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Global Chat: Being the bad guy

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Lord of the Rings Online, Culture, Guild Wars 2, Global Chat, Miscellaneous, Destiny

As an MMO enthusiast blog, Massively has always had a special appreciation of the dedicated (and unpaid!) writing that gamers put out on their own blogs every day. Every week there are dozens if not hundreds of terrific posts on MMOs out there, and since I'm the resident loon here who reads pretty much all of them, I decided to start up a biweekly column to point you in the direction of some of the best discussions going on in the blogosphere. We'll see posts on specific games and general topics, geeky gushings and zany rantings.

For our inagural edition of Global Chat (yes, I'm recycling the name from a long-dormant feature on this site), we'll take a look at how outfits tie into identity, surviving MMOs as a chicken, a requiem for a gold farmer, and so much more!

Continue reading Global Chat: Being the bad guy

Global Chat: Being the bad guy originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Jul 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RuneScape winning war on gold farming

MJ Guthrie — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, News Items, RuneScape, Free-to-Play

Gold farming is a pervasive plague throughout the world of free-to-play MMOs, but RuneScape appears to have developed a cure. Jagex has announced that the recent introduction of Bonds (an in-game item that can pay for account-related and out-of-game benefits) has nearly eradicated gold farming in the game, reducing it by 81% in only one month. COO Riaan Hodgson stated, "While we anticipated that the launch of Bonds would impact the flow of illegal wealth into the game, we are thrilled the initiative has resulted in such a strong and immediate impact."

The impact of Bonds, however, goes beyond just significantly lowering gold farming; Bonds have opened up more benefits to more players via the Pay-through-Play initiative. Additionally, more than 10% of RuneFest attendees have paid for their tickets to the November 2nd event at Tobacco Dock using Bonds.

[Source: Jagex press release]

RuneScape winning war on gold farming originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New membership currency introduced to RuneScape to help fight gold farming

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Economy, News Items, RuneScape, Free-to-Play, Browser

You don't need to pay money to enjoy RuneScape on a monthly basis, but you certainly get a bit more out of the game with a subscription. But would you prefer to use some of your vast in-game fortune to pay for that membership? You can do that now thanks to the introduction of Bonds, a new item that can be purchased for $5 a pop and then traded or sold in the game itself.

When used, Bonds can be redeemed for 14 days of play time, eight Squeal of Fortune spins, or 160 RuneCoins. You can also redeem them for RuneFest tickets (although it takes more than one Bond for that). In a video from Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard, the genesis of Bonds is explained -- this is the latest step in the game's long-standing battle with gold farming accounts, offering players more control over membership costs while cutting out the need to pay money to third parties. So spend cash on improving your in-game fortune or spend your in-game fortune to save some cash, it's up to you.

[Source: Jagex press release]

Continue reading New membership currency introduced to RuneScape to help fight gold farming

New membership currency introduced to RuneScape to help fight gold farming originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Sep 2013 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Camelot Unchained aims to be unattractive to gold sellers and farmers [Update]

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business Models, PvP

Mark Jacobs has never been a fan of gold farmers and gold sellers, famously going on a warpath against them in his previous titles. He renewed his vows against such practices today, saying that he will do everything he can to make sure that such behavior doesn't prosper in Camelot Unchained.

"While it certainly would be nice to have those extra subs the gold sellers/farmers bring to the table," Jacobs wrote, "I will not compromise the integrity of the game or the enjoyment for the vast majority of the players by making it easy for them in Camelot Unchained even if it leaves some money on the table."

The team is planning on countering gold selling and farming by creating tools to battle it and making the game more difficult to generate a profit. "As an RvR-focused game, CU will be less attractive to them from the onset since earning currency in CU not be as easy as earning currency in a PvE game," he said.

[Update: Jacobs is a busy little bee today. He's just posted a second dev blog discussing how leveling will work in a PvP-centric game.]

Camelot Unchained aims to be unattractive to gold sellers and farmers [Update] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC presenter talks about $100,000 whales

Elisabeth Cardy — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real-Life, Video, Business Models, Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items

Have you always wanted to purchase a really expensive in-game whale to be your beloved pet? Then, sadly, this GDC Europe presentation by Reality Squared Games CEO Jared Psigoda probably isn't for you. If you're interested in how Asian game studios manage to attract players willing to spend $100,000 and more on their games, this is just the presentation for you.

Psigoda, a former gold farmer, talked about how Chinese browser games and other free-to-play titles increase the cost of virtual goods depending on the level or power of players' characters. This model is dependent on a smooth pricing curve that gets players used to the idea of microtransactions with low-cost items and exchanges and gradually raises the cost in such a way that players don't dig in their heels at a sudden change.

Check out GDC's Vault for an in-depth look at squeezing money out of players.

GDC presenter talks about $100,000 whales originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Summoner's Guidebook: It's time to get serious!

