Selling AO up the virtual river

by Amanda Rivera on Oct 22nd 2007 11:58AM

Sci-fi, Anarchy Online, Business models, Economy

It's a sad day for those living in Rubi-Ka. Funcom has decided that Anarchy Online isn't nearly messed up enough, and so have announced that players can now spend money for points that can used in-game to buy items. That's right friends, the economy was just flushed down the tubes by guys who make the game.

How exactly is this a good thing? Sure, Entropia Universe uses actual currency in a virtual environment, but we're talking about a game that has been running for years under the system that you actually have to work to earn your money, and now they are just letting you buy it outside the came with cold hard cash. I guess the currency sales within the game by farmers was so massive that they figured "hey, if you can beat them, join them."

This very morning I was mulling over the idea of starting up my account again and seeing how the game works with my updated graphics card, but I think I will pass. Can they please change the name of the company to something other than "Funcom?" It's misleading the players to believe that they are a publisher interested in the fun of the players, when this is so obviously not the case.

Source

Tags: Anarchy-Online, ao, economy, funcom, virtual-item-sales

Reader Comments (2)

I think this is a pretty biased article. You can't tell me that other MMO's are not doing the same thing. FC is just following on the other profitable "booster pack" ideas that other games have.

AO is free with in-game advertising. The billboards are the only source of advertising and there are sparsely placed around various locations. It's not in your face nor obtrusive. The paid stuff, at this point, is only if you choose to purchase the new hoverboard or new jetbikes. You don't need these to play, they are simply for fun and add an extra element to the game. Its a personal choice whether you choose to spend real dollars to buy one of these.

If you choose to pay then you get still get most of the stuff you are pay with cash (leet pet, jobe apt, etc) so it's a matter of choice whether you want to spend actual cash versus earned in-game credits. For those nubs that don't know, if you partake in some of the RP parties, online events, and those sponsored by GSP (Gridstream Productions) you can win free stuff like credits, leet pet keys, jobe luxury apartments, etc.

I have a paid account with all expansions and enjoy this game very much. It offers what many other MMO's don't and that is an extremely wide range of in-game items for twinking, wearing for fun, selling, trading, etc. Before you shoot something down maybe you understand what the paid system is all about.