalization of substances that are proven to physically destroy and kill the human body? Really guys? I'm sorry but a little bit of reasoning and perspective is required here, this is a game first and foremost. Nothing that is done in it is equivalent to the real world problems involved with hard drugs, so no comparisons please. It's not "like" something, it is what it is, if you want to make comparisons, let them be to other things in the entertainment or IT industry (there are plenty to be had).
 
Second if you don't like it, don't support it, nothing shows a company better than voting with your wallet. That being said, personally this is not a problem.
 
If it creates a two tier system between the real $ Auction House and the Gold Auction House, then we have to live with the PvP implications this may have as you effectively have to pay to win, but only for the PvP aspect of the game (which, if this interests you, is a somewhat legitimate concern). The fact is you can take part in this too, if you really are going to buy your way to the best gear (which I find strange that you would) you can do so by playing the game and selling your items for real $.
 
We can argue about the economics of how this will play out in reality, but unlike, say an MMO the world space you farm in, if you so choose to farm, is your own so you have no resource competition, only market competition, which is a self regulating one in this case, but that debate is outwith the scope of this comment.

A lot of hysterics here, but Isn't this just like the argument for legalizing and regulating soft drugs?

A) real money trading has been, and will always continue to be epidemic

B) RMT exists as a black market, controlled by scumbags

C) RMT scumbags increase victimization (gold farming) and over-inflate value

D) Inflated value of RMT goods leads to secondary crime (fraud, theft)

At least if Blizzard creates a structured and regulated environment for RMT they can control it, observe it closely, and hopefully ameliorate the criminogenic factors.

I will play the game without participation in RMT, or broader BattleNet online garbage (just co-op with my brother) so it is no big deal to me directly, but if it reduces gold farm spam and unfortunate consequences of black market RMT, I can support it.

@Kyle said:

@Chavtheworld said:

@WinterSnowblind said:

@Chavtheworld said:

The fact that there's another auction house that doesn't use real money makes me think this isn't a problem.

Except nobody is going to use that one when they could be making real money. It's going to destroy the games economy and like most other microtransaction systems: give a huge advantage to players willing to spend money. This not only kills the sense of progression, but could completely unbalance PVP.

I have the distinct feeling that there will be two types of in-game currency, and one is just bought with real money. You won't be able convert it back to cash surely?  And same shit happened to Eve recently didn't it? They added ways to buy your way to good shit. At least in this you have to be the right level to purchase the items, so you can't get them really early. In regards to PVP, if you win based merely on what items you have rather than skill, then the PVP is broken anyway.

It says right in the story that you can cash out. Also, no, the Eve thing was about buying vanity items.  This has been going on in Diablo II forever. If you think that person you're fighting in pvp actually spent the time to get those items rather than just buying them off some site, you're fooling yourself. And seriously, Diablo pvp? Why does anyone like that? I don't even get it.

Cool, so you don't care when an aspect of a game you don't play is ruined. That's a great defense. These stories really bring the special ed hobbits out of the woodwork.

A lot of hysterics here, but Isn't this just like the argument for legalizing and regulating soft drugs?

A) real money trading has been, and will always continue to be epidemic

B) RMT exists as a black market, controlled by scumbags

C) RMT scumbags increase victimization (gold farming) and over-inflate value

D) Inflated value of RMT goods leads to secondary crime (fraud, theft)

At least if Blizzard creates a structured and regulated environment for RMT they can control it, observe it closely, and hopefully ameliorate the criminogenic factors.

I will play the game without participation in RMT, or broader BattleNet online garbage (just co-op with my brother) so it is no big deal to me directly, but if it reduces gold farm spam and unfortunate consequences of black market RMT, I can support it.

@Chavtheworld said:

@WinterSnowblind said:

@Chavtheworld said:

The fact that there's another auction house that doesn't use real money makes me think this isn't a problem.

Except nobody is going to use that one when they could be making real money. It's going to destroy the games economy and like most other microtransaction systems: give a huge advantage to players willing to spend money. This not only kills the sense of progression, but could completely unbalance PVP.

I have the distinct feeling that there will be two types of in-game currency, and one is just bought with real money. You won't be able convert it back to cash surely?  And same shit happened to Eve recently didn't it? They added ways to buy your way to good shit. At least in this you have to be the right level to purchase the items, so you can't get them really early. In regards to PVP, if you win based merely on what items you have rather than skill, then the PVP is broken anyway.

It says right in the story that you can cash out. Also, no, the Eve thing was about buying vanity items.  This has been going on in Diablo II forever. If you think that person you're fighting in pvp actually spent the time to get those items rather than just buying them off some site, you're fooling yourself. And seriously, Diablo pvp? Why does anyone like that? I don't even get it.

@WinterSnowblind said:

@Chavtheworld said:

The fact that there's another auction house that doesn't use real money makes me think this isn't a problem.