Patrick Mackey — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, Free-to-Play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook

One of the things that was baffling for me as a League of Legends noob was the overall tempo of PvP games. In bot matches, I got used to staying in my lane, and I was never sure when it was a good time to meet up with my team or go for objectives. I actually didn't really understand what "mid game" and "late game" actually meant.

However, on Summoner's Rift, those terms actually have real meaning. You have different goals in the early, mid, and late game, and if you try to continue laning when you're in the midgame, you're going to run into huge problems, as the entire enemy team is probably ganging up to come and kill you. This week, we're going to talk about the flow of the game on Summoner's Rift, and when you should be switching up your game to accomplish different things.

Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: It's time to get serious!

The Summoner's Guidebook: It's time to get serious! originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BioWare responds to SWTOR's Ilum exploits

Larry Everett — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, New Titles, News Items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

The Star Wars: The Old Republic open-world PvP zone of Ilum is intended to be an area where high-level players duke it out for planetary control. However, many players spend their time just standing around and not actually engaging each other. Some even go so far as to use their low-level alts of the opposite faction to cap nodes and help their mains gain PvP currency.

Recently, some of these players were surprised to find their accounts temporarily suspended. Normally, we do not contact gaming companies because of bans, but there was some confusion in the community regarding a section in the rules of conduct that states: "You may not engage in any conduct or practice that results in an Account containing items, objects, currency, character attributes, rank, or status that are inappropriate for the level or rank of the character contained in the Account, i.e., 'item loading.'" Community Manager Stephen Reid pointed us to a forum post he created after we contacted him, in which he comments about the suspended accounts:

It's important to remember that our Terms of Service team is extremely careful and thorough in their investigation of any potential exploit or unusual activity in-game. Working closely with the development team and using extensive metrics based on player activity, they are able to determine what is normal player activity, what is unusual and what is exploiting. Our goal is always to ensure a fair game experience for all players while also protecting the rights of individuals, and if people are disrupting the play experience for others action will be taken.

In the post, Reid clarifies that only accounts suspected of gold farming were actually banned. Only a small number of accounts were temporarily suspended for the Ilum exploit, and also any action taken against an account may be appealed.

BioWare responds to SWTOR's Ilum exploits originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Soapbox: On gold-farming and the grind

Jef Reahard — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Business Models, Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, Free-to-Play, The Soapbox

Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

You're no doubt aware of a certain sci-fi MMORPG that's launching this week. As is the case each time a new major title releases, I'm curious to see how (or if) the developers will deal with the inevitable real-money trade.

BioWare has been fairly quiet about gold-farming and the steps it may take to combat it, which isn't too surprising given the unglamorous and often controversial subject matter. Few game devs mention their anti-RMT plans prior to launch, but plenty of dev teams complain about RMT after their game has been released. And yet, the usual solutions to black market currency trading are continuously ineffective at stopping it.

Continue reading The Soapbox: On gold-farming and the grind

The Soapbox: On gold-farming and the grind originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Free for All: The real damage of botting, in the words of a botter

Beau Hindman — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Economy, Opinion, RuneScape, Free-to-Play, Browser, Free for All

I received an interesting email from someone the other day, someone who wanted to let me in on the lifestyle of a botter. Frankly I was a little embarrassed for the guy since he seemed to believe me to be naive about the entire process. The truth is that I have met plenty of shady characters and heard stories that would make your eyes bug out of your head. I've heard these stories from the developers and players themselves. There truly is some nasty stuff going on in MMO gaming.

The saddest thing is that cheaters honestly think that what they do cannot possibly result in much harm for the game they are botting in, cheating at, or hacking up. It's sad because the truth is that a cheater, as one person, might not have much of an impact on the game. Add up several thousands of these scam artists and the results are mindboggling. Drive by your local dump to see just how much trash can pile up, one person at a time.

I want to shine some light on just how damaging botting can be. Click past the cut.

Continue reading Free for All: The real damage of botting, in the words of a botter

Free for All: The real damage of botting, in the words of a botter originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzard elaborates on Guardian Cub sales

Justin Olivetti — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Business Models, Economy, MMO Industry

Has Blizzard surrendered to the powerful RMT lobby or are there other forces at work behind the company's recent decision to introduce a loophole that allows players to buy in-game gold and items with real-world currency? According to a recent post on World of Warcraft, the sale of the Guardian Cub is meant to test the waters of fighting rampant account compromises.

Blizzard claims that gold farming is actually not as common these days, but instead most of the gold that is sold through third-party services comes from stolen accounts. The idea of bypassing third-party gold sellers by providing a cash shop pet that could be resold or traded in game was meant to be a creative solution to the problem.

"Players can buy one for the purpose of trying to sell it in-game, creating the potential for players to exchange real money for gold in a way that does not lead to account compromises. Of course, all that comes with the pretty important caveat that demand for the pet will be finite, and there's no guarantee you'll be able to find a buyer," Blizzard writes.

