Hello well this is a must read buy items,chars and lvls with IRL cash
I realy can see the future now hehe
( you hear a lvl 50 char (warrior) named 500dollars screaming in Hibernia
- HELP how do I start fighting ?
other realm mates : shouting RTFM you bought that on ebay ?
500 Dollars screaming back no I just bought the "delux pack" get a lvl 50 char and get right into battle.
For those who isnt around the mmorpg world alot
here some news
Sony that big mmorpg owner like Starwars (SWG) and Everquest II
have now deside gamers can buy items in game for IRL cash
The gamer world is divided
Pihls and malena are abit neutral as he see the positiv things into this well I open minded mostly and got IRL cash
here is the response from Mythics who I think well getting abit jumpy that if the largest mmorp producer intro this they most follow them.
and the response from SOE (Sony)
Friday, April 22, 2005
MMO dev disappointed
Mythic Rips Into SOE Over Auction Site
Following the news of Sony Online Entertainment's plans to launch an auction site for EverQuest II, we heard from Mythic Entertainment's CEO Mark Jacobs who called SOE's auction plans "one of the worst decisions in the history of the MMORPG industry." Jacobs thinks SOE is taking the industry down the wrong path. Find out why inside and then read SOE's response.
Mythic Entertainment, a developer of massively multiplayer online games known best for Dark Age of Camelot, is clearly not pleased with Sony Online Entertainment's decision to launch an official auction site for its games. GameDAILY BIZ received a statement from Mark Jacobs, president and CEO of Mythic Entertainment, in which he rips into SOE for setting a bad example as the leader in the MMO industry.
Worst decision in MMO history?
"I'm disappointed with the decision from a leader in the MMO industry to go down a path which in the past, has been an anathema to them and remains so to just about every other MMORPG company in the industry. I think that not only supporting the sale of in-game characters, items and currency, but also taking a 'cut' of those sales, is not only a mistake but one of the worst decisions in the history of the MMORPG industry," says Jacobs.
Jacobs also believes that the service will ultimately backfire in two ways. One, it will lead to frustrated players if their items get deleted or SOE has to make server changes; and two, it will also encourage the secondary market, which is exactly the opposite of what SOE is trying to do.
[ "We will gladly 'leave money on the table' to ensure that whether or not you like our games, that they remain as that, games and not an entertainment version of day-trading," Mark Jacobs, President and CEO, Mythic ]
"By creating this service, SOE may be painting themselves into a creative corner. What will happen when SOE finds it has to change or delete items, servers, etc? Will users who have bought items through SOE take kindly to the fact that their $800 swords have been deleted? Will SOE have to consider now and forever the ramifications of every major change they make to the game based on the possibility that users will not only be dissatisfied on an 'entertainment level' but now will be angry from a 'financial level' as well?" ponders Jacobs.
He continues, "Rather than discouraging companies such as IGE, I believe that by this decision, SOE will probably create dozens of small IGE and IGE-like companies who may view SOE's servers as the 'Virtual Gold Rush of 2005.' At the same time, this decision will reduce the costs of IGE who now can use SOE's own customer service, billing and bandwidth to complete these transactions quicker and easier than they can do under the present system."
Virtual marketplace concerns
Jacobs then discusses the ramifications of turning a game into a marketplace for players. He believes that SOE's auction service may lead to lawsuits and even tax problems for the big-time sellers. "By encouraging players to treat their game as a profit-making enterprise rather than as a game, SOE may increase their profit margin in the short-term but over the long-term will certainly increase the risk of both class-action and individual lawsuits, consumer fraud and customer dissatisfaction. The IRS may be interested in seeing the tax records of those 'heavy sellers' that utilize this service, and who knows where that will lead," he says.
Another problem that Jacobs foresees is one that's already prevalent in many MMOs: players that try to gain complete control over the best spots for acquiring loot. This, he says, will only lead to more customer service time for SOE. "One of the stated reasons for this decision was the fact that currently a lot of SOE's CSR time is taken up by dealing with fraudulent complaints. While the number of these complaints (or simply the time that is taken up by them) may decrease, won't SOE's CSRs have to spend more time now dealing with players who are seeking to monopolize the best revenue-generating spots? This type of behavior is already a problem in many online games and by directly tying their game systems to a real money auction system, this type of behavior is likely to increase thus forcing an increase in SOE's CSR time," explains Jacobs.
