Blizzard Rolls Out PayPal for Diablo 3 Auction House

[Jake Martinez]

Basically I look at it like this -

People currently (as in, yes, you can go and find it right now) pay real cash for items and gold in Diablo II. A lot of those people get ripped the hell off.

By allowing people to transact with real world money in the game, Blizzard is in a lot of ways protecting their customers. Sure, they make a little bit of money off it, but it's no different than legalizing and taxing drugs. You know people are going to do it. You know letting it go on unregulated causes harm and destruction. You just can't ignore it.

This is a classic corporate response to a situation like this. Trust me, if we put a company like Pfizer in charge of the war on drugs, the first thing they'd do was legalize cannabis. There's just so much money being lost and so much crime going on to support the black market industry. It's a win/win for everyone.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Just think, they stripped away offline single player just so you couldn't avoid seeing their "important marketing messages"... "stone of jordan, only $1" on the loading screen.

D3 no, Torchlight 2 yes

 

[stabnex]

Was gonna buy the game before they announced the shit Activision was having them put in the AH. Just another reason this game will fail.

 

[ionveau]

From my understanding all the wow fans are really digging this get money back system, people who already been exposed to things like this know your lucky if you get $0.50/hour

 

[Icehearted]

This really sounds like one of those things they will twist your arm into using no matter how you try to avoid it.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

I don't get one thing, by using Paypal won't that allow players to cash out their money?

It's also possible to keep all the funds you earn selling items in your Blizzard e-balance. You can use that credit to buy more items, purchase games or merchandise from the Blizzard store or add subscription time to your World of Warcraft account. What you can't do is cash out your Blizzard e-balance. Once your funds are in there you can only spend them on virtual items or Blizzard products.

So could someone please explain this to me? Whats stopping us from paying our rents by just playing Diablo 3? I thought Blizzard doesn't want that.

I'm curious about this as well...since I wanted to just spend some extra time grinding a few dollars out to spend on a dunkin donuts coffee or something.

 

[PingoBlack]

I'm curious about this as well...since I wanted to just spend some extra time grinding a few dollars out to spend on a dunkin donuts coffee or something.

It means you can transfer your in game real money earnings to your PayPal account from your battle.Net account.

Weather this means you can buy coffee? Yes, in some countries you can transfer money from PayPal to bank account and in some cases to your Visa card. It cost some percentage tho.

Battle.Net balance can be spent in Blizzard store according to plan, PayPal is there for those that want to spend their balance elsewhere.

 

[Callate]

I just have a really bad feeling about this. Creating the game from the outset with a financial incentive to the company to keep an increasingly powerful flow of rare magical items going seems like a decision ripe for abuse. There's a reason I don't play Magic: The Gathering any more...

 

[StrixMaxima]

I find ignorance is the prime cause of most people not liking a system like this, usualy because they dont understand how it works and jump to knee jerk reactions.

You find it wrong. Of course there are many knee-jerk reactions to pretty much anything that's announced regarding games, but there are some very valid reasons for most of the Diablo 3 bashing that's going around the Internet. So, don't be a knee-jerk yourself and stop generalizing.

I loved Diablo 1 and 2, played them like there was no tomorrow, but I will not touch Diablo 3 with a 10-foot pole. Mixing real money and online items is a bad, bad idea. There are tons of grey areas regarding the legitimacy of the system and taxes, gambling, etc, etc. It will stimulate unhealthy grinding and, thus, unhealthy behaviour in people.

But, first and foremost, Blizzard is telling you that you can only play the way they want it. No single player mode is a huge step backwards, no matter how you rose-paint it. They took almost a month to man up and admit they are using this new model because of DRM concerns. And Blizzard's marketing pep talk is some of the most disgustingly offensive in the market in the moment (quite a feat, when you look at the other contenders).

Simply put, there are several legitimate reasons to dislike and not purchase this 'game'.

 

[Smooth Operator]

There's something beautiful about a business strategy that benefits every single person involved...smells like...harmony.

Edit: I very much look forward to makin duh real world moneyz with some of my excess grinding fodder .

Only Blizzard get's real world moneyz, players can only put in more and shuffle the points around for items.