The company says that it doesn't expect this will solve the overall issue, the success or failure of the unique pet will help Blizzard determine if this approach is worth pursuing further.

Blizzard elaborates on Guardian Cub sales originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 22 Oct 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mark Jacobs: 'I've never been against F2P'

Brianna Royce — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Interviews, MMO Industry, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Miscellaneous

In a brief interview today with MMORPG.com, Mark Jacobs, now president and creative director of City State Entertainment, discussed his thoughts on the F2P model and real-money trading.

Jacobs is best known to gamers for his previous roles with Mythic Entertainment and Electronic Arts on such games as Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online, and his opinions on the subject of gold-farming are infamous, possibly even extreme. We can't be the only ones who remember the early days of WAR when a crusading, irony-immune Jacobs spammed players' screens with popups whenever gold-spammers were banned. But in this interview, Jacobs aimed to set the record straight: He's against gold-farming specifically and how gold-farming hurts legitimate players, not the free-to-play model.

I've never been against F2P. What I was and still remain strongly opposed to is gold farming in games, especially MMOs that weren't designed from the beginning to handle those kind of transactions, and also to the groups that seek to profit from such transactions. What I really dislike isn't so much the gold farming/selling itself, but certain behaviors that occur in games where this happens.

He goes on to suggest that the F2P model has surged to prominence due to the weak economy and "a lack of really interesting MMOs," noting that we're due for a shift in the market but that the success of Star Wars: The Old Republic (and its "license to print money" IP) will determine the viability of the subscription model in the future.

Jacobs has plenty more to say in the full interview over at MMORPG.com.

Mark Jacobs: 'I've never been against F2P' originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nexon takes Mabinogi offline to combat RMT

Jef Reahard — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Mabinogi

Mabinogi fans aren't having the best of weeks, as their MMO of choice has been down for the count since October 4th. ThisIsGame.com reported that Nexon took the free-to-play fantasy title completely offline in order to deal with unauthorized real-money trading and implement new security measures.

Players were warned of the downtime approximately one hour before it occurred, and though there's no time table for a restart, Nexon has said that it will compensate customers accordingly.

"We have found lots of RMT [resulting] from workers and auto players during the last holiday. So we are working on [an] investigation [...] and proceeding [with] broadscale system maintenance to root it out," the company said.

Nexon takes Mabinogi offline to combat RMT originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fallen Earth devs answer your F2P questions

Jef Reahard — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Fallen Earth, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Post-Apocalyptic, Dev Diaries

You've got questions about Fallen Earth's free-to-play conversion, and the dev team's got answers. The latest Fallen Earth blog entry spills the beans on everything from what happens to existing subscriptions to character slots to various functionality limitations.

Surprisingly, GamersFirst is allowing free-to-play customers to make use of the auction house, mail, and trading systems, but this may change "if gold farmers get totally out of control." There's also good news for pre-existing Fallen Earth subscribers who would like to convert to a free-to-play account but are worried about losing access to their alts. "If you had ever bought the game or paid for a subscription, those character slots were included with your game, so they belong to you regardless of the change in business model," writes Joseph "Linus" Willmon. Head to the official Fallen Earth dev blog for more.

Fallen Earth devs answer your F2P questions originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Are you in favor of developer-sanctioned RMT?

Rubi Bayer — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

The Ottawa Citizen recently did a story on real money trading in MMOs, and it started some interesting conversation here on Massively.

There are some who feel that the only way to truly eliminate the problem is to legalize it, so to speak -- cutting down on stolen accounts, shady deals, and ripped-off consumers by creating official channels for everything. Others argue that it won't help and that making real-world cash a part of the player economy is a terrible idea in general.

It's a discussion that can be approached from plenty of different directions, so what say you? Should developers create official channels and be done with it, or keep working to eliminate it altogether?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Are you in favor of developer-sanctioned RMT? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TERA implementing chronoscrolls to combat gold farming

Jef Reahard — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, TERA

TERA isn't releasing in North America for several months yet, but the folks at En Masse are already taking steps to curb the inevitable tide of gold farmers sure to be washing up on Arborea's beaches in 2012.

A new dev blog released over the weekend outlines the introduction of chronoscrolls, and those of you who are familiar with EVE Online's PLEX system will probably see several parallels between the two mechanics. "If you've never purchased gold, and you're wondering why this new chronoscrolls system is a good addition to the game, consider this: Whether chronoscrolls exist or not, other players are buying gold from real-money traders. By creating the opportunity for players who already buy gold to purchase it legitimately, we help eliminate the incentive for real-money traders to target TERA," says producer Patrick Wyatt.

