Blizzard's version of RMT
by Mike Schramm 
Dec 12th 2008 at 3:00PM
Blizzard has rules for their RMT, though, and Zarhym lays a few of them out: they won't charge for any item that means anything in game -- cosmetic items and looks are fair game, but actual gear or "integral services" (whatever that means exactly) is a no for them. They won't charge for anything that was free before, so creating up to 10 characters on a realm, for example, will always come with the subscription (though adding more may eventually be possible with an extra charge). And Blizzard's RMT comes as a game mechanic itself -- they choose to charge for things not just because there's a cost for them, but also to "curb their frequency," to keep all players from doing them all the time.
It's an interesting idea, and it's definitely a lot more player-friendly than charging for things like, say, horse armor. You could also argue, of course, that something like the WoW TCG is also a kind of RMT scheme, since you have to pay real money for real cards to get in-game items (even though Blizzard has made sure those items are cosmetic as well). But paying for transfers and changes is a little sneakier -- Blizzard is slowly wading into RMT, so far successfully dodging all the sharks in the water.
Filed under: Patches, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Making money, Wrath of the Lich King, WoW TCG
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Cleddryk Dec 12th 2008 3:08PM
I, for one, appreciate the way Blizzard handles this kind of thing. I think they've taken exactly the right approach to it.
thundrcrackr Dec 12th 2008 3:12PM
I am VERY glad to hear that Blizzard is keeping logical restrictions on this stuff and not getting greedy (like a company like EA would) and start charging for anything and everything and letting you do it as much as you want regardless of how it might detract from the game.
l0lwut Dec 12th 2008 3:12PM
Involving real life money to purchase anything in a virtual world has always been a dissapointing concept to me, for the fact that you are then no longer on an equal playing field. Even though these are merely cosmetic/fun items a fella on a budget won't be able to have additional fun through normal means in-game or satisfy himself with a different gender shall we say.
With achievments, armory and what-not, sorry to sound rational but it's all down to the epeen, you can purchase all these different items and be a rich git in real life and get all these fun and funfilling items which the RL scrub next-door may never be able to get. Dunno, moving server is one thing and justified but all that other stuff is meh.
Liel Dec 12th 2008 3:18PM
I fail to see why gamers are so "zomg they evil" when a company tries to sell anything extra in a game. None of it is required, its cosmetic and or its a service. Charging you for something you need in order to progress is pretty nutty but everything so far seems pretty decent to me.
So sorry Dec 12th 2008 3:22PM
As if the regular game has people on "equal footing". That is a terrible argument against RMT. People that have little money and feel they would be at a disadvantage currently have a huge advantage over those that have plenty of money but don't have the one thing the game uses as currency: Time.
I say let people pay for items (and not just cosmetic items) if they wish. Just make sure the items are in the game and available to those that don't have money.
Don't feel like raiding for 12 weeks straight to get your set and you would rather pay for it? Fine. Or if you don't feel like dropping $50 real life dollars on the gear, then feel free to farm for 12 weeks.
Shoomy Dec 12th 2008 3:41PM
Agreed. There is nothing more valuable than time. I don't really see the big deal with letting people who have the financial means purchase items they may not have the the free time acquire otherwise.
Lets say a person only has an hour to play a day because they are so busy with work/family/obligations, but they happen to make enough to spend extra on their hobby as they see fit. Why should they be shut out of the upper tier stuff simply because their real life schedule does not allow the time to spend hours on end in front of the computer? They enjoy the game for all the same reason "hardcore" people do, why can't they have the same rewards?
Lets say Blizzard offered a full tier set for $200. Seems like a lot on the front end but take a closer look. Lets say it took someone 8 weeks of raiding 3 nights a week, 4 hours a time (pretty modest) to get the same set.
3 nights x 4 hours = 12 hours a week
12 hours a week x 8 weeks = 96 hours
$200/96 hours = $2.08 dollars an hour
Now I don't know about you, but my time is worth more than $2 per hour. That doesn't even include farming time and other activities involved with raiding.
I say if someone can afford the cash, but not the time...let them pay.
Clevins Dec 12th 2008 4:03PM
Don't take this wrong but... you're an idiot.
People with less money have less money. They do not necessarily have more time. They may have LESS if they work two jobs to make ends meet. Or they may simply have a job that pays less and have about the same amount of time as someone else... a 22 year old early in her career will usually make less than the a 45 year old in the same field who's gotten promotions and raises over the years.
So, yeah, it's called thinking. Try it next time.
phox Dec 12th 2008 4:12PM
Absolutely no. Everyone is on equal footing. I'm extremely upset that greedy EA is destroying Star Wars Old Republic with this.
Dvorkin Dec 12th 2008 6:19PM
Clevins: before calling other an idiot, try to apply that "thinking" by yourself. Yes, it is hard, but you may realize that people who work two jobs to make ends meet (for half the minimum wage) are not likely to play WoW. And among those who do play, there's a correlation indeed - younger people tend to have less money and more time to spare, and the older folks have more money but less time.
Anyway, the only problem with selling in-game items for real money is that those item used to be the only indication of player's achievements, so, for those trying to prove the world how uber they are, it's disheartening to see others getting the rewards without playing hard to get them.
If this can be sorted out somehow, then I don't see any issues with allowing rich people with less time to buy items/service/whatever that help them enjoy the game.
