Diablo 3 awarded official status from S.Korea ratings board, real money auction house removed

January 16, 2012 By Amir Iliaifar

Blizzard, makers of Diablo 3 were forced to make some concessions regarding its upcoming sequel, requiring the company to remove the controversial real money in-game auction house system Blizzard plans on implementing in other final builds of the game.

It’s pretty safe to say we are all eagerly awaiting the official announcement and release date of Blizzard’s upcoming sure-to-be-mega-hit, Diablo 3. But according to PC Gamer, it looks like the folks over at Blizzard had to wait for an announcement themselves as one of the more seemingly controversial aspects of the upcoming sequel, its real money in-game auction house, was a stumbling block in Blizzard’s quest to get South Korea’s ratings board to approve it.

For those that might not know, Blizzard announced back in July 2011 that it would allow players to officially buy and sell in-game items for real money using the games auction house. Part of this strategy was most likely in response to the amount of “gold farmers” (websites that sell in-game gold for real money) riddled throughout most MMORPG’s like Blizzards other popular franchise, World of Warcraft. However the move has been met with some criticism with gamers and fans alike stating that those gamers with less disposable income would be at an inherent disadvantage when it comes to weapons, items, and armor in the game.

While that may be a harsh reality we have accepted in day to day lives, it’s not something gamers generally wish to adhere to in a game, especially when games are meant to transport us from our often mundane and harsh realities.

But now it appears that they won’t have to, well at least in the South Korean version of the game as Blizzard has agree to remove that feature altogether.

It appears Blizzard was met with some difficulty about the in-game auction house because of its use of real world money to purchase goods. South Korea’s ratings board declared that playing the game with the potential for financial gain is akin to gambling and goes against the countries strict anti-gambling sentiments. If Blizzard wished to see Diablo officially released in South Korea then it needs to comply with local laws and remove the feature, which it has.

We don’t imagine Blizzard will be met with the same issues here in the States, but anything is a possibility. For now, we will have to wait and see whether there is a growing controversy over Blizzard’s decision to incorporate a real money in-game auction house and if gamers will ultimately love or loathe it.

What do you think about Blizzards plans for a real money in-game auction house? Let us know in the comments section.

Showing 33 comments

Bradl3y76 at 11:24am 18th January 2012 If you work, or have excess of a good that is in demand, would you prefer being paid in real money, or in game money? Keep in mind that real money is convertible for goods and services outside of Diablo, where the other money is not. Now this creates incentive for goods that would otherwise be sold on the AH for in game money for real money creating an artificial shortage for those who prefer to pay with in game money. Children/adults that can afford emotionally and financially to buy the initial game, but cannot afford to pay real money for fake gear will be at a disadvantage and shorted of the overall experience versus a scenario where real money is not involved.No matter how optional you view the RMAH, the game by admission of the core designers is centered around gear/loot. Introducing the option of real money for the central purpose of the game reduces the availability to those who cannot pay for the gear. This in turn reduces their overall experience.Will it stop me from playing? Probably not, but it does reduce my overall satisfaction with my initial purchase of D3. It will probably affect my long term in game experience when I see a piece of gear that I would normally be able to use in game money for, but cannot as the price commanded is no longer in Diablo currency that has experienced hyperinflation.
LTDeuce at 9:48pm 17th January 2012 The "RMAH" is going to be totally awesome. For those who don't know Chinese gold farmers have made a ton off of Americans buying gold while on the other hand blizzard would just ban anyone in USA for doing the same thing. At least this way it levels the playing field.
bennym56 at 9:04pm 17th January 2012 Diablo 3 Preorder should ship on 03/31/2012
Darren Atkins at 12:49am 18th January 2012 no.
4GEN7 at 2:58pm 17th January 2012 REMOVE RMAH WORLDWIDE. Gaming isn't about making profit or spending your money. Blizzard, please remove it.
TechGod at 12:48pm 17th January 2012 I agree with Ian Bell. If people just put gear up on the real money AH then it will suck for people who can't or don't want to spend real money for digital items. I also can't stand when developers leave stuff out of a game with the intention of making you pay for DLC later. I guess we'll see what happens here, but I can only imagine people will be greedy and try to scam you regardless.
TechGod at 10:32pm 16th January 2012 Might be a cool way to make some money though
1. Ian Bell at 11:07am 17th January 2012 Yes, I'm sure there will be legions of players farming for items....can't wait *sigh
scwarner at 8:23pm 16th January 2012 horrible idea....
Ian Bell at 5:46pm 16th January 2012 Terrible idea to put real-money based auction houses in games. I want kids to be able to play these games, and adding real money in-game will only confuse them, and teach them the wrong messages. Games are supposed to be fun. Blizzard is really starting to think too much like a big corporate bank, they need to get back to their roots and make games that people like. Consumers first guys...
1. aceball at 8:20pm 16th January 2012 Kids shouldnt be playing Diablo III, and if they are old enough to handle the the guts, gore and dark themes of a game like Diablo III, I think they'll live if there is a real money auction house.
  1. Ian Bell at 11:05am 17th January 2012 I don't see how the two are the same? If a kid is tough enough to play a dark, gory game, then he will have no problem paying real money for in game goods?1+2=A ? I don't see the correlation. Sorry.
    LTDeuce at 9:49pm 17th January 2012 Your purposely not seeing the correlation.
    Ian Bell at 4:12pm 18th January 2012 Darn you caught me./fail
2. Chris Pegg at 2:04am 17th January 2012 "I want kids to be able to play these games, and adding real money in-game will only confuse them, and teach them the wrong messages."As oppose to how it is right now, where the same kids use black market sites to illegally obtain digital items that breach the EULA, expose their account(s) to hackers/phishers, and their machines to viruses/malware.Facts: 1. The real money auction house is a GREAT idea 2. You are not FORCED to use the real money auction house 3. The real money auction house IS NOT FOR KIDS. You have to have a bank/credit card, which means that, if there is a child using it, their parents are involved in the decision to let them use it. 4. The real money auction house IS NOT GAMBLING. It does not resemble the criteria that constitutes gambling at all, which is to gamble with money in the hope of receiving more money in return. This is TRADING (for those who need an example, browse eBay, you'll get the idea). You either buy, or sell items. You see what you get - simple as that. There is no element of "gambling", at all. Korea have made a major, and intellectually inept error on that score.
  1. