Gambling Laws Could Halt Diablo 3's South Korean Release

4173

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I don't get it. Unless you're a fairly serious PvP'er, what difference does the AH make? They aren't making exclusive items for it, are they? Why should I care if Joey from Houston bought himself a shiny new hat?
 

Levethian

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Eric the Orange said:
Satsuki666 said:
Levethian said:
The Lunatic said:
I really would not mind seeing the removal of this feature.
Only for it to be added by dubious & numerous 3rd parties. Meh.
Some of us feel that joining the gold farmers and taking a cut of their profit is not the best way to beat them.
I like to think of it as more of a gold farmer tax. You don't have to use it but I'm happy knowing that Blizzard is making money off of them.
Agreed.
Plus, I see no real reason why people with busy lives shouldn't be able to pay to enjoy the best items in the game. We don't all have 100's of hours to spend grinding.
 

knhirt

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Rack said:
That's the same reasoning behind legalising Cannabis. And Ecstacy. And murder. Nothing's changed except rather than treading into murky waters it's accessible right from the game interface. Same thing happening only massively more prevalent.
Wait wait wait

Murder?
How do you go from videogames and recreational drugs to murder?
Also, who's arguing the merits of murder?
 

TheDooD

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Let me get this right... Out of all the F2P (pay to win to me) MMO's South Korea created and the rampant Starcraft 1 pro circuit gambling there.(The main reason MLG Starcraft 2 is so popular) They have gambling laws and Diablo 3's real money auction house is a problem. I'm seriously confused atm.



4173 said:
I don't get it. Unless you're a fairly serious PvP'er, what difference does the AH make? They aren't making exclusive items for it, are they?
To me the only reason an auction house in needed and or used. It's that they make the drop rate for items so bad and or the difficulty curve is so sharp. That weaker / inexperenced players overall might feel a need to use it.
 

Rack

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Well no-one is, I'm just demonstrating how specious that reasoning is. If you genuinely held "It happens anyway" as a good reason to allow something the only laws you'd have would be the ones that make no sense.
 

Eric the Orange

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Rack said:
John Funk said:
It happened all the time in Diablo 2, too. It just wasn't official.

Nothing has changed other than Blizzard actually making money off of it and it being less shady.
That's the same reasoning behind legalising Cannabis. And Ecstacy. And murder. Nothing's changed except rather than treading into murky waters it's accessible right from the game interface. Same thing happening only massively more prevalent.
Wait, wait murder? I can agree with the legalizing drugs comparison, but murder is a whole different thing. The argument behind legalizing drugs is that they are a victimless crime, and by legalization they could be better controlled and have safety guidelines put in place. So yes that is very similar to this. But murder, I don't even see where you draw the comparison. I've never heard of anyone arguing for the legalization of murder, and I don't even know what kind of argument there would be for it.
 

Atmos Duality

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John Funk said:
It happened all the time in Diablo 2, too. It just wasn't official.

Nothing has changed other than Blizzard actually making money off of it and it being less shady.
Same drugs; different dealers.

Yeah, the new dealer might be subject to closer scrutiny, but attaching real-world value to in-game items did nothing but wreck the in-game economy; turning it into a "I buy power" game.
If you thought hacks, bots and dupes were bad before, it became much WORSE when these items started getting real-world value attached to them.

So really, it doesn't really matter who is pushing the goods.

While grind remains the primary motivator for continued play (which it was in Diablo 2), this illicit "gold-farming" market will always exist as a counterpoint to an unwanted gameplay mechanic, and it WILL be ruthlessly exploited.
 

DTWolfwood

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Oct 20, 2009
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but as it generates revenue for Blizzard - the studio takes a percentage of each transaction - losing a potentially lucrative market like South Korea is going to hurt.
They've never done this before, how can it hurt them if they don't even have a baseline? Potential gain will not be realized, but there is no loss involved. you can't lose what you haven't gained.

I can potentially win a million dollars on the slot machine, but until i play it, it doesn't hurt me not having won the money.

Better the make guarantee money off the sales of the game and remove a feature a small percentage of ppl will use versus not being able to sell the game at all. It a no brainer!
 

ASnogarD

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Levethian said:
Quoted out of context I see no real reason why people with busy lives shouldn't be able to pay to enjoy the best items in the game. We don't all have 100's of hours to spend grinding.
This little comment made me realise there is something really sad going on here...

It basically says we should be allowed to buy items since our busy schedules dont allow us to grind for it, let me point out we are talking about a game... a form of entertainment that heavily features finding treasures and equipment as a reward mechanic, where is the fun if you could just buy the best stuff and show off your character to friends ?
Its like a buying a model, the fun is putting it together and the reward is showing off the result.
This system will be like being able to buy the model fully assembled, then showing it off... waste of money if you ask me.