Except nobody is going to use that one when they could be making real money. It's going to destroy the games economy and like most other microtransaction systems: give a huge advantage to players willing to spend money. This not only kills the sense of progression, but could completely unbalance PVP.

I have the distinct feeling that there will be two types of in-game currency, and one is just bought with real money. You won't be able convert it back to cash surely?  And same shit happened to Eve recently didn't it? They added ways to buy your way to good shit. At least in this you have to be the right level to purchase the items, so you can't get them really early. In regards to PVP, if you win based merely on what items you have rather than skill, then the PVP is broken anyway.

@firewrkninja said:

it kinda makes me want to play this game more because not only do you get a game, but if you play it enough to get really cool stuff, then it could potentially pay for itself

Here's the reality of it. People in China, where it's profitable or equivalent compared to other jobs, will play Diablo III full time with high level characters killing the monsters that drop the items that people want. If you find a valuable item and list it on the AH you will need to pay a fee with real money in order to list the item. The person in China with 20 of the same item can under cut you by 5 cents and the average buyer will buy it from the lowest easiest price, without considering yours. You'll then need to take your item down as under cutting happens a few times and if your smart you'll only be out the first fee before you give up and realize the system is retarded. Otherwise you'll repeat the process and the only one making true profit is Blizzard.

Alright, so you don't take part in the AH, you're then only limited to your close friends who don't take part in the system unless you want to feel weak by random people joining your game with the best loot they bought for relatively cheap, because they spent 20 bucks and bought awesome gear that they have no rights to actually owning.

Oh you want to build up an awesome character to PVP with later? Nope, out of luck, someone bought the better gear then you. What do you do then? You either buy something to feel even or throw the game in the garbage where it belongs. As long as this system remains fuck Diablo III.

@Chavtheworld said:

@WinterSnowblind said:

@Chavtheworld said:

The fact that there's another auction house that doesn't use real money makes me think this isn't a problem.

Except nobody is going to use that one when they could be making real money. It's going to destroy the games economy and like most other microtransaction systems: give a huge advantage to players willing to spend money. This not only kills the sense of progression, but could completely unbalance PVP.

I have the distinct feeling that there will be two types of in-game currency, and one is just bought with real money. You won't be able convert it back to cash surely? And same shit happened to Eve recently didn't it? They added ways to buy your way to good shit. At least in this you have to be the right level to purchase the items, so you can't get them really early. In regards to PVP, if you win based merely on what items you have rather than skill, then the PVP is broken anyway.

They specifically said it would go through Paypal and Blizzard will take a percentage of the profits.

@Chavtheworld said:

@WinterSnowblind said:

@Chavtheworld said:

The fact that there's another auction house that doesn't use real money makes me think this isn't a problem.

Except nobody is going to use that one when they could be making real money. It's going to destroy the games economy and like most other microtransaction systems: give a huge advantage to players willing to spend money. This not only kills the sense of progression, but could completely unbalance PVP.

I have the distinct feeling that there will be two types of in-game currency, and one is just bought with real money. You won't be able convert it back to cash surely? And same shit happened to Eve recently didn't it? They added ways to buy your way to good shit. At least in this you have to be the right level to purchase the items, so you can't get them really early. In regards to PVP, if you win based merely on what items you have rather than skill, then the PVP is broken anyway.

They specifically said it would go through Paypal and Blizzard will take a percentage of the profits.

@outerabiz said:

@ajamafalous said:

I'm not going to bother reading all these comments, but I assume everyone is uninformed. Real world item selling PLAGUED (and still does plague) Diablo II. It's incredibly smart of Blizzard to cut it off at the pass.

because you think this will limit the " Real world item selling"? i don't get why so many commenters first agree that real world item selling is bad for games and then applaud blizzard for incorporating it into the AH. you the consumer will not benefit from this, they are not halting gold farming and loot selling. it's like legalizing heroin just to get a few bucks from the taxation... IT IS STILL DANGEROUS!

No, I don't, because obviously it wouldn't limit it if they're implementing a system for it. I think that, if handled correctly, it could help stop the D3 economy from spiraling out of control like D2's.

@Chavtheworld said:

The fact that there's another auction house that doesn't use real money makes me think this isn't a problem.

Except nobody is going to use that one when they could be making real money. It's going to destroy the games economy and like most other microtransaction systems: give a huge advantage to players willing to spend money. This not only kills the sense of progression, but could completely unbalance PVP.

@Chavtheworld

aaa

Insightful. But yeah this is no surprise and doesn't bother me at all. It's better than some jerk off selling shit on ebay.

