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Diablo 3’s Real Money Auction House: Not a Good Reason to Crack Your Piggy Bank

When Blizzard decided to take the in-game gold Auction House to the next level that involves the green in your wallet, it came as no surprise that such an experiment would be the center of attention. It has been almost a decade since illegal black market sellers have made a living by trading virtual gear for your cash and Blizzard has even banned thousands of accounts if they caught you in the act. Yet here we are witnessing a now legalized system of trading real life cash for powerful items in the game.

Unfortunately, having the ‘right’ gear affects your gameplay to a great extent. While many may side with the whole “skill > gear” belief, being decked out in the most powerful armor and weapons in D3 will make you untouchable regardless of skill. With that said, multiple issues could occur among players for example in PvP where being the best depends on your salary. On a personal note, the prices in the RMAH are excessively high (set at a maximum $250 buyout) to even attract my attention and is easily ignored by most players. After all, if others do have better gear than your character, so what? Logic dictates that such comparisons should not affect your personal gaming experience.

Even so, the RMAH has triggered several other complicated issues. When my cousin had sent me text saying that she could not log on because her account got banned after spending a few dollars to purchase an item, the next trending news on my Google search results were petitions by players to remove the RMAH altogether. Reasons range from how it “takes the fun out of playing D3 completely” to “I might as well be shopping at the Target around the corner.” A player even lost $149 for bidding on a glitched item. With dollar signs now replacing loot stats, will players continue to find appeal in the game?

From an international standpoint, South Korea’s prohibitions of the RMAH and Virtual Item Trading did indeed stir up some heated discussions. The consequences of violating the rules included a “50 million won fine, at a maximum, and five years in jail” according to the original article posted here. Going to jail for buying in-game items is not the way to go folks. Rest assured that a fine line still separates fantasy from reality. Bloggers and other forums have also questioned the effects of the RMAH in third world countries while Germany and France continue their anti-consumerist battle royale.

Don’t forget about the IRS’s involvement in this matter as well! Income is taxable no matter where it comes from even if it’s from the couple of dollars you earned from selling your Blood Greaves.

With numerous issues that followed the birth of the RMAH, players should just practice extra caution if they plan to continue to use the system. You are using real money and run the risk of losing it in just a couple of minutes. Another important question to consider is the value of the gear you plan to spend money on. What is the point if its value will eventually diminish? According to gameranx.com, Blizzard even recently admitted that ‘item hunting’ will not continue to garner fans in the long-term:

“We recognize that the item hunt is just not enough for a long-term sustainable end-game,” wrote Bashiok. “There are still tons of people playing every day and week, and playing a lot, but eventually they’re going to run out of stuff to do (if they haven’t already). Killing enemies and finding items is a lot of fun, and we think we have a lot of the systems surrounding that right, or at least on the right path with a few corrections and tweaks.”

“But honestly Diablo III is not World of Warcraft,” he said. “We aren’t going to be able to pump out tons of new systems and content every couple months. There needs to be something else that keeps people engaged, and we know it’s not there right now.”

The safest and most uttered advice is to stay away, but hey the system still exists because it continues to maintain a significant amount of loyal users. All in all, don’t let the RMAH ruin your game experience that you have already paid for to enjoy.

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Shirayuki

A constant tumblr junkie ever since I created an account a couple of weeks ago. I'm an avid movie-goer, read a variety of books when I have the time and watch a range of television programs. Being the child of a father who owns more than 900 star wars/star trek and other sci-fi novels combined, as well as growing up alongside a brother who taught me to play video games since i was 8, its definitely hard NOT to love these genres.