People, games are suppose to be fun... its suppose to be fun looting and aquiring the items in game, suppose to be fun exploring the world... words like grind, dont imply fun.
If players aint prepared to go fetch the items themselves, what are they planning to do with the top end items when they buy them ? There isnt even a SW/Ogri to stand near the AH and show off... join random players open games and show off how you didnt aquire the skills to go with the gear ?

... oh, and once again: There is a PRICE to sell items in the AH, you pay a FEE in real cash just to put up the item. There is also another fee if you do sell the item, and finally theres the double charge if you try cash in ( one from Bliz and the other from Paypal/3rd party that deals with the transfer ).
 

Frostbite3789

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ASnogarD said:
Levethian said:
Quoted out of context I see no real reason why people with busy lives shouldn't be able to pay to enjoy the best items in the game. We don't all have 100's of hours to spend grinding.
This little comment made me realise there is something really sad going on here...

It basically says we should be allowed to buy items since our busy schedules dont allow us to grind for it, let me point out we are talking about a game... a form of entertainment that heavily features finding treasures and equipment as a reward mechanic, where is the fun if you could just buy the best stuff and show off your character to friends ?
Its like a buying a model, the fun is putting it together and the reward is showing off the result.
This system will be like being able to buy the model fully assembled, then showing it off... waste of money if you ask me.

People, games are suppose to be fun... its suppose to be fun looting and aquiring the items in game, suppose to be fun exploring the world... words like grind, dont imply fun.
If players aint prepared to go fetch the items themselves, what are they planning to do with the top end items when they buy them ? There isnt even a SW/Ogri to stand near the AH and show off... join random players open games and show off how you didnt aquire the skills to go with the gear ?

... oh, and once again: There is a PRICE to sell items in the AH, you pay a FEE in real cash just to put up the item. There is also another fee if you do sell the item, and finally theres the double charge if you try cash in ( one from Bliz and the other from Paypal/3rd party that deals with the transfer ).
Games...fun? Wh-what madness is this?!

This man is dangerous!
 

OMGIllithan

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Atmos Duality said:
John Funk said:
It happened all the time in Diablo 2, too. It just wasn't official.

Nothing has changed other than Blizzard actually making money off of it and it being less shady.
Same drugs; different dealers.

Yeah, the new dealer might be subject to closer scrutiny, but attaching real-world value to in-game items did nothing but wreck the in-game economy; turning it into a "I buy power" game.
If you thought hacks, bots and dupes were bad before, it became much WORSE when these items started getting real-world value attached to them.

So really, it doesn't really matter who is pushing the goods.

While grind remains the primary motivator for continued play (which it was in Diablo 2), this illicit "gold-farming" market will always exist as a counterpoint to an unwanted gameplay mechanic, and it WILL be ruthlessly exploited.
The economy will be fine. Like Mr. Funk said, the real money market existed in D2 but people were still able to trade in game without touching the market if they didn't want (I know I did). The majority of people likely aren't going to use this feature and will be looking to trade the same way you want to.

Also, the more "farmers" there are then the better prices are for everyone. The only people who are losing in this transaction are the people who thought they could make a semblance of an income from farming virtual items from a video game.

As another point unrelated to your post, who cares if people get a "competitive" advantage? Diablo is a cooperative game with a not serious and not balanced pvp component. If you join a game with someone who bought their way to victory than great! They'll be helping make your group's adventure that much easier to manage. Epeen has no place in Diablo and is a plague if you invest too much of yourself into it IMO.
 

kebab4you

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I call bull! How is investing time not a risk,say you grind for 20 hours to find a rare item to sell and assume you also don't find any rare item that´s 20 hours you gambled on searching for this item.
CardinalPiggles said:
Rack said:
Time is money, risking time to for a chance to get money absolutely is gambling.
You won't be 'risking' your time. You will be using it. What have you got to lose besides your otherwise free time by playing the game.

And that's likes saying doing a job in real life is gambling.
A job in real life always got a set amount of money you get from it at the end of the day, this do not.
 

OMGIllithan

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ASnogarD said:
Levethian said:
Quoted out of context I see no real reason why people with busy lives shouldn't be able to pay to enjoy the best items in the game. We don't all have 100's of hours to spend grinding.
This little comment made me realise there is something really sad going on here...

It basically says we should be allowed to buy items since our busy schedules dont allow us to grind for it, let me point out we are talking about a game... a form of entertainment that heavily features finding treasures and equipment as a reward mechanic, where is the fun if you could just buy the best stuff and show off your character to friends ?
Its like a buying a model, the fun is putting it together and the reward is showing off the result.
This system will be like being able to buy the model fully assembled, then showing it off... waste of money if you ask me.

People, games are suppose to be fun... its suppose to be fun looting and aquiring the items in game, suppose to be fun exploring the world... words like grind, dont imply fun.
If players aint prepared to go fetch the items themselves, what are they planning to do with the top end items when they buy them ? There isnt even a SW/Ogri to stand near the AH and show off... join random players open games and show off how you didnt aquire the skills to go with the gear ?

