Now, we had a whole post that discussed the ramifications about gold farming and buying items for MMO games. Heck we even submitted that lovely article to the Carnival of Gamers for March since we felt it really had a great discussion. Okay, right now you might be thinking that this curmudgeony fella is more senile and he likes to self advertise, and those facts may very well be correct. But, I digress from my point...
We still discuss the possibility of buying gold for our toons in World of Warcraft, and you would be surprised about the economics of it really. Scott has done a little research and we can see that for a small amount of cash (500 gold for $30 on our server - Khaz Modan), and you are halfway to an epic mount. Personally, I don’t want to buy gold since the market is screwy on our server and I am never guaranteed to get the items I want, and ultimately that was the gist of my comments on our previous article. Now how does this all apply to gold farming and PC Gamer. Well, as we all know they put the brakes on taking advertising revenue from companies that sell gold, and I guess that is the high road. Now in the latest issue (May 2006), Gary Whitta has posted a piece on the last page that wants to take this “high road” a step farther. I mean he really wants folks to ostracize folks who buy levelling services and refers to them engaging in “sleazy practices”. He rambles on about how the concept of paying for a person to level a character is the same as paying somebody to build you a rep in CounterStrike. That is not the same thing - they are apples and oranges.
Ultimately the problem lies in that a MMO game is not so much about the journey to the maximum level but about what you do at that maximum level. Given all the content that makes up the levels 1 to 59 in World of Warcraft, its the content that is available at 60 that garners the most interest. Combine that with a desire to see and play that content some folks are not willing to level up a character multiple times, and I understand that. I would love to get an idea who is paying for a pre-levelled character, and if they are already experienced and looking for a second toon for a spouse or a friend who started late. Furthermore, is the blame on the person buying the toon or the company that makes it possible? Gold and item farming is really the result of a system where you have demand and folks willing to provide a supply - its almost pure capitalism (PC Gamer calls them “Sludge Barons”, and implies that we, gamers, should stop paying them. Why? Who are you to say that I should only acquire money through weeks and weeks of work when my time is worth more than simple grinding through a mining circuit? I ask these folks who say not to buy gold - how much is an hour of your time worth? For me - its priceless. And during that time I want to have fun, not ride around scavenging crap to make enough money to buy a mount or my next level of spells. It is my money and I can choose how to spend it. Personally, I wouldn't buy gold, and that I have said repeatedly.
Okay, but how do we solve it Tim? Well, we have Blizzard offer you the ability to buy gold and items directly. See that will stop all this farming and gold buying nonsense right? Wrong, this step will not completely eliminate the farming, and the simple fact here is that somebody will figure out a way to sell it for a little less to folks who cannot afford to pay Blizzard’s prices. This is why folks buy imitation watches and purses and why you will always have farming. The answer at the end of the day? I say embrace it - heck I think its great for folks who make a living this way. Will I put folks who send me in game ads on ignore ? Yep sure will. Will I group with known farmers? Nope, sure won’t. Am I going to punish somebody who pays their hard earned cash for a virtual property? No, its their money - they earned it. I think PC Gamer can take the high road when it comes to advertising, but attempting to blame a consumer for deciding that grinding through the level curve is not worth it - I suggest they look at how much an hour of their time is worth to them. Once you do that calculation (and I have) you may find out that its worth a lot more than what it costs to buy a toon and play the game you want to play.
Posted by Tim at Friday March 31, 2006 - 11:05 PM | TrackBack (0) | Category: Crunchy Curmudgeony Goodness | © 2006 Gaming Signal
Here here Tim! I wholeheartedly agree!
Posted by Scott on Saturday April 01, 2006 at 12:48 AM
Well for me WoW isn't about level 60. I don't have a character anywhere close, and never will. But you're right, I play maybe a total of 3 hours per week, and don't want to spend a single minute having to work to earn money.
