The original Escapist article with quotes from Rob Pardo
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/interviews/9046-Diablo-IIIs-Auction-House
The insightful FAQ
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/misc/9047-Auction-House-FAQ
Commentary:
Having just recently watched the Extra Credits episode on microtransactions, this change strikes me as particularly brilliant.
Whereas most games with microtransactions eventually have to sell power items to make money and offer continued support,
Blizzard just wants to broker transactions, allowing people who don't pay to save or even make money. People who don't have enough time or skill to advance can still buy their way through, but most of the profits will actually go to other players: people who DO have the time and skill to advance on their wits and powers alone, without relying on uber-leet items. While most RPGs do little to nothing to recognize and reward the skill of players, Diablo 3 can offer a real challenge while letting weaker players pay stronger players to get a leg up.
I do question the temptation of difficulty creep. This is a problem in RPGs already, with the hardcore players being the most vocal, asking for more features that exclude newbies and make them feel superior. This effect will be magnified a hundred times when players rely on hard bosses to sell items. Boss strategies will be much more coveted and wails of "too easy" will resound. Since blizzard has faced this problem before, though, and consistently made WoW's end content easier with each iteration, I'm not worried. In any other developers hands, though, this would become an issue.
The only odd part is why they're still charging for the game if they're monetizing it in this way. I suppose they want a safety net in case this fails utterly, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the price of this game dropping rapidly as time goes on. Eventually, they might just have a "seller's license" where people who want to make money on the game have to cough up a fee, but everyone else plays for free (until they buy something).
But then again, this is Activision, so having multiple, redundant revenue streams seems like it will be a guarantee for the foreseeable future. I do hope this model spreads though. Games like this have never been a level playing field. Even Blizzard could not stop all the market manipulation in Diablo and WoW. This way, at least, there are real rewards for people who want to play the game straight, and some degree of protection for those tempted by the black market.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/interviews/9046-Diablo-IIIs-Auction-House
The insightful FAQ
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/misc/9047-Auction-House-FAQ
Commentary:
Having just recently watched the Extra Credits episode on microtransactions, this change strikes me as particularly brilliant.
Whereas most games with microtransactions eventually have to sell power items to make money and offer continued support,
Blizzard just wants to broker transactions, allowing people who don't pay to save or even make money. People who don't have enough time or skill to advance can still buy their way through, but most of the profits will actually go to other players: people who DO have the time and skill to advance on their wits and powers alone, without relying on uber-leet items. While most RPGs do little to nothing to recognize and reward the skill of players, Diablo 3 can offer a real challenge while letting weaker players pay stronger players to get a leg up.
I do question the temptation of difficulty creep. This is a problem in RPGs already, with the hardcore players being the most vocal, asking for more features that exclude newbies and make them feel superior. This effect will be magnified a hundred times when players rely on hard bosses to sell items. Boss strategies will be much more coveted and wails of "too easy" will resound. Since blizzard has faced this problem before, though, and consistently made WoW's end content easier with each iteration, I'm not worried. In any other developers hands, though, this would become an issue.
The only odd part is why they're still charging for the game if they're monetizing it in this way. I suppose they want a safety net in case this fails utterly, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the price of this game dropping rapidly as time goes on. Eventually, they might just have a "seller's license" where people who want to make money on the game have to cough up a fee, but everyone else plays for free (until they buy something).
But then again, this is Activision, so having multiple, redundant revenue streams seems like it will be a guarantee for the foreseeable future. I do hope this model spreads though. Games like this have never been a level playing field. Even Blizzard could not stop all the market manipulation in Diablo and WoW. This way, at least, there are real rewards for people who want to play the game straight, and some degree of protection for those tempted by the black market.