Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Global Chat: Broke and richer for it edition]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/24/global-chat-broke-and-richer-for-it-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/24/global-chat-broke-and-richer-for-it-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/24/global-chat-broke-and-richer-for-it-edition/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

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

MassivelyGlobal 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.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>commentscrypticglobal-chatgold-buyergold-buyersgold-buyinggold-farmergold-farmersgold-farminggold-sellergold-sellersgold-sellingmoneyopinionpre-orderrmtscott-hartsmanstar-trek-onlinestar-wars-the-old-republicstoswtorthe-old-republictorvisaSun, 24 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Scott Hartsman says gold farming hurts our games more than we know]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/21/scott-hartsman-says-gold-farming-hurts-our-games-more-than-we-kn/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/21/scott-hartsman-says-gold-farming-hurts-our-games-more-than-we-kn/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/21/scott-hartsman-says-gold-farming-hurts-our-games-more-than-we-kn/#commentsFiled under: , ,

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.

MassivelyScott 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.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>credit-card-fraudgamasutragold-buyinggold-farmergold-farminggold-sellinggrey-markethackhackedhackersjerksmastercardrmtscott-hartsmantriontrion-worldsvisaThu, 21 Jul 2011 13:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Japan's online games industry steps up security]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/japans-online-games-industry-steps-up-security/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/japans-online-games-industry-steps-up-security/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/japans-online-games-industry-steps-up-security/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The potential for having a hacked game account clearly goes hand in hand with online games, regardless of which country you're in. Japan is taking aim at this particular issue through a rather significant partnership with Visa International, reports Nicholas Aaron Khoo for CNET Asia.

The Japan Online Game Association (JOGA) has pushed for the industry-wide adoption of Verified by Visa by year's end. Verified by Visa uses SSL encryption as part of its Three-Domain (3-D) Secure platform, and it's hoped that establishing this industry standard will reduce the frequency of stolen accounts. Khoo writes, "According to JOGA, Verified by Visa has already been implemented by over 60 percent of online gaming companies in Japan -- the highest among any online retail and service provider industry categories." You can check out the full story in Khoo's "Peace of mind for Japanese gamers?" as part of his Geekonomics column at CNET Asia.

[Via PlayNoEvil]

MassivelyJapan's online games industry steps up security originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>account-securityasiacnetcnet-asiafraudhackhacked-accountjapanjapanese-onine-game-associationjogammo-industrynicholas-aaron-khoosslverified-by-visavisavisa-internationalWed, 04 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Online player loses USD 19,000 in shady virtual currency deal]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/30/eve-online-player-loses-usd-19-000-in-shady-virtual-currency-dea/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/30/eve-online-player-loses-usd-19-000-in-shady-virtual-currency-dea/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/30/eve-online-player-loses-usd-19-000-in-shady-virtual-currency-dea/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,


The sci-fi game EVE Online is set apart from many other massively multiplayer online games by its economy. While there are currently problems with the game's market due to a serious exploit, the economy isn't getting reset anytime soon. The currency of EVE's virtual economy is the Inter Stellar Kredit (ISK). As in the real world, money can be power in EVE's 'New Eden' galaxy. Most online games built around a virtual economy will ultimately need to deal with the real money trading (RMT) issue -- either make it a bannable offense or support and regulate it in some way. CCP Games figured if RMT is happening whether they want it to or not, they may as well have some way to regulate it.

EVE Online has a few legitimate ways to bring real world money into the game. Game Time Cards (EVE Time Codes) can be converted to ISK without risk of getting your teeth banhammered in by CCP Games. They offer a secure way to sell game time to players where neither party can be scammed, and more recently a way to turn game time into an item (PLEX) that can be sold on the open market in-game. When a player buys that item, he or she extends their account subscription. The upside for some players is that they can actually pay their subscription fees in the ISK they've earned in-game, for others it enables them to buy a faction battleship or a number of other virtual items.

But... some people just go too far with all this, and buy ISK in huge amounts. Even worse is doing so outside of the EULA-safe methods. This was the case with an EVE player in Denmark, who paid 100,000 Danish Krones (the rough equivalent of 13,500 Euros or USD 19,000) for currency from a shady ISK seller outside of the secure system, and was ultimately left with empty pockets, even after the case ended up in court.

Continue reading EVE Online player loses USD 19,000 in shady virtual currency deal

MassivelyEVE Online player loses USD 19,000 in shady virtual currency deal originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>breakingbusiness-modelsccpccp-gamesdenmarkeconomyeveeve-onlineforumsgoldiskisk-sellerlegalmmo-industrypaypalreal-money-tradingrmtscamsci-fishadyvirtual-currencyvisawotlankorTue, 30 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Sony Station downtime for payment security upgrades]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/04/sony-station-downtime-for-payment-security-upgrades/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/04/sony-station-downtime-for-payment-security-upgrades/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/04/sony-station-downtime-for-payment-security-upgrades/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Sony's Account management and Commerce systems, Station Store and CSG store are all shutting down later this-morning to add Mastercard/Visa Securecode support to payment and billing systems.All the game servers will remain up, but the outage window for account, billing and payment services is only approximate at about four hours from 9AM US Pacific time today, Tuesday 4 March.

The securecode system has come under some criticism for lending itself to phishing scams, and indeed there have been some attempts to target cardholders with such scams since the program's introduction. At the end of the day, we're not actually sure if Securecode will make your accounts and cards more secure, but a correct implementation of the system will leave Sony Online Entertainment less liable in the event of fraudulent transactions.

MassivelySony Station downtime for payment security upgrades originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>csg-storemastercardpatchesphishingsecurecodeserver-downtimesoesonysony-online-entertainmentstation-storevisaTue, 04 Mar 2008 07:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Second Life ranked 8th Most Effective Placement on TV in 2007]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/30/second-life-ranked-8th-most-effective-placements-on-tv-in-2007/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/30/second-life-ranked-8th-most-effective-placements-on-tv-in-2007/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/30/second-life-ranked-8th-most-effective-placements-on-tv-in-2007/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

According to hollywoodreporter.com, Second Life enjoys the 8th Most Effective Placement on TV this year, behind Nexxus on the show 'Shear Genius', and in front of Visa on the show 'What Not to Wear'. Interestingly, according to the graphic, this is the public's response to SL's appearance on The Office, even though said appearance was virtually 1% of the entire content of the show, as opposed to the CSI: NY episode, in which SL is the subject of the plot.

Now, what this means to you and me is probably not a whole lot. As I understand it, this measures how the product is perceived by John Q. Public, and in this case, being on The Office means that SL has gained some respect by merely rubbing shoulders with that popular sitcom. Perhaps if Fury had been able to swing a mention ... nah, some things you just can't save.

[Thanks, Neptune!]

MassivelySecond Life ranked 8th Most Effective Placement on TV in 2007 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>csi-nyfuryhollywood-reporternexxussecond-lifeshear-geniusthe-officevisawhat-not-to-wearSun, 30 Dec 2007 11:45:00 EST