 

[Lunar Templar]

my concern is less the fact that it takes real money, and more the 'scalpers'

you all know JUST who i mean, the ASSHATS charging frankly stupid amounts for items in game.

mind you with out having D3 in front of me to play donno just how damning this could end up being, but if it turns out like Vindictus, where drop rates suck and you NEED to buy of the market to get mats or gear then its a defenent pass. if it turns out like, say CoH, where the market is there, but you can do just fine never using it, then should be ok.

still, better things to spend money on then a +5 battle axe

 

[DasDestroyer]

From my understanding all the wow fans are really digging this get money back system, people who already been exposed to things like this know your lucky if you get $0.50/hour

I'm not a wow fan, but I still like the system. 0.50$/h may not be much, but I spend that hour playing D3, not working, so it is basically free cash. Now if you assume that I will play 100 hours of it, I will get 50$ for free.

 

[OMGIllithan]

I find ignorance is the prime cause of most people not liking a system like this, usualy because they dont understand how it works and jump to knee jerk reactions.

You find it wrong. Of course there are many knee-jerk reactions to pretty much anything that's announced regarding games, but there are some very valid reasons for most of the Diablo 3 bashing that's going around the Internet. So, don't be a knee-jerk yourself and stop generalizing.

I loved Diablo 1 and 2, played them like there was no tomorrow, but I will not touch Diablo 3 with a 10-foot pole. Mixing real money and online items is a bad, bad idea. There are tons of grey areas regarding the legitimacy of the system and taxes, gambling, etc, etc. It will stimulate unhealthy grinding and, thus, unhealthy behaviour in people.

But, first and foremost, Blizzard is telling you that you can only play the way they want it. No single player mode is a huge step backwards, no matter how you rose-paint it. They took almost a month to man up and admit they are using this new model because of DRM concerns. And Blizzard's marketing pep talk is some of the most disgustingly offensive in the market in the moment (quite a feat, when you look at the other contenders).

Simply put, there are several legitimate reasons to dislike and not purchase this 'game'.

It's not Blizzard's fault that people are willing to shell out real money for items in a video game. Because of how the Diablo loot system is structured compared to wow (no soulbound items), there isn't anything stopping people from buying items under the radar. Like the article said, people were going to do it anyways. One could argue that RPGs like this by definition "stimulate unhealthy grinding and, thus, unhealthy behavior in people" because in the end game its always a grind for gear. Adding the auction house (like the article said) at least gives people a safe environment in which to do what they were going to to anyways.

Also, if you don't like it, you don't have to use it! It'll be like its not even there. It's not like you're going to lose your raid spot because your gear isn't as good as some other guy's.

 

[StrixMaxima]

It's not Blizzard's fault that people are willing to shell out real money for items in a video game. Because of how the Diablo loot system is structured compared to wow (no soulbound items), there isn't anything stopping people from buying items under the radar. Like the article said, people were going to do it anyways. One could argue that RPGs like this by definition "stimulate unhealthy grinding and, thus, unhealthy behavior in people" because in the end game its always a grind for gear. Adding the auction house (like the article said) at least gives people a safe environment in which to do what they were going to to anyways.

Also, if you don't like it, you don't have to use it! It'll be like its not even there. It's not like you're going to lose your raid spot because your gear isn't as good as some other guy's.

People are willing to shell out real money for items in video games because the developers are dating this business model for quite a while, and slowly expanding on it. Everyone wants a piece of the "F2P cash cow", and sadly, Blizzard is not an exception. I frankly thought that Blizzard, with its deep pockets and innovation tradition, would try to brave a different course, one that would be less 'nickel and dime'. It is one of the few companies that has the weight to do that.

But, of course, easy money is easy money, and I can't blame anyone for making a quick buck. Doesn't mean I have to like it, and doesn't mean I'll support it, though.

Also, the auction is just one of the many problems I have with the game. I think Blizzard should be clearer about it and call the game a MMO, action style. It would make things much simpler and fair, IMO.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Gambling without a payout and without needing a licence. Wow.

Welcome to the Future of Gaming.
Next Generation, Forward-Thinking Innovation in Caps so You Can See How Amazing it is.

It's...more grind and skinner logic.
That's the future Blizzard envisions for the market: a game that sabotages its best parts by diluting them in a sea of busywork.
It even has a nifty system of Airtight DRM dominion to keep everyone inside the pen.

Just like a real Casino.

Yeah, I don't see how monetizing items directly ISN'T another incentive to grind.

 

[Royas]

Basically I look at it like this -

People currently (as in, yes, you can go and find it right now) pay real cash for items and gold in Diablo II. A lot of those people get ripped the hell off.