TERA implementing chronoscrolls to combat gold farming originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Enter at Your Own Rift: How gold farming really hurts the economy

Karen Bryan — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Economy, Opinion, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift

Recently, Trion Worlds CCO and RIFT Executive Producer Scott Hartsman talked to Gamasutra about how gold farming is a much bigger threat than we assume, particularly because of the large amount of credit card fraud. Those who played RIFT at launch probably recall the large wave of hacked accounts early on. According to Hartsman, the hacking attempts were so quick and so intense that the game could have been "denial-of-serviced off the internet" when it launched.

As I was browsing the Auctioneer the other day, I was reminded of Scott's statement because gold farming has sucked a lot of the fun out of in-game economies in virtual worlds. Markets early on were lively, unpredictable, exciting, and full of freedom but very vulnerable because of the growing illegal trade of in-game currency for real money. In an effort to combat the rising real-life value of gold, games like RIFT have moved away from gold toward a system of non-tradeable tokens. But while these tokens have helped to curb the value of gold and reduce the demand for third-party RMTs, they've also removed a lot of the freedom from players. After the cut, we'll take a closer look at how exactly that's happened and why it hurts the economy.

Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: How gold farming really hurts the economy

Enter at Your Own Rift: How gold farming really hurts the economy originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TERA integrates technology to combat gold farming for North American launch

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, TERA

When Scott Hartsman made his comments regarding gold selling, it's unlikely he planned it to become such a focal point for so many other companies and games. But it's certainly become a focal point for players, and TERA's development staff has decided to take the war on gold selling a step further. It was announced today that the game's launch will see the integration of the Crisp Platform, an automated service set to monitor in-game behaviors to try and detect cheating, gold farming, and botting before a player has even noticed these things taking place.

According to the official release, the platform is based around a steady analysis of player behavior, looking for erratic patterns and unusual behaviors to flag potential abuses. In theory, this will allow En Masse Entertainment's support staff access to easy data at a glance, allowing any attempts at gold farming to be detected and stopped before the point that the money gets put up for sale. How successful that will be is going to depend on the implementation, something we won't know about until the game's launch in spring of next year.

TERA integrates technology to combat gold farming for North American launch originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Massively: Go outdoors edition

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous

Here is the salient piece of advice from this week's Ask Massively, right up front and in the intro paragraph -- go outdoors. Right now. Shut down your computer and go for a walk. Take a hike somewhere you've never been. Explore. Take some time to just walk around out in fresh air and sunlight, or heck, enjoy being rained on. But take the time to break from a routine in which you read a whole lot of words on the Internet and just go see what's outside for a few minutes at least.

Really, this column will still be here after you're done. It'll wait.

I'm hoping that the two or three of you that actually listened to that advice enjoyed your walk. For you (and slightly earlier for everyone who just skipped over that paragraph) we've got questions this week about gold farming and the consistent scourge of site bugs. If you've got a question you'd like to see answered in a future installment, just mail it along to ask@massively.com or leave your question in the comments.

Continue reading Ask Massively: Go outdoors edition

Ask Massively: Go outdoors edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Global Chat: Broke and richer for it edition

Justin Olivetti — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Economy, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Global Chat, Miscellaneous

Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat!

This week we're looking at all things money: Who has it, who doesn't, and why it makes the world go 'round. Naturally, Massively writers are richer than seven kings of Arabia combined and aren't concerned with such petty matters, but it seems to weigh heavily upon some of your heads. Hit the jump and let's see what the buzz was like in the comments section this past week!

Continue reading Global Chat: Broke and richer for it edition

Global Chat: Broke and richer for it edition originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scott Hartsman says gold farming hurts our games more than we know

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO Industry, Legal, Miscellaneous

Gold buying is one of those aspects of MMO culture that is seemingly universally denounced, yet enough people partake in the practice to keep the wheels of this grey market activity going. Scott Hartsman may be saying the obvious when he denounced gold farming and selling to Gamasutra, but apparently it is still something we need to hear.

The Trion Worlds general manager shared a glimpse of just how hard these activities hit games, and how concerned he and other studio execs are about the proliferation of credit card fraud that results: "It's those kinds of things where people laugh and go, 'Oh, that never happens.' No. It happens. It happens a s**tload. To the point where, over the last three or four years, I would dare anybody to ask an exec at a gaming company how much they've had to pay in MasterCard and Visa fines, because of fraud. It happens a lot."

According to Hartsman, the more these events take place, the more money studios spend on paying fines and dealing with them instead of reinvesting funds into the games themselves -- all because of the "jerks" perpetuating the crimes.

Scott Hartsman says gold farming hurts our games more than we know originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chinese prisoners forced to farm MMOs for cash

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 26 May 2011 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, MMO Industry, News Items, Miscellaneous

Doing hard time in China may result in more than just back-breaking labor -- you may be called upon to join the country's growing legion of gold farmers as well.

