Back when I used to hang around forums, I’d often get in disagreement with pundits who feel that Real Money Trade (the trading of in-game items for real money) is the way of the future.
To an extent, I can meet them halfway here, with Free to Play games using a real money support system. However, even in those Free to Play games, care is taken by the developers to assure that overall game balance is not compromised, leading to an unenjoyable (and thus unprofitable) game experience. Third party RMT dealers have much less concern for the continued wellbeing of the game.
In any case, because it’s clear which side of the fence I’m on, I happily take the opportunity to post up things written by actual professional game developers or maintainers that explain the evils of RMT. Showing up on my EVE Online launch screen today was a link to such a resource:
Link: Real Money Trading Is Bad, MKay?
Having been engaged in large scale debates with individuals who would argue in favor of RMT, I know that they’re not easily swayed. However, the question I would pose is this: If actual employees of the company running the game explaining how it harms them and their players are not enough for you, what is?
Filed under: Gaming