Games should be games
Lastly, he addresses the priorities of his own company, most importantly that Mythic wants to keep its games as just that. "Mythic Entertainment has turned down a number of opportunities to participate in such ventures, both with the companies that auction these goods, as well as doing it on our own. We remain committed to keeping our games as games and not as opportunities to encourage behavior that runs counter to their spirit of creativity and entertainment. We have no plans to participate in this type of service. We will gladly 'leave money on the table' to ensure that whether or not you like our games, that they remain as that, games and not an entertainment version of day-trading," concludes Jacobs.
SOE responds
GameDAILY BIZ contacted SOE to see what response they might have after hearing about the scathing comments made by Mythic's CEO. We immediately received the following statement from SOE President John Smedley:
In satisfying the broad player demand for a service such as Station Exchange, SOE is again innovating, and any innovation is bound to have its critics.
Unsanctioned virtual property auctions are now rampant, and will continue to grow whether or not publishers implement their own auction sites. Every MMO company has to assess the needs of its own player base. It is clear to us that we have many loyal and honest players who simply don't have the time to take multiple characters through the game's higher levels of play and want a sanctioned, secure means to broaden their play experience. Increasingly, our customer service department has had to bear the brunt of futily attempting to assist these players when they are cheated by unsecure transactions. Station Exchange will enable these honest players to use an auction service without concern that they will be scammed.
We want all of our players to have a positive experience and since our player base has been divided on this issue, with increasingly more support for real world monetary transactions, we have determined that offering new servers that are Station Exchange enabled is a great way to strike that balance. However, we will continue to maintain our strict policy against exploiting, using macros or bots, duping items, and transactions through 3rd party auction sites.
When SOE launched PvP enabled servers and dedicated role-playing servers for EverQuest, we knew that those communities would develop in a different way. In that same fashion, we fully expect that the Exchange-enabled server communities for EverQuest II will develop their community in a different way. When a player chooses to play on an Exchange-enabled server, they know that they will be playing with other like-minded players and that they will have the option of supplementing their own character's evolution through the Station Exchange. It will be an optional way to play our game.
However, we will continue to enforce our right to ban the accounts of players not only for explicit forms of cheating on all servers but also for disruptive gameplay. The game design of additional content for EverQuest II will remain focused on the original intent of the game and we will not allow the gameplay experience to be hindered by unfair play, whatever form that may take.
We are excited about Station Exchange and feel that we are taking the needs of all our loyal fans into account. Station Exchange simply gives the players a choice, and security for those whose choice is to utilize an auction service to enhance their game play experience.
I can see the comic in this not entirly sure what I shall think of it
what you think ?
I realy can see the future now hehe
( you hear a lvl 50 char (warrior) named 500dollars screaming in Hibernia
- HELP how do I start fighting ?
other realm mates : shouting RTFM you bought that on ebay ?
500 Dollars screaming back no I just bought the "delux pack" get a lvl 50 char and get right into battle.
For those who isnt around the mmorpg world alot
here some news
Sony that big mmorpg owner like Starwars (SWG) and Everquest II
have now deside gamers can buy items in game for IRL cash
The gamer world is divided
Pihls and malena are abit neutral as he see the positiv things into this well I open minded mostly and got IRL cash
here is the response from Mythics who I think well getting abit jumpy that if the largest mmorp producer intro this they most follow them.
and the response from SOE (Sony)
Friday, April 22, 2005
MMO dev disappointed
Mythic Rips Into SOE Over Auction Site
Following the news of Sony Online Entertainment's plans to launch an auction site for EverQuest II, we heard from Mythic Entertainment's CEO Mark Jacobs who called SOE's auction plans "one of the worst decisions in the history of the MMORPG industry." Jacobs thinks SOE is taking the industry down the wrong path. Find out why inside and then read SOE's response.
Mythic Entertainment, a developer of massively multiplayer online games known best for Dark Age of Camelot, is clearly not pleased with Sony Online Entertainment's decision to launch an official auction site for its games. GameDAILY BIZ received a statement from Mark Jacobs, president and CEO of Mythic Entertainment, in which he rips into SOE for setting a bad example as the leader in the MMO industry.
Worst decision in MMO history?
"I'm disappointed with the decision from a leader in the MMO industry to go down a path which in the past, has been an anathema to them and remains so to just about every other MMORPG company in the industry. I think that not only supporting the sale of in-game characters, items and currency, but also taking a 'cut' of those sales, is not only a mistake but one of the worst decisions in the history of the MMORPG industry," says Jacobs.
Jacobs also believes that the service will ultimately backfire in two ways. One, it will lead to frustrated players if their items get deleted or SOE has to make server changes; and two, it will also encourage the secondary market, which is exactly the opposite of what SOE is trying to do.