I've always seen this as Darwinism. If someone is stupid enough to actually spend real money, especially for something they could add to the game using a cheat program or hex editing, they kind of deserve to get ripped off. That really wasn't Blizzard's problem. And it's not their responsibility to protect those people. After getting ripped off a couple of times, one would hope a person would start to display better sense.

The fact that a real money auction house has led to this asinine always online DRM is enough of a reason for me to hate it. I'm unhappy enough about having to be online for a single player game that I've already decided not to buy the game. Just my take on it.

 

[GeorgW]

Not at all surprising, didn't we all say this back when they announced the auction house? Still, nice to have it confirmed, if not you could always suspect the worst.
Also, why are so many people confused, this is Blizzard legitimising gold farming, yes you can make real money out of it.

 

[LastDarkness]

I find ignorance is the prime cause of most people not liking a system like this, usualy because they dont understand how it works and jump to knee jerk reactions.

You find it wrong. Of course there are many knee-jerk reactions to pretty much anything that's announced regarding games, but there are some very valid reasons for most of the Diablo 3 bashing that's going around the Internet. So, don't be a knee-jerk yourself and stop generalizing.

I loved Diablo 1 and 2, played them like there was no tomorrow, but I will not touch Diablo 3 with a 10-foot pole. Mixing real money and online items is a bad, bad idea. There are tons of grey areas regarding the legitimacy of the system and taxes, gambling, etc, etc. It will stimulate unhealthy grinding and, thus, unhealthy behaviour in people.

But, first and foremost, Blizzard is telling you that you can only play the way they want it. No single player mode is a huge step backwards, no matter how you rose-paint it. They took almost a month to man up and admit they are using this new model because of DRM concerns. And Blizzard's marketing pep talk is some of the most disgustingly offensive in the market in the moment (quite a feat, when you look at the other contenders).

Simply put, there are several legitimate reasons to dislike and not purchase this 'game'.

Perhaps you should read more then the first couple sentances of my comment.
Your reply is pretty much summed up there already as exactly what I was talking about.
"If you dont like it, dont buy it"

Also the game does have single player, it just dosnt have offline single player. which to me is not a issue since im lucky enough to be one of the obvious few who has a constant reliable internet connection.

Theres also nothing forcing you to use the real world money auction house. Theres plenty of alternatives.

I find it remarkable how many people are writing this game off on a optional system, and reasonable security issues when the entire point of the game is to play and enjoy the continuing story of the diablo franchise and to play and have fun with other people in a social enviroment. Appearently thats not a selling point anymore.

 

[StrixMaxima]

Perhaps you should read more then the first couple sentances of my comment.
Your reply is pretty much summed up there already as exactly what I was talking about.
"If you dont like it, dont buy it"

Also the game does have single player, it just dosnt have offline single player. which to me is not a issue since im lucky enough to be one of the obvious few who has a constant reliable internet connection.

Theres also nothing forcing you to use the real world money auction house. Theres plenty of alternatives.

I find it remarkable how many people are writing this game off on a optional system, and reasonable security issues when the entire point of the game is to play and enjoy the continuing story of the diablo franchise and to play and have fun with other people in a social enviroment. Appearently thats not a selling point anymore.

You too would benefit in reading everything I wrote before commenting.

When I say 'single player', I guess it was obvious that I was talking about offline single player mode, since I even commented further on why I think this is a bad idea. I feel extremely relieved that you are blessed with a constant Internet connection, but many others do not have the privilege. I also happen to have a small country farm, and I won't be able to play the game while I am there. This is bad.

I find it remarkable how many people are simply dodging the fact that, while this system is 'optional', the whole game will be driven by this 'optional' system: drop rates, amount of rare and unique items, availability of items in the 'free' auction, when you can use the online auction and fetch bigger prices and potentially PayPal credits, etc, etc. The list just goes on and on, and it doesn't take a genius to realize that this 'optional' system will take precedence in all areas of gameplay and in-game market.

Also, what's reasonable for you might not be for me. Hence, my post. You have the right to find everything about this launch ok, but remember to extend me (and others) the courtesy to disagree. Simply having a nice IP is not enough for me. I demand more from the companies I spend my hard-earned money in.

 

[Jake Martinez]

It's not "DRM".

The game is an online multiplayer game. It has no single player mode. If you consider this "DRM" then I think you're really pushing the boundaries here.