@firewrkninja said:

it kinda makes me want to play this game more because not only do you get a game, but if you play it enough to get really cool stuff, then it could potentially pay for itself

Pretty much this. Even if you never buy anything you could make a little bit of money selling shit that you wouldn't use in game anywya

Well i certainly won't be using it, though i probably will be tempted. But just like with Team Fortress 2, I'll realize it's a complete waste of money.

it kinda makes me want to play this game more because not only do you get a game, but if you play it enough to get really cool stuff, then it could potentially pay for itself

@outerabiz said:

@ajamafalous said:

I'm not going to bother reading all these comments, but I assume everyone is uninformed. Real world item selling PLAGUED (and still does plague) Diablo II. It's incredibly smart of Blizzard to cut it off at the pass.

because you think this will limit the " Real world item selling"? i don't get why so many commenters first agree that real world item selling is bad for games and then applaud blizzard for incorporating it into the AH. you the consumer will not benefit from this, they are not halting gold farming and loot selling. it's like legalizing heroin just to get a few bucks from the taxation... IT IS STILL DANGEROUS!

No, I don't, because obviously it wouldn't limit it if they're implementing a system for it. I think that, if handled correctly, it could help stop the D3 economy from spiraling out of control like D2's.

I'm not going to bother reading all these comments, but I assume everyone is uninformed. Real world item selling PLAGUED (and still does plague) Diablo II. It's incredibly smart of Blizzard to cut it off at the pass.

Well if I ever need beer money I know what I'll be doing

I've been thinking about this all day, and really it comes down to morals for people. On the topic of Micro-transactions I really don't know yet what I think about it, and with Valve trying new things with it I can't help but applaud Blizzard for thinking outside the box on this.

I feel torn on this as one side I really feel appealed to the idea that playing this could net me something if I cared to but on the other hand it makes one wonder what this would do to hurt the game. I mean if it doesn't hurt the game I'm all for it. When it comes down to it I just want to have fun when I play. If I can make a few bucks selling loot I don't need or want that's kind of cool.

I don't know, its all speculation right now as Blizzard is obviously testing the waters by sharing this now. As long as it doesn't kill the game play or make the experience less gratifying then I'm all for it. I am still not sure what I think of it though. I really think it's just Blizzard seeing what Valve is doing and trying to think of ways they could do something similar. That's just the impression I get though.

We will see- I do find it intriguing.

@ryanwho said:

@McShank said:

@PopBot: Were there mods for diablo 1 / 2? I honestly dont remember a single 1 or the need for a mod.

No mods are needed. Anyhow Diablo had them People added quests and a ton of hacks. Sounds like you never got to the real game, son.

Obviously you did not read what i wrote.. I asked if there were any mods and that there was no need for them. Sounds like you never learned how to comprehend what you read, son.

We're not a bank," says Pardo.

My favorite Blizzard disclaimer.

If you are playing the game and don't use the cash out option it's really the same as in game gold, you sell your stuff and use your balance to buy yourself new stuff, then when your done with the game; cash out and move on.  
 
I don't like it but at the same time I don't have a better solution to offer. They should get the money as opposed to farmers. It's kind of like giving in to the terrorists but I get it. 

Y'all can take the e-market and ride it straight to the bottom, I was never gonna play D3 multiplayer anyway.

Great, now instead of farming gold the Chinese will farm items and sell them for a dollar completely devaluing gold in Diablo 3. Seems par for the course so far.

Whatever I guess. I don't imagine this making a big difference in my experience with Diablo III. There was a bunch of high level trading that went on in Diablo II I didn't participate and I love that game.

@YoungFrey: According to some images that were floating around, the AH DOES have categories for gold as well as characters and pretty much everything else.

I'm kind of excited about the possibilities of this. If I ever encounter a sexy item I don't need and can make a buck or two from it, that's pretty neat.

I would rather have a neat series of menus that I could choose to navigate through on my own accord than to have a million spambots filling my chat with gold offers. Not saying I would use this feature, but it is a smart thing to do since item buying and selling would be inevitable anyway. And for all those saying that it will unbalance the game, I'm sure this is something Blizzard has taken into account and will probably implement some sort of soulbound mechanic to prevent players from selling certain items. No way to be sure, just my thoughts on the matter.

@Mumrik said:

"How does Blizzard make money on this whole process? By taking "nominal" fees, evidently. Blizzard will take a flat fee from the sale price of every transaction, and will also take a fee if you opt to cash out." This game better suddenly be fucking Free to Play then, if not, Blizzard can kiss my ass on this one.

heh ... there is no chance in hell this is going to be F2P

@Koshka said:

@YoungFrey: I would agree with you completely on most points. My issue comes in when we look at the fact that most legitimate players wouldn't do this otherwise... it's now opening basically anyone who plays enough up to this market, rather than just people willing to make shady deals. Effectively destroying the in game economy.

If the market is open to and used by everyone, the only thing missing is the ability to buy and sell gold. If you sell your stuff on the RM AH you'll have cash to buy on it. So I hope they announce the ability to sell gold for money too.

still not feeling the microtransaction business, I don't think i'll spend enough time with the game to really justify buying stuff to supplement the experience

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