I bought 300 gold from wowmine.com. I'm currently 21st level, and that money will allow me to have the best equipment and not have to worry about affording my level-ups or transportation whenever or wherever I please. This all means that my extremely limited game time is more fun.
Oh, and I'm curious if anyone against buying gold has a high level character that they use to twink a lower level character with gold and equipment? Is there a difference between that and buying gold?
Posted by kevin on Thursday April 06, 2006 at 5:10 PM
Kevin, how much did you pay for the 300g? Cus just two weeks ago, I got my first purple drop ever (off of a green mob, even) -- sold it for 450g but only netted 420g because of the damn Auction House taking a cut! Now I have enough gold to buy 9 mounts; and just 40g shy of 1 epic mount. The best part of it was, it's free!! Well, not counting what I pay every month...
Posted by Peter on Monday April 24, 2006 at 10:01 PM
Free is a matter of persepective, and for many of us- time invested to acquire that purple item (Epic) may not be worth it. The drop rates on such items is not something that we can only speculate on, and as such would not be something that could be counted on.
Gold purchasing is available to those folks who want to play without being forced to grind through crap to get enough money to buy thier next level of skills or acquire that item they want. I really don't see a problem with it. Just don't come here and expect me to advertise some service.
Posted by Tim on Tuesday April 25, 2006 at 1:49 PM
Actually, I just got lucky on the epic item. But on a different note, I've noticed that I've never had a need to buy/upgrade my armour/weapon the whole time that I've been playing.
Just by doing quests, I always had a constant stream of new and better equipment. That's something that happens regardless of the amount of time one puts into the actually play -- if you play less, you level more infrequently, you get more time out of the equipment and vice versa.
One thing that I've learned, albeit late in my main's life is that the enchanting skill is a wonderful skill to have on ALL of your toons. Yes, you've sacrificed one profession slot; but you basically made it possible to recover the cost of the obsolete equipment in your inventory. When you get a better item, equip it and disenchant the old item -- sometimes you get a nice blue shard that you can sell for better than the vendor price on the original equipment. Of course, a lot of times, you just get strange dust -- which is still auctionable (as opposed to the soulbound piece of equipment). I see this as a viable gamble because, chances are, you're going to sell that older piece back to the vendor at a much more depreciated rate anyway.
Posted by Peter on Wednesday April 26, 2006 at 12:18 PM
Since the buying and selling of wow gold online is becoming extremely popular there are now a number of places where you can buy ([url=http://www.e-worldgame.com]wow gold[/url]) online if you wish to do so. There are many individuals who sell their wow gold in online auction sites. There are also individuals or companies who sell their gold on professional business websites. Since you will be paying for your own (wow gold) the decision is up to you, but you should make sure that you are dealing with a reputable individual or company before handing over valuable personal or credit card information. sell wow gold http://e-worldgame.com
Posted by worldgame on Wednesday June 07, 2006 at 9:40 AM
This whole article and discussion is MOOT! Fact of the matter is that buying and selling gold is against the Terms of Service of the game. It's Blizzard's game, we lease a license to play it and we are bound to comply with the ToS. You can violate them if you want....you can download MP3s, you can pirate software, it's all the same. But me, I like to play the game under the rules of the ToS and part of the fun of the game is earning your keep.
Those violating the ToS may think you're innocent, but you're screwing with the economy in the game, hurting the rest of us by driving prices up, and basically "cheating". I hope you all get nerfed.
Posted by Kittyx on Wednesday February 14, 2007 at 11:57 AM
The jury is still out regarding the validity and ability to enforce the ToS. As to the comparison of buying gold and pirating software or MP3 files, that is not the same comparision. I also suggest you take a very close look at the terms of service before you claim that you are "bound to comply" with them. I still believe that Blizzard is missing the proverbial cash cow by not selling gold or items to players. The economy is "ruined" by many factors and farming and gold sellers are only one aspect of that.
Posted by Tim on Wednesday February 14, 2007 at 9:52 PM