A report at Guardian.co.uk exposed an unusual side of Chinese prisons, painting a picture of gaming inmates who had to meet farming quotas in MMOs or be beaten. One prisoner said that this practice was more lucrative for the prisons than other products of forced labor:

"Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour. There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [£470-570] a day. We didn't see any of the money. The computers were never turned off. If I couldn't complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things."

However, prison officials denied that such activities took place. One official commented, "We do not allow our prisoners to have any contact with the outside world. If they were playing these online games they could easily communicate with other people. We would never allow that."

Billions in revenue have resulted from China's virtual gold trade, which is largely unregulated. Guardian.co.uk estimates that the country holds 80% of the world's gold farming population.

Chinese prisoners forced to farm MMOs for cash originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 May 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FBI raids University of Michigan apartment over possible WoW fraud

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Economy, Legal, Miscellaneous

A University of Michigan student apartment became the focus of a recent investigation by the FBI, which conducted a raid on March 30th over "potentially fraudulent sales or purchases of virtual currency that people use to advance in the popular online role-playing game World of Warcraft."

While the FBI did not make any arrests, it did confiscate several items, including computers, video game equipment, and credit cards. The Bureau is checking out whether one or both of the students were involved in a fraudulent scheme to buy or sell virtual gold, and the agency is looking for online transaction records with various online banks and websites.

The two students who share the apartment claim that they do not play WoW and are confident that they are innocent. One of the unnamed students commented: "They thought we were involved in some kind of fraud. I'm pretty sure they have the wrong people, but they took all my stuff."

FBI raids University of Michigan apartment over possible WoW fraud originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BBC suggests gold farming may bolster poorer economies

Jef Reahard — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Culture, Economy, MMO Industry, News Items

Who says gold farmers are devilspawn and deserving of a fate worse than death? Well, a lot of MMO gamers say that, but a news blurb on the BBC's website suggests that some virtual currency farmers may have a higher purpose after all.

Citing a report at InfoDev.org, the BBC posits that gold farmers are simply filling a role in the global supply and demand economy. "Western players who have limited time for gaming are buying game cash, gear and high level characters from people in China and Vietnam that are paid to play as a job," the article states.

The BBC also notes that the most recent global virtual sales estimates put the total market worth in the neighborhood of $3 billion. Approximately 30% of that is generated by legit players, 50% comes from bot farms, and the remaining 20% is pilfered from compromised accounts. Whether or not you tremble in anger at the thought of MMO gold farming or dismiss it as a modern-day reality, it seems as if it's here to stay, and according to the BBC, it might even provide economic aid to poor nations. "The virtual economy can have a significant impact on local economies despite its modest size," according to the article.

BBC suggests gold farming may bolster poorer economies originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Would you play a game with no economy?

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Economy, Opinion, The Daily Grind

In the bullet-point list of most every MMO on the market, a "functioning in-game economy" comes as a standard feature, much like AM/FM radio and power steering, er, I mean like PvP and spacebar-as-jump-button. Being able to buy and sell goods and the occasional service between players adds a layer of depth and strategy to the game world that -- for once -- isn't solely about killing something. A few select players even eschew the rest of the game to focus on playing the auction house or crafting goods to sell.

Unfortunately, like the Force and the moon, in-game economies always come with a dark side. Economies are tricky to balance, and the longer a game runs, the higher the risk for it to spiral out of control due to mudflation. Late-comers to the game often find themselves at an economic disadvantage in comparison to extremely wealthy veterans. Economies also need the support of a lot of desirable things to sell and a useful interface through which to do it (such as an auction house), creating a lot of work for the dev team. And, of course, with any economy comes the headache of gold farming and selling.

Out of curiosity, would you play a game with no real economy? Some games such as Free Realms and Guild Wars de-emphasize their economies greatly in favor of other parts of the game. Do you find MMO economies to be more of a bother than a blessing? If a fun game came out that lacked this "essential" feature, would it be a deal-breaker?

The Daily Grind: Would you play a game with no economy? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Money money money! Money!

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 25 May 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind

Money: it makes the world go 'round. It's also one of those necessary staples to keep your character happy and well-outfitted. Whether used to get that sweet piece of loot on the auction house, fund a mount, pay for skills and repairs, or just to feel (for once) like a billionaire, it doesn't hurt to amass as much money in game as possible.

So what's your trick, your technique for raking in the dough? Are you a minimal earner, vendoring all of your loot and just getting by? Do you farm crafting components to auction off, or are you a crafty crafter who makes high-demand products? Do you complete every quest possible -- not for the XP, but for the cold, hard cash? Have you tip-toed down the dark side of RMT for easy gold?

We'd love to hear your secret for becoming an in-game Scrooge McDuck. So how do you make your money?

