Gold-buying, A critique

Hey Bushido, I know this has been mentioned before in a post but I have reintroduced this controversial issue as new topic to emphasise the critiques of the practise and also to act as a partial explanation to one of the major factions which led to the kinship being reset. Also note that this is the first in a series of posts I will be doing in explaining my actions and the direction Bushido will be moving in.

Let’s start first with the terms of use of the “product” (LOTRO). The practise of gold buying goes strictly against the terms of use of the product, it has been emphasised many times by COG. However it may change in the future; right as of this moment it goes against the terms of use of the product and therefore breaks the set rules. It also goes against the ideal of fair play, which is not explicitly stated in the terms of use of the product but is a generally accepted as a thing we all want. The ideal of fair play WILL form one of the ground rules which I will set for Bushido.

A general defensive stance I’ve heard of the practise of gold-buying is that people do it because they lack the time in which to put in the effort to enjoy the full content of the product they’re paying a monthly subscription for. Therefore gold-buying enables them to enjoy the full content updates that those who put in the time and effort enjoy. I believe this particular stance is debatable, purely on the grounds that if you don’t have the time to fully enjoy something because of other commitments in your life, maybe this something is not the right thing for you, or intended for you…For example…If you subscribed to a magazine for which you have to pay a monthly price but could not devote the time to enjoying the full content of the magazine, would you pay someone to read it for you and give you a summary of its content or would you stop subscribing? Another more sharper example(I hope) is….Say you’re part of an amateur sports club which demands you must pay a price for each lesson to learn the skills which is needed to compete in a tournament at the end of the season and only those with the best skills are selected. Unfortunately you do not have the time to attend the lessons to learn these skills but would really like to compete in the tournament. So you pay the manager of the club to secure you a spot on the final team which will enter the tournament. Do you really deserve that spot? You’re achieving a status not because you earned it, but because you were able buy it.

This brings me onto the socio-economic implications of the practise and how it may affect the future of MMORPGs and other gaming genres. As said above the practise goes against the terms of use and more importantly, in my opinion, the ideal of fair play. We all know that the world is full of contradictions and that ideals are not always held to. Again this is my own opinion/believe/interpretation - that game worlds are constructed with set rules and follow ideals set from our reality, but exist outside it. This is a hard concept, I think, to grasp and I may not be coming across clearly. I believe that a lot of people play games to escape the harsh reality of this world where things are not perfect…and also to have some fun:). A game world is supposedly independent of the real world. However when you bring additional real life money into the game which is not part of the rules, you are bringing an issue from the real world into the game, that is – ACHIEVED STATUS VS. GIVEN STATUS. Does someone in real life deserve more than another because of their economic and sociological situation? We all know examples of given status in the real world e.g. monarchy. The particularly disturbing examples of given status in the real world are those which goes against the basic principles which a lot of us live by. So ask yourself realistically – How can I enjoy this game world fully if I’m playing by the rules set by the creators of it, but I know there are others who are not abiding by them. Is it really worth anyone putting effort and learning the skills the game involves when it can all be bought with money? I think the whole debate of time=money is not a clear-cut yes or no situation because I understand there are a number of people who would defend this. However I know which side of the fence I fall on.

Again, these are my own opinions and as such are a criticism of the practise of gold-buying – the fact that some major companies such as COG and Blizzard are now considering allowing players to buy in-game money or items as an emerging new market in the MMORPG world, can be looked upon as an example of hyper-capitalism. Where profit margins far out-weight any morals or values that are held in society. A parallel to this, although sounding very extreme is the if the nation health system in Britain gave credible thought to making the illegal organ trade part of the system in order to gain profit. I will accept some strong criticism for this weak association lol. The point here is: Do you think it is right that companies are willing to destroy the ideal of fair play in order to make more money? This is a critique and one interpretation. I am sure there defences of this position that these companies are in. In consideration of who is profiting from gold-buying at the moment, I speculate and I emphasise SPECULATE that is not necessarily some poor or opportunistic person looking to earn a little bit of money on the side. Criminal funds come from all different places, if I was looking at making a “safe” way of earning easy money, it would be from a game where the worst that could happen to me is a ban from the game, not any criminal convictions.

As my final point, I’d like to put forward this idea…what about the people who have the time and are able to put in the effort to enjoy the content of LOTRO, but still buy gold anyways? Apart from saying: “Hey! It’s their money, they can do what they want with it” consider all of the above criticisms. Is that kind of mentality a threat to the current system we play in (the one of where skill and time is held in highest status) Should this person be allowed to progress ahead in the game just because of their own impatience? I do not believe there is any plausible defence for these kind of gold-buyers…This is the logic I followed and in conjuncture with other serious reasons resulted in the expulsion of a former member of Bushido.

I will now open up these critiques for a debate.

Zeke

P.S. As I have said above this only acts as a partial explanation to my actions and I will make further posts revealing the thought process behind my actions and where Bushido will be heading. So please no comments on the former-member, only on the critiques. Also forgive any typos:P