[ "We will gladly 'leave money on the table' to ensure that whether or not you like our games, that they remain as that, games and not an entertainment version of day-trading," Mark Jacobs, President and CEO, Mythic ]
"By creating this service, SOE may be painting themselves into a creative corner. What will happen when SOE finds it has to change or delete items, servers, etc? Will users who have bought items through SOE take kindly to the fact that their $800 swords have been deleted? Will SOE have to consider now and forever the ramifications of every major change they make to the game based on the possibility that users will not only be dissatisfied on an 'entertainment level' but now will be angry from a 'financial level' as well?" ponders Jacobs.
He continues, "Rather than discouraging companies such as IGE, I believe that by this decision, SOE will probably create dozens of small IGE and IGE-like companies who may view SOE's servers as the 'Virtual Gold Rush of 2005.' At the same time, this decision will reduce the costs of IGE who now can use SOE's own customer service, billing and bandwidth to complete these transactions quicker and easier than they can do under the present system."
Virtual marketplace concerns
Jacobs then discusses the ramifications of turning a game into a marketplace for players. He believes that SOE's auction service may lead to lawsuits and even tax problems for the big-time sellers. "By encouraging players to treat their game as a profit-making enterprise rather than as a game, SOE may increase their profit margin in the short-term but over the long-term will certainly increase the risk of both class-action and individual lawsuits, consumer fraud and customer dissatisfaction. The IRS may be interested in seeing the tax records of those 'heavy sellers' that utilize this service, and who knows where that will lead," he says.
Another problem that Jacobs foresees is one that's already prevalent in many MMOs: players that try to gain complete control over the best spots for acquiring loot. This, he says, will only lead to more customer service time for SOE. "One of the stated reasons for this decision was the fact that currently a lot of SOE's CSR time is taken up by dealing with fraudulent complaints. While the number of these complaints (or simply the time that is taken up by them) may decrease, won't SOE's CSRs have to spend more time now dealing with players who are seeking to monopolize the best revenue-generating spots? This type of behavior is already a problem in many online games and by directly tying their game systems to a real money auction system, this type of behavior is likely to increase thus forcing an increase in SOE's CSR time," explains Jacobs.
Games should be games
Lastly, he addresses the priorities of his own company, most importantly that Mythic wants to keep its games as just that. "Mythic Entertainment has turned down a number of opportunities to participate in such ventures, both with the companies that auction these goods, as well as doing it on our own. We remain committed to keeping our games as games and not as opportunities to encourage behavior that runs counter to their spirit of creativity and entertainment. We have no plans to participate in this type of service. We will gladly 'leave money on the table' to ensure that whether or not you like our games, that they remain as that, games and not an entertainment version of day-trading," concludes Jacobs.
SOE responds
GameDAILY BIZ contacted SOE to see what response they might have after hearing about the scathing comments made by Mythic's CEO. We immediately received the following statement from SOE President John Smedley:
In satisfying the broad player demand for a service such as Station Exchange, SOE is again innovating, and any innovation is bound to have its critics.
Unsanctioned virtual property auctions are now rampant, and will continue to grow whether or not publishers implement their own auction sites. Every MMO company has to assess the needs of its own player base. It is clear to us that we have many loyal and honest players who simply don't have the time to take multiple characters through the game's higher levels of play and want a sanctioned, secure means to broaden their play experience. Increasingly, our customer service department has had to bear the brunt of futily attempting to assist these players when they are cheated by unsecure transactions. Station Exchange will enable these honest players to use an auction service without concern that they will be scammed.
We want all of our players to have a positive experience and since our player base has been divided on this issue, with increasingly more support for real world monetary transactions, we have determined that offering new servers that are Station Exchange enabled is a great way to strike that balance. However, we will continue to maintain our strict policy against exploiting, using macros or bots, duping items, and transactions through 3rd party auction sites.
When SOE launched PvP enabled servers and dedicated role-playing servers for EverQuest, we knew that those communities would develop in a different way. In that same fashion, we fully expect that the Exchange-enabled server communities for EverQuest II will develop their community in a different way. When a player chooses to play on an Exchange-enabled server, they know that they will be playing with other like-minded players and that they will have the option of supplementing their own character's evolution through the Station Exchange. It will be an optional way to play our game.
However, we will continue to enforce our right to ban the accounts of players not only for explicit forms of cheating on all servers but also for disruptive gameplay. The game design of additional content for EverQuest II will remain focused on the original intent of the game and we will not allow the gameplay experience to be hindered by unfair play, whatever form that may take.
We are excited about Station Exchange and feel that we are taking the needs of all our loyal fans into account. Station Exchange simply gives the players a choice, and security for those whose choice is to utilize an auction service to enhance their game play experience.
I can see the comic in this not entirly sure what I shall think of it
what you think ?