The Daily Grind: Money money money! Money! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 May 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Masthead Studios discusses Earthrise economy

James Egan — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Economy, Exploits, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Earthrise

It's an immutable law: create an online game where virtual currency is used and it'll inevitably give rise to a black market for that currency, not to mention for the various items in the MMO. Earthrise will be no different, but developer Masthead Studios aims to be proactive about the problem of gold sellers, rather than reactive. They also feel that their game will be difficult to bot. "Most of Earthrise design has followed the paradigm of requiring player interaction and skill through every aspect of combat, crafting and logistic movement so we firmly believe the game will be, by design, very difficult to automate via known methods," Masthead explains in their latest Question of the Week.

Another factor that Masthead Studios feels will curb black market activities in Earthrise, at least in respect to items, is that every use of gear slowly degrades the item in question. Of course, where there's a will there's a way. So when Earthrise enters open beta Masthead Studios will keep a close eye on the various ways players find to exploit the economy.

Continue reading Masthead Studios discusses Earthrise economy

Masthead Studios discusses Earthrise economy originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keeping the gold farmers at bay: An interview with Fallen Earth's Colin Dwan

Shawn Schuster — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Fallen Earth, Culture, Economy, Interviews, MMO Industry

Gold farming and gold spamming is a very real problem in our current MMOs. While some games are spending a good chunk of their resources to battle the farmers and save their game's economy, other games are enjoying a relatively spam-free existence. One such game is Fallen Earth.

So what's their secret? Have they designed an actual farm-proof game, or is it just that they're doing an amazing job of clean-up behind the scenes? We talked with Project Manager Colin Dwan for some insight into their proven methods. Follow along after the cut below for the complete interview.

Continue reading Keeping the gold farmers at bay: An interview with Fallen Earth's Colin Dwan

Keeping the gold farmers at bay: An interview with Fallen Earth's Colin Dwan originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why RMT won't go away

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Culture, Economy, Exploits, Opinion

"Companies should just stop gold farmers." It's a consistent complaint in many games, with "gold" replaced by your game's currency of choice. As complaints go, it's right around "somebody should do something about all the problems" in terms of overall utility, but heck, no one likes the practice and it should just be eliminated, right? Well, as Scott Jennings has pointed out recently, it's not quite that easy.

As Lum points out, there are several common misconceptions about the entire process. Among them are the idea that the game company doesn't step in because they're getting kickbacks, which is pointed out to fail the simple test of Occam's razor. When developers want to get more money from an existing game, there are usually better ways to run it, such as the Champions Online model or the Dungeons and Dragons Online approach. He also tackles the infamous statement that the farmers are paying customers and therefore the company has even less incentive to stop them.

So if everyone hates RMT, why is it still around? The article briefly touches upon it, but We Fly Spitfires had a recent post that articulates more specifically: more people buy gold than would necessarily admit it. Since no one will admit to it, no one ever asks, and as a result there's a large culture of silence that publicly despises it and privately takes part. In short? As long as there's a customer base, the farming will continue. Food for thought all around.

Why RMT won't go away originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One month: Aion October community address

Brooke Pilley — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, News Items

Aion has officially been out for one full month and NCsoft just released an October community address in response. The notice reads less like a giant pat on the back and more like a checklist of major issues they are working on, which is bound to churn up speculation about how well the title is doing. Oh, we're sure Aion is doing quite well even though we haven't heard the official numbers yet, but developers usually use these opportunities to shout about their accomplishments rather than their shortcomings.

The top three issues mentioned in the letter are experience curves, client performance, and spammers/botters. Most players will agree that it can feel like a part-time job to level your character at times. Some players have had performance issues specifically related to "Cryssystem.dll." And finally, everyone has been forced to /ignore the odd spammer... or fifty. NCsoft is using this opportunity to yet again tell players they are aware of these issues and fixes are on the way.

We're curious how this may relate to differences between eastern and western gaming cultures. Aion has been released for nearly a year in Asia and yet only the outcry from European and North American players against experience grinds and gold spamming specifically seems to be sparking a change.

One month: Aion October community address originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big improvements in Aion 1.5.1 patch

Brooke Pilley — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Patches

The folks over at AionSource were kind enough to translate the latest Aion patch notes being tested in Korea. ~~There's no word yet on when western players will see these changes~~, but the notes are still worth reading because there are some big improvements. Three items stood out to us especially.

Based on the table shown in the notes, quest experience is being increased; to the tune of almost 500% on average (if our calculations are correct). The craziest example is a level 44 quest going from 13,300 to 703,820 experience (53 times as much).

Extracting aether now has a chance to debuff you with "Aether Venom." This debuff reduces your chance to successfully extract a gatherable down to 0. Players can remove this effect with a "Word of Purification" ability. Each character has this ability but to successfully use it, one must properly type in a captcha. This seems like an obvious attempt to prevent bots from gathering up all the game's resources.

Finally, Spiritmaster pets can now fly. We're not quite sure how this issue ever made it into the game at launch (design oversight or complication?), but 1.5.1 aims to finally remedy it so Spiritmasters aren't totally gimped in aerial PvP. Be sure to check out the full notes here.