Riley Dec 12th 2008 8:32PM
yeah, i was pretty mad about the star wars thing, but it looks like it was a mistake, so we'll have to wait and see
Deadly. Off. Topic. Dec 15th 2008 10:44AM
Why should someone who is willing to put in 12 weeks of time, get screwed over by someone who is not willing to put that time in but just buys his gear? Sort of seems a bit unfair if you think about it, who is the guild gonna take on runs - they'd picked the outgeared tank and priest over the poor guy who is trying to do runs to get his gear so that he could tank or be the healer.
If you pay a subsciption fee, these costs should be included in that fee. You're already paying - why pay again on top of that?
Eberron Dec 12th 2008 3:28PM
Oh, I absolutely agree. Blizz has RMT, just not for certain things. I can't, personally, justify spending a bunch of money on in-game items but I certainly don't see where the issue lies.
There was a period where I was working upwards or over 60 hours a week and my WoW time was at an absolute premium. Essentially what I had was an abundance of funds and a tiny amount of time.
Traditionally gear requires a relatively large amount of time and little money (your subscription). What's the harm in changing that around?
People will go "I worked hard for my gear!" and all I have to say is... so did they. Their money, why not? Why shouldn't Blizzard get the money the gold farmers are getting? Things like that are important to consider.
phox Dec 12th 2008 4:14PM
The answer is because you're no longer playing the game. They "worked" at the game to get better. You worked in real life to better your real life. Don't cheapen their work.
Radiophonic Dec 12th 2008 3:31PM
Up next: Full tier 8 sets for cash!
/sarcasm
Shoomy Dec 12th 2008 3:40PM
Agreed. There is nothing more valuable than time. I don't really see the big deal with letting people who have the financial means purchase items they may not have the the free time acquire otherwise.
Lets say a person only has an hour to play a day because they are so busy with work/family/obligations, but they happen to make enough to spend extra on their hobby as they see fit. Why should they be shut out of the upper tier stuff simply because their real life schedule does not allow the time to spend hours on end in front of the computer? They enjoy the game for all the same reason "hardcore" people do, why can't they have the same rewards?
Lets say Blizzard offered a full tier set for $200. Seems like a lot on the front end but take a closer look. Lets say it took someone 8 weeks of raiding 3 nights a week, 4 hours a time (pretty modest) to get the same set.
3 nights x 4 hours = 12 hours a week
12 hours a week x 8 weeks = 96 hours
$200/96 hours = $2.08 dollars an hour
Now I don't know about you, but my time is worth more than $2 per hour. That doesn't even include farming time and other activities involved with raiding.
I say if someone can afford the cash, but not the time...let them pay.
Clevins Dec 12th 2008 4:07PM
What, saying it once wasn't enough?
In-game items are a mark of what you've done and how good you are. What you and most other people who won't play much are is entitlement babies. You want everything, but you don't want to actually have to do anything to get it. And once you have all of the best gear... what will you do with it if you don't play much? Why do people who don't play very much CARE about gear? They'll whine at raiders, call us no lifers, tell us to stop worrying about our epeens... and then justify why they should have gear as good, but without actually doing anything for it. Hypocrisy... look it up.
Shoomy Dec 12th 2008 4:58PM
Wow...you sure do make a lot of assumptions.
First off, I only said it once....ask WI why it got posted twice.
Secondly, how do you know how much I play? Where did you read that I called anyone "no-lifers" or made mention of an "epeen"? If anything your argument goes the complete other direction and acts as though in game items are some sort of status symbol and the players that wear them should be honored because of the amount of time they have available to sit in front of the computer...excuse me while I laugh.
The point is, this is a game. Nothing more, nothing less. People like you need to stop taking it so seriously and act as though raiders need to be put on a pedestal simply because they have opportunities open to them that some do not. Why does it bother you that someone can go and buy gear? How does it impact the way you play the game? What does it matter if someone buys all the best gear and then doesn't play? Is that some sort of sin the raiders bible?
Here is a simply solution. But an asterisk (*) next to any item that a player purchases outside of the game. That way if they are inspected or looked up on the Armory it is obvious that they didn't get the gear through raid runs. That way the casual players can still get the good gear if they see it fit to spend real life money (which I don't a lot will do anyway) and raiders can have the pride of getting them the old fashion way.
Just to put a little cherry on top of your idiot sundae...I raid regularly and don't consider myself "casual" at all.
Video game...look it up.
hmchone Dec 12th 2008 3:42PM
I think Blizz is doing things the right way. There are always special lil vanity pets for folks that go to blizcon and the loot cards etc, but no of those things are game changing. I can't go pay 10 bucks and buy a legendary sword.
What I would love to do though is create/edit weapons I have looted. Lets say I have Ced's Carver and want bliz to rename my version to Corvaal's Carver when folks inspect me. I think it would be great, but should come at a price.
I'd also pay a couple of bucks to name my mounts so when folks mouse over them they would see their name :)
The reason I'd expect to pay is that it would require a bit of reengineering on bliz's part and would take away from development of normal patches etc, so i'd assume they would allocate a new team to adding the features hence a small price to allow the feature.
thundrcrackr Dec 12th 2008 3:42PM
I think some people are failing to see the implications of Blizzard charging money for items THEY control the drop-rate of...
Jamison Dec 12th 2008 3:43PM
I'd be willing to pay real money to turn my space-cow shaman into a Dwarf.... you listening Blizz? :-)