... oh, and once again: There is a PRICE to sell items in the AH, you pay a FEE in real cash just to put up the item. There is also another fee if you do sell the item, and finally theres the double charge if you try cash in ( one from Bliz and the other from Paypal/3rd party that deals with the transfer ).
How someone else has fun shouldn't affect how you have fun. Sure in an idealistic video game world the best of the best in our games should rise to the top and be praised because their epeen is the size of the empire state building! Honestly though, none of that matters. An idealistic/nostalgic view of video games is in my opinion something that the community of gamers has to grow out of. The only question you should be asking yourself when playing a game is "Am I having fun?" If the answer to that question is yes than you're already a winner and what anyone else thinks or says doesn't matter.
 

Shamanic Rhythm

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PingoBlack said:
Erm ... Escapist?

Did you actual go and research Emperor Online?

That game includes a fully fledged Casino, not only an item auction house. So ... Did you research weather they lost classification due to actual game of chance?

Having an actual online casino built into game might be slightly different than Diablo 3. Of course, you just posted this in a way that implies exactly opposite.
Yes Escapist, how dare you simply report succinctly on the most relevant aspects of this story. Why did you not mention and research a game you probably would never had heard of? Your failure to mention it and its tangential relevance it shows you are clearly attempting to discredit Diablo III before it has even come out.
 

Levethian

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Nov 22, 2009
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ASnogarD said:
Levethian said:
Quoted out of context I see no real reason why people with busy lives shouldn't be able to pay to enjoy the best items in the game. We don't all have 100's of hours to spend grinding.
This little comment made me realise there is something really sad going on here...

It basically says we should be allowed to buy items since our busy schedules dont allow us to grind for it, let me point out we are talking about a game... a form of entertainment that heavily features finding treasures and equipment as a reward mechanic, where is the fun if you could just buy the best stuff and show off your character to friends ?
Its like a buying a model, the fun is putting it together and the reward is showing off the result.
This system will be like being able to buy the model fully assembled, then showing it off... waste of money if you ask me.

People, games are suppose to be fun... its suppose to be fun looting and aquiring the items in game, suppose to be fun exploring the world... words like grind, dont imply fun.
If players aint prepared to go fetch the items themselves, what are they planning to do with the top end items when they buy them ? There isnt even a SW/Ogri to stand near the AH and show off... join random players open games and show off how you didnt aquire the skills to go with the gear ?

... oh, and once again: There is a PRICE to sell items in the AH, you pay a FEE in real cash just to put up the item. There is also another fee if you do sell the item, and finally theres the double charge if you try cash in ( one from Bliz and the other from Paypal/3rd party that deals with the transfer ).
I agree with you - I certainly won't be buying items.

As fun as the gameplay will be, there's always an aspect of grinding. It's natural for games that employ random loot-drops. I see no inherent evil in being able to buy an item instead of finding it.

I think the listing fee will stop it becoming swarmed with awful items - Essential to encourage discretion when selling.
 

Xanthious

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Gee it sure would be horrible to have a version of D3 floating around out there without the plague that is the real money auction house. I mean just imagine if something like that found it's way to the seedy underbelly of the internet like torrent sites and such. Yeah that would just be terrible.

Kalezian said:
if Blizzard removed it, other people would just make a third party auction house like what has happened so many times before in other games.

Hell, even recently I've seen a few people spending a generous sum of cash on end-game gear in World of Warcraft.

The sites? ran by the same people who sell gold and leveling services.


At least this way the money goes to the developer instead of a small company who's sole intention it seems is ruining a games economy.
So you are saying it's ok for Blizzard to just shit all over the in game economy out of the gate as long as they are getting paid for it? Because you pretty much admit introducing real money transactions is harmful to the game's economy.

The thing is the real money transactions killed the D2 economy. It won't matter who is the entity running them they are still have no place in the game. Blizzard has shown rather than take the high road and find an actual solution to combat them they would rather take the spineless way out and admit defeat to the gold farmers as so long as it means they get a piece of the action in the process.

You actually think that this is going to hurt the people running the real money sites? Not a chance. If anything they will be more prosperous than ever now that there is absolutely zero stigma placed on real money transactions. Blizzard has more or less gave them a big thumbs up to move their businesses right into the game just so long as they give Blizzard a cut of their earnings.

Real money transactions are going to be king in D3. Gold will be so massively inflated that you will have no choice but to use real money if you want to participate in the in game economy. This is even to say that there is going to be anything worth buying with gold at all. Likely nobody is going to choose to sell high level items for over inflated gold when they could get actual money.

Bottom line is this, just because Blizzard is the one shitting on the in game economy and not third party sites doesn't make it right. It just means Blizz has admitted they are impotent to police their own games and have chosen to make a quick buck off of it.