The real money auction house situation reminds me of the U.S. War on Drugs; people are going to pay real money for gold (drugs) whether Blizzard (the government) allows it or not, better to officially sanction it and keep the players safe from predators (drug gangs), no? As long as virtual currency exists there will be people who are willing to spend real money on it, and predators that will take advantage of those people any chance they get. I've had my WoW account hacked by gold farmers, it sucks. Shit like that happens because of the demand to buy gold for real world money. Blizzard is taking the power out of the gold farmers hands and putting it in the hands on the consumer; that's a good thing.
I know there will be those who QQ that it's unfair; the wealthy (as in they have enough disposable income to spend (I would say waste) it on gold) can just buy all the epic gear while you have to slave away for it. That is true, however, the wealthy are already doing and would be doing it regardless of if Blizzard sanctioned it or not. People have been spending real money on gear in WoW and other MMOs for as long as gold selling has existed. Now it's just safer; less chance of you getting your account hacked for buying gold from some shady site, less chance of credit card fraud, less chance of other players getting their accounts hacked in order to steal gold for re-sale, etc. All in all, it's a good move.
I know there will be those who QQ that it's unfair; the wealthy (as in they have enough disposable income to spend (I would say waste) it on gold) can just buy all the epic gear while you have to slave away for it. That is true, however, the wealthy are already doing and would be doing it regardless of if Blizzard sanctioned it or not. People have been spending real money on gear in WoW and other MMOs for as long as gold selling has existed. Now it's just safer; less chance of you getting your account hacked for buying gold from some shady site, less chance of credit card fraud, less chance of other players getting their accounts hacked in order to steal gold for re-sale, etc. All in all, it's a good move.
