Diablo III Auction House

[Naph]

It uses real money.

Originally posted on MMO Champion:

Diablo 3's Auction House will feature two currencies, the first one will be in-game gold and the 2nd one will be real life money. Yep, you read it right, Diablo 3 will let you buy items with either gold or real life money! It's also worth noting that you will also be able to sell loot for money, and transfer that money outside the game. I guess gold farming just got interesting.

There is a whole list of FAQ's on the link as well that gives an in depth look on the whole system. Honestly this maneuver might be a bad idea because bots now have a bigger incentive to do what they do best. But who cares, they pay for the game, they make the money which is cut to Blizzard and then they pay for the game again when they are banned. Hopefully it will be in strict review when the beta is finally released.

 

[StarBob]

I will play this game solely to make it pay for itself.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Also, http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/01/diablo-iii-no-mods-online-only-cash-trades/

I'm honestly not sure if these things bother me or not. The auction house is easily avoided on a personal level, but imbalances loot progression on the whole. Buying gold and equipment with real currency was bound to happen anyway, but Blizzard endorsing (and profiting from) it hardly helps matters. Online only won't affect me as I'd planned on only creating battle.net characters anyway, but it's a punch in the dick for anyone who preferred to play offline for whatever reason. And not allowing mods? Again, not something I'd be particularly interested in, but I don't see the reason for it.

It just worries me that Blizz have been taking more and more restrictive measures like this since Starcraft 2. Then again I guess those weren't a huge problem for that community (as far as I've heard), so maybe it'll be fine? I don't like it in principle, in any case.

 

[Shakermaker]

So ...
- No mods
- Always online
- Real money auction house

And yet people still are adamant that Blizzard is working independently from Activision. Riiiiight ...

 

[EversorAssassin]

I think I'm okay with this. I wasn't planning on buying D3, but... I'll just make other people retroactively buy D3 for me.

 

[Gargantou]

Why am I not surprised?

 

[Eejit]

So ...
- No mods
- Always online
- Real money auction house

And yet people still are adamant that Blizzard is working independently from Activision. Riiiiight ...

Also, Looney Toons aesthetics.

 

[OmegaX]

There's also a fee for creating an auction, a fee for selling an item, and a fee when you "cash-out" using their third party payment company. I'm guessing the $2.00 for your virtual sword turns into 50 cents.

 

[Vegeta897]

Blizzard! Get your hand outta my pocket!

 

[Naph]

There's also a fee for creating an auction, a fee for selling an item, and a fee when you "cash-out" using their third party payment company. I'm guessing the $2.00 for your virtual sword turns into 50 cents.

It works like a regular auction. Based on the bidding amount is the auction fee, which is returned if the auction was successful in the time set. The cash out fee is only a small percentage because Blizzard have stated they don't expect to see a whole deal of profit other than a small trickle. Other than those, there are no other ways they see money.

I just hope they don't answer to the "PvP will be pay to win basis" argument with PvP only equipment. I don't want this game to resemble WoW in any way.

 

[Shakermaker]

Blizzard basically took the If you can't beat 'em, join 'em approach to tackle the gold sellers problem. This way they make sure they get a cut out of any official transaction.

 

[Lobster]

With any digital store it is the individual customer who decides if they can afford it or not. The trade tax is genius though, the back and fourth transfer of thousands of non-existent objects, slowly syphoning real world money into the financial vortex of blizzards bank account.

Its surprising it has taken this long for a mainstream company to do this really, virtual item sales have always existed through external channels such as eBay, so taking control of it and making a profit seems a logical business decision from their perspective.

It does set a scary precedent for the future of the industry though. There has never been an entertainment medium with the potential to transform its consumer base into a stealthy slave army before. Unless you believe all that stuff about playing Vinyl backwards..

 

[Yorick]

This game is getting more and more MMO and is subsequently making me want it less and less.

 

[Naph]

It wasn't all just item sellers, d2jsp was and still is doing wonders for Diablo 2 trading. You really have to commend Blizzard in knocking out outside economy and making a quick buck out of it.

 

[TwwIX]

Good. This equals more sales for Torchlight 2 and Grim Dawn.

 

[Edeslash]

Now I am worried about the future of WoW's auction house. And they're working on their next MMO...

 

[Kitfox]

I don't see how this is a bad thing in the least. Seriously I don't see any down side to this unless Blizzard starts selling top tier items for their own profit. This looks like it will benefit everyone. These words coming from some one who hate micro transactions with a passion. This seems like it might actually work and work well for people who will invest hours and hours into this game.