[Update: These notes are for the Korean test server, so they're not final notes for the Western version.]

Big improvements in Aion 1.5.1 patch originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anti-Aliased: Hax0red

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Culture, Opinion, Anti-Aliased

Today was a beautiful morning. It was a morning filled with sunshine, chirping birds, and a good night's rest. I was up writing late last night, so it was nice to sleep in a little before getting a start on the day. Yet, all cozy naps must come to an end, as I had to get up to man my computer, check my e-mail, and get a start on today's work.

As I booted up Mozilla Thunderbird and looked over the e-mails that were floating in my inbox (yesterday's MAG comments, Star Wars Galaxies comments, and some new screenshots for D&D Online) I saw one that kinda stuck out. It was from Blizzard Entertainment Support, and it was a password change notification from Battle.net. At first I chuckled, thinking it was some type of spammer who was trying to get me to give up my password, but on looking through the letter, I noticed it was authentic Blizzard material.

That's when my phone rang. It was one of my guildmate's numbers flashing on the screen. Those birds stopped chirping after that booming string of profanities escaped my mouth.

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: Hax0red

Anti-Aliased: Hax0red originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The fight against RMT in EVE Online

James Egan — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Economy, MMO Industry

It's an unfortunate reality that most any massively multiplayer online game running has to cope with outside influences on an in-game economy because of real money trading (RMT). Game developers tackle the problem in different ways. For instance, Final Fantasy XI has an anti-RMT task force and Warhammer Online has a zero-tolerance name-and-shame approach to RMT. Other companies grab the bull by its horns and base their game around a virtual item trade they can regulate.

The problem of RMT has affected EVE Online just as it has other MMO titles, if not moreso given how its player-driven economy and the Interstellar Kredit (ISK) currency is central to the game. Beyond the potential revenue lost to the black market when players pay real cash for their ships and modules or buy huge sums of ISK outright, there are also issues with players getting their accounts cleaned out by the shady companies (ostensibly) selling the ISK. When that cleverly-named player "ajakdsk" links you to his ISK selling site in a chat channel, following that link could infect your computer with a keylogger, resulting in a fire sale on whatever they find in your account.

EVE Online's creators CCP Games have taken a two-prong approach to handling these issues.

Continue reading The fight against RMT in EVE Online

The fight against RMT in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Is there a difference between item malls and gold farmers?

Shawn Schuster — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Culture, MMO Industry, Making money, The Daily Grind

With the recent news of China banning the exchange of virtual currency for real world currency, it brings up the future of gold farming in that country, and possibly the world. While China is certainly not the only country which employs MMO gold farmers, it's often labeled as the biggest offender. There is certainly a difference between trading real world money for virtual money and trading virtual money for real world money, but this new China legislation shows that the legalities of both practices are becoming real issues to lawmakers.

So we're curious to know how you feel about the whole process of trading in either direction. It was once a stigma among gamers, but many companies are adopting this practice in a legal way, conducted by item stores and in-game currency exchange. Besides the fact that these item malls are supported by the game studios, do you see a difference? If so, what are they? Discuss!

The Daily Grind: Is there a difference between item malls and gold farmers? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New legislation in China outlaws gold farming

James Egan — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, MMO Industry, News Items, Legal

Gold farmers. We know you hate them... We know. And we've mentioned the associated gold spam as being the bane of many MMO players' existence a number of times in the past. But is the situation ever going to change?

Perhaps, given the new legislation coming out of China this week. Of course while all gold farmers certainly aren't based in China, a substantial percentage of gold farming operations are in fact run from the country. Such operations may now find themselves under greater scrutiny by the Chinese authorities; the government has now established its first official rule on the use of virtual currency in China.

Essentially, it states that virtual currency cannot leave the sphere of influence of its issuer. (Exact wording: "The virtual currency, which is converted into real money at a certain exchange rate, will only be allowed to trade in virtual goods and services provided by its issuer, not real goods and services.") If the law is actually obeyed and enforced, it would curb all manner of black market activities in China connected with the virtual.

Continue reading New legislation in China outlaws gold farming

New legislation in China outlaws gold farming originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Gold Trading Exposed': Getting the player and industry perspective

Lesley Smith — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, MMO Industry

A few weeks ago, we mentioned that the first installment of Nick Ryan's 'Gold Trading Exposed' has gone live over at Eurogamer. While we've all encountered bots and spammers, this insightful series of articles is trying to get behind the whispers and artfully placed dwarves to discover what makes gold farmers tick and why we, the MMO-playing public, buy gold in the first place.

Well this is where Nick comes in, after a general overview in part one, he's spoken to the gold farmers themselves but in the final two installments he's gone a step further by talking to their customers and, finally, the developers including Blizzard themselves.

The player-centric part of the series focuses on that old horror story: that buying gold can lead to characters (and even guild banks) being stripped of their worldly goods and left, stumbling, in some deity-forsaken corner of a virtual world - and that's if you're lucky.

