Something I've wanted to rant about while shaking my head in a fit is account auctions. I can't find which side of the fence to stand here without being a hypocritical jerk. Is it ok to buy character accounts, game currency, and game items? Well it's obviously against game companies policies, that fact isn't stopping websites from making millions of dollars from fictional wealth.
Part of the problem is one every experienced MMO gamer has been through. You get a group, and the warlock doesn't know what your talking about when you tell him to summon his Imp for Blood Pact. Maybe you've grouped with the hunter who blinks at you when you tell him to CC a mob. These are, more then likely at least, people whom bought their accounts over Ebay or some other website. They come to the game brand spanking new without a CLUE how to play their class. This hurts the entire group that has to suddenly give out RPG 101 lessons. There is such a huge learning process as you level up with your character.
Then there is buying in-game currency. This can be a pain as it can hurt the game's economy. If your wondering why that even matters, check out the inflation in some games like EverQuest. On new servers an item would be like 1000 platinum, while on an older server it would be 100k platinum. This kinda slaps a newcomer in the face until he either gets lucky with an item drop, or goes out to buy gold. Players wanting to raise their professions in World of Warcraft have a hard time having to compete with people only farming mining nodes/herbs/etc with people farming to make gold which they turn around and sell.
So what's the solution? The business of selling game accounts/gold/items isn't going anywhere as long as how the games we play stay the way they are. No matter what, I think it's the players right and choice here. I also think if a player decides to buy a character account, don't be a jerk. Look up your character on the web, look up play guides, experiment with your character for a few hours to get the hang of all those shiny spells. It will make your first impression go from people shunning you to people's silent respect.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I can toss some words from experience in on this one lol.
ReplyDeleteI have never purchased an account and will refuse to do so. It's so much easier to go spend anywhere from 20-50 bucks on the game at the stores and find a guide/walkthrough that will help you level to the max level of said game within a weeks time. I am guilty however, of selling several accounts that I have owned in the past. Mind you, the only reason that I done this was to pay my bills. I am a carpenter by trade and everyone knows that is some areas, work in that field slows down during the cold seasons and even a little during the wet season. Now, those people who purchase accounts, I can't blame them for it nor can I really complain about it too much. If it wasn't for those who are willing to pay anywhere from 200-700 dollars for a game account, some of my most vital bills would have been cut off and I could have ended up homeless or worse. I have also been guilty of buying and selling currency for EverQuest. Reason one for selling: Bills needed paying. Reason for buying: had some left over money after having gotten a good job and the economy on my server was horrible at that time and still is to this day. Now, while my reasons for selling I deem legit and excusable, others may not. Yes it violates the EULA of the games, but a man must do what he can to provide for his family no? And with that said, I have once again given my 2 cents.