Yes, you read that headline correctly. An anonymous source in Germany leaked a mountain of new details about Diablo III today, including word that the game will feature a “real money” auction house that allows players to buy and sell items for cold hard cash. Blizzard does not plan to participate directly in this system. Instead, they’ll collect a percentage of each sale.
In other words, player versus player matches will now be decided based on who’s spent the most money upgrading their character. I think my desire to play just died.
While I don’t relish the fact that this will be provided in-game; it’s virtually no different than the way Diablo 2 works right now. Every item is available online for somewhere between 30 cents and five bucks, and people are willing to pay for it.
This must be blizzards way of either regulating it somehow, or at least cashing in on the obvious market.
My opinion of the game hasn’t changed a bit with this news, I’m still just as eager to play!
^ What Rats said.
Where did this info come from, because with non-disclosure agreement until August 1st that was signed by the recently invited guests to Irvine Headquarters has prompted many would-be “insiders” to create a barrage of fake information. I’d double check the facts with the most reputed D3 unofficial website (www.diii.net) after midnight when they plan to release all of the new information.
Nvm they posted the info too….
My immediate thoughts are, “that’s shitty”
But, when I spent countless hours on D2, I never purchased anything with real money, and I don’t plan to with D3. Anyone who wanted to purchase items with real money could have easily done so, despite there not being any in-game location to purchase items as it seems there will be with D3. I doubt you’ll find very many people who would say “Back in D2, it was too much of a hassle to go to a website and purchase items, but I’d be more than willing to purchase items in-game.” I think you’ll still get the separation that developed in D2.
This must be Blizzard’s way to beat gold farmers. Will there be any form of in game currency?
The standard currency will be gold, and as far as I know, Blizzard is going to try and regulate the market to make sure that gold remains the main form of currency. But, that doesn’t mean we won’t see what happened in Diablo 2, in which gold became useless and the central currency revolved around a particular item know as the SOJ.