 

[Shakermaker]

Good. This equals more sales for Torchlight 2 and Grim Dawn.

It's time for some new media. I checked their site yesterday and it has been a while since the last video.

 

[Bad^Hat]

This looks like it could be okay, too.

I don't see how this is a bad thing in the least. Seriously I don't see any down side to this unless Blizzard starts selling top tier items for their own profit. This looks like it will benefit everyone. These words coming from some one who hate micro transactions with a passion. This seems like it might actually work and work well for people who will invest hours and hours into this game.

I mean, you might be able to make a few bucks if you luck out with some epics, but do you really think you'll be able to keep up with the kind of people who literally make this their job? Shit is gonna get faaaaaaaaaaaaaarmed.

 

[ríomhaire]

So basically they've announced that Dialbo III is an MMO?

 

[Kitfox]

This looks like it could be okay, too.

I mean, you might be able to make a few bucks if you luck out with some epics, but do you really think you'll be able to keep up with the kind of people who literally make this their job? Shit is gonna get faaaaaaaaaaaaaarmed.

Maybe not, but since even in game gold will be trad-able for currency (from what I understand plus the idea that the first few currency auction postings will be free) anyone can potentially achieve whatever they want if they just spend the time. And people who will make this their job will actually stabilize the economy driving prices down.

 

[comradesean]

This is a GOOD idea. The reason gold/item sellers are so rampant in-game is because people are willing to pay. They are the real problem, but they're also people just like you or me. They're Blizzard's customers too.
Now let's consider this a little bit. Buyers are now more likely to buy from this auction house instead of the shady dealers, right? You're entrusting your money to blizzard here and I don't see a problem with that. It's pretty much a guaranteed sell for you if you were going to buy your shit anyway. This means that those dealers are now going to vanish or play by the game.

Now, as a seller this is becoming very unprofitable for you. You're giving a large chunk over to Blizzard and if you were doing this primarily to support yourself then you might have to start considering your lot in life and find another way to make some cash. There's still a chance to make the bucks, but buying gold is generally pointless now if you can just hunker down $2 bucks for a new sword.

You: Don't have to worry about chinese gold-seller spam. With an always-on connection, (I don't like it, but it's good for diablo) you don't have to worry about hacking or duping. You can avoid the real-currency system altogether if you want.

Blizzard: Makes money. Kills gold-sellers. Ensures a fair game experience for all players involved.

Say what you want, but this was a good idea. (always on DRM for a single player only game is still ****ing retarded though.)

 

[Eejit]

Sorry guys still can't make out what some of you are saying, what with blizzard's dick rammed down your throat.

Been going downhill since The Frozen Throne

 

[Edeslash]

I think it's a good idea too, but where's the shitshorm that Ubisoft's always-online DRM created? Are people forgiving it for the auction feature?

 

[comradesean]

Sorry guys still can't make out what some of you are saying, what with blizzard's dick rammed down your throat.

Been going downhill since The Frozen Throne

Just a lot of whining with nothing to support it. This is how old women spread rumors. Are you an old woman?

I think it's a good idea too, but where's the shitshorm that Ubisoft's always-online DRM created? Are people forgiving it for the auction feature?

Huge difference. People play Diablo religiously and duping/gold selling is an actual problem that is about as solvable as racism/hatred on the internet. This, in all respect, should solve all these issues.

Starcraft, otoh, needs a ****ing lan mode without internet connection. Ubisoft has no excuse either.

 

[B_MAN]

I think the auction house is a great idea.
A legitimate place to buy and sell items for real world currency OR in-game currency? Righteous.
I probably won't spend a dime of real money myself... I mean I prefer to earn my rewards the old fashioned way. I can see myself being a power seller though

Sucks about a lack of mods, but I think the biggest issue is forced online.
Why not give us the choice between purely offline and online characters that cannot be switched back and forth? That way you don't see hacked characters online and yet people with shitty/no connections can still play solo if and when it suits them.

 

[comradesean]

Why not give us the choice between purely offline and online characters that cannot be switched back and forth? That way you don't see hacked characters online and yet people with shitty/no connections can still play solo if and when it suits them.

The real reason is probably not enough development time and a feature that no one will use. Blizzard has taken this to heart with a lot of their design decisions lately. (for better or worse) I mean, when you think about it, why would you create an offline character that you can't use online when you can make a character online that you can use solo and multiplayer?

It sucks, but the people without internet connections are the minority now. I accept that this is alright for Diablo, but if anyone tries to do this on a game that doesn't have an in-game trading model then we need to bitch them out. DRM is the most worthless pile of shit that's ever been added to gaming.

