| The Topic: Gold Farming...and Ozuri Has Lots to Say!
It all started here in this thread when Vanguard official forum member PuppyStomper questioned whether running periodic ISP checks would be an effective way to thwart secondary market gold farmers. A few pages later, this thread spawned a dev--Zack "Ozuri" Karlsson, Director of Business Development for Sigil Games Online. Turns out Ozuri had a lot to say! Here's a tidbit from his epic post:
First, Sigil Games Online has no problem with RMT.
I know that this seems contradictory to any previously published statement, but allow me to explain our position. We do not care if people engage in RMT in any game where the developer and publisher has authorized it. There are several great examples of games that have incorporated RMT into their game, Second Life, There.com, and others. There's an enterprising group of MIT students working on a 2D/3D futuristic MMO with RMT built into the economy from the ground up -- and we support that.
However, we do not support it when it happens to developers or publishers without their consent. We spend 4 or 5 years building these games and we expect that when we license them for use to people, that they accept the terms under which we license it for their use.
There are rules for use. Just because an automobile can go 140mph doesn't mean that you get to go 140mph. When you buy a car, you agree that you will only go as fast as the speed limit. Do some people break the rules? Yes. Is it illegal? Yes. If you get caught, is there a penalty? Yes, and 'but the car can go that fast' isn't a sufficient excuse -- nor is, 'but there's a market for RMT.'
Yes, there is a market for it. Wherever the value of time is greater than the value of money, there will be a market for it. Whenever time can be commoditized and sold, there will be a market for it. It is, actually, the same mechanic that drives outsourcing.
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