Still reading.

Yeah, I agree. Allowing people to buy gold for real money in World of Warcraft is silly. It's just like sitting down to play chess with someone only to have the shell out ten bucks to play with an extra queen. It defeats the purpose.

The point though is that Affinity isn't doing that anymore. I don't pretend that it's because the Chairman of the Board suddenly "saw the light" or some such. It was purely a financial decision, I'm sure. But it reflects a happier reality, I think--that thanks to the combined efforts of both the players and the publishers, RMT in the traditional sense is no longer a viable business model in the US, unless you intend to dodge the law. Businesses are starting to get the idea that the customers don't WANT RMT in their games, and whatever short-sighted financial gains may be spurred by getting into the business will be outweighed in the long run by the loss of face and reputation in the gaming industry.

In short, the good guys are winning, and I couldn't be happier.

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