We need to decide whether a game has been created for us or for the publisher and call them out on their bullshit when necessary.

 

[Acepilotf14]

**** Blizzard.

I want to ****ing buy a videogame and not have to worry about some stupidass auctionhouse that's dangling items in front of me without having to actually work for them. What the **** happened to actually PLAYING A GAME TO GET ITEMS TO USE IN THE GAME?

I just don't understand this. Yes, there are gold sellers, but how many people actually used those? Kids. Kids that don't actually want to play the game, they just want to look cool in full IK. I was like that once, but now I just want to play a game for the sake of playing a game. I don't want this option. It's there only because Actiblizz knows they can get huge dividends by taking a small portion of all profits. It's not there because it helps gameplay, it's there because they can make money off of it.

This is a terrible idea. They're legitimizing farming instead of trying to make it a videogame. This isn't even a game anymore.

The rest of the revealed gameplay stuff looks terrible as-is. This just seals that this is another money grab by actiblizz and I'm looking forward to Torchlight 2 thank you.

The real reason is probably not enough development time

lol

 

[comradesean]

lol

I hope that's in jest over how long diablo has been in development, because you took it entirely out of context.

As to the rest of your rant, I know I'm ****ing sick of having some jackass joining my game to spam their shitty website and then vanish. (Screwing with mob difficulty as well!). Whether you want to admit it or not, they exist because the market exists and it effects you both directly and indirectly whether you buy from them or not.

Or are you actually complaining that the real-currency AH will tempt you to spend cash? If that's the case, then grow some ****ing chest-hair and man-up. Don't let economics make you it's bitch.

 

[Kitfox]

More trolling, band wagoning, over reactions please.

 

[Gargantou]

I hope the tax department over here keeps an eye out for people who make a large enough real-life currency profit from this so that they get taxed, as they do if they win enough on poker over here monthly for it to be considered an actual source of income.

If you do something enough that you can make a living of it, you should be taxed for it.

That, or be denied access to publicly funded systems, such as the public healthcare system over here, public transportation, roads and more.

 

[TwwIX]

https://twitter.com/#!/RunicGames/status/98047140441505792

And i will gladly support them even though i don't play these kind of games.

 

[Acepilotf14]

As to the rest of your rant, I know I'm ****ing sick of having some jackass joining my game to spam their shitty website and then vanish. (Screwing with mob difficulty as well!). Whether you want to admit it or not, they exist because the market exists and it effects you both directly and indirectly whether you buy from them or not.

Or are you actually complaining that the real-currency AH will tempt you to spend cash? If that's the case, then grow some ****ing chest-hair and man-up. Don't let economics make you it's bitch.

1. You joined public games?
2. No, I'm worried that it will streamline the game that's already been simplified enough as is. It's bad enough in TF2, but at least Valve makes bought items untradable so they don't affect in the in-game economy(which is also bad enough as-is with buds and bill's and all that nonsense.)

 

[comradesean]

1. You joined public games?

Do you actually think this is a valid way to convey your ideas to other people?

Hey, I can do that too.
If you don't like the game, don't buy it and don't play it.
Oh, look at that! I just childishly ended the entire arguement without having to have a discussion at all.

Can Hardcore-mode characters use the currency-based auction house?
No. Hardcore characters will only have the option to buy and sell items together with other Hardcore characters via a separate "Hardcore-only" gold-based auction house; they will not be able to use the currency-based auction house. Hardcore mode is designed as an optional experience for players who enjoy the sense of constant peril that comes with the possibility of permanent death for a character. All of a Hardcore character’s items are forever lost upon that character’s death, so to avoid the risk of a player spending real money on items that could then be permanently lost when the character dies, we decided restrict the use of the currency-based auction house in Hardcore mode.

blatantly stolen image from internet

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Awesome, my friends and I can make a buck while presumably wasting time! Party on, wayne.

(don't give a shit about 'mods' for an aRPG, and I always have a damn internet connection when I'm gaming)

 

[Yorick]

Didn't see this posted yet - http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/08/01/diablo-3-beta-hands-on/

 

[Raziaar]

Nothing I hate more in games than involvement of real life money beyond purchase/subscription.

It's bad enough when it's just the players buying and selling items and gold on ebay... it's even worse when it's the company itself doing it.

People always say "well it doesn't affect you". I say screw you to those people!

 

[morgs]

So basically they've announced that Dialbo III is an MMO?

Yep, just like TF2!

 

[Bakurei]

*Thinking of EVE Online scams in D3*

 

[ríomhaire]

Yep, just like TF2!

TF2 supports offline play and mods.