Continue reading 'Gold Trading Exposed': Getting the player and industry perspective

'Gold Trading Exposed': Getting the player and industry perspective originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Gold Trading Exposed' a look at multi-billion dollar grey market in MMOs

James Egan — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, MMO Industry

If there are any massively multiplayer online games on the market (with virtual economies) that *aren't* overrun at times with gold spammers that multiply like cockroaches, we have yet to hear about it. While the various MMO developers and operators have their own approaches to the problem, ranging from public humiliation of spammers to an anti-RMT strike force that exists to root them out and eliminate them, a key (*the* key) part of this equation for grief is the playerbase itself.

"Gold Trading Exposed" is the first in a series of articles tackling the issues surrounding RMT written for Eurogamer by Nick Ryan. Over time, Ryan will look at the multi-billion dollar trade in virtual gold through the eyes of all parties involved -- the gold traders, the developers, and of course the players themselves (many of whom deny they buy gold). Ryan points out there there's no small amount of hypocrisy from MMO playerbases which profess a hatred for the gold selling trade since, after all, there must be a reason that gold sellers thrive and multiply.

Continue reading 'Gold Trading Exposed' a look at multi-billion dollar grey market in MMOs

'Gold Trading Exposed' a look at multi-billion dollar grey market in MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Third largest gold selling site sells for $10M

Shawn Schuster — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Culture, Economy

Gold selling has always been a lucrative business, but the recent acquisition of the My MMO shop website proves that it's recession-proof as well. As reported by recent financial records, the third largest MMO gold selling site in the industry just sold for $10 million to a company established in 2008 for the sole purpose of buying the site. This makes me wonder what the top two would sell for., but I digress!

"MyMMOShop.com appealed to us because of its strong reputation for providing optimal customer service," says Hunter Crowell, My MMO Inc.'s Media Relations Agent. "That focus will continue with our purchase." Wait, am I wrong in pointing out that this business goes against the EULAs of every major MMO out there? We're not talking about simple company-backed RMT here, we're talking about gold farming and gold spamming. Yet, despite the "illegal" nature of the business, it seems to only be growing in popularity, ironically more as the economy sinks deeper. "This is a risky time for any kind of traditional investing," says Crowell. "People are staying home more and choosing less expensive forms of entertainment, like playing video games."

Third largest gold selling site sells for $10M originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gold farming is "inevitable?"

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Culture, Economy, MMO Industry, News Items

Kerry Fraser-Robinson, the founder of virtual world developer RedBedlam, stated in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz that the industry should focus more on integrating gold farming into the game design, rather than attempting to stomp it completely out of the system.

"It's going to happen whether you like it or not," he said in today's interview. "People will always find the path of least resistance, if you stop them buying your gold then they'll buy that gold from somebody else who is gold farming."

Continue reading Gold farming is "inevitable?"

Gold farming is "inevitable?" originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Arming yourself in the battle against LotRO gold spam

Shawn Schuster — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Legal, Academic, Education

Following the release of their first paid expansion, Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria developer Turbine has released a reminder of their policy concerning gold-selling and real money transactions (RMT). The reminder post was written by Senior Game Master "Nod" on the official forums, and it contains their no-nonsense code of conduct when it comes to dealing with gold selling.

The rules themselves are fairly typical of an MMO's anti-RMT stance, yet this post also gives players information on how they can deal with gold sellers, spammers, farmers and gold-selling websites themselves. For example, to report a gold spammer, "right-click their spam in your chat window, click on Chat, then click Report as Gold Spammer. This will automatically block the spammer and report the spam to In-Game Support." If you've found yourself getting annoyed by the onslaught of gold spammers that plagues games as they increase in popularity (like LotRO), this information should help you in your battle.

Arming yourself in the battle against LotRO gold spam originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China legislates 20% tax rate on virtual currency profits

James Egan — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, MMO Industry, News Items, Legal

While much of the world's gold farming activity is based in mainland China, the black market industry operates in violation of the law. Despite this, a large part of the problem in curbing illegal activities in China is that there's a substantial divide between what the law states is illegal and the actual enforcement of those laws. This may well be the case with the law passed last week by China's State Administration of Taxation, which will impose a personal income tax rate of 20% on profits made from virtual currency.

Juliet Ye at The Wall Street Journal's "China Journal" blog reports: "The policy would cover China's legions of online gamers, who can use online virtual currency to buy better equipment and new powers for their online warriors. But it also affects millions of others who use virtual currencies on instant-messaging services and Web portals." The widespread use of virtual currencies in China spurred last year's restrictions on exchanging virtual currency into RMB. If the new law becomes a reality rather than a technicality in the lives of China's internet users, it will be a substantial change in virtual economics in the country.

China legislates 20% tax rate on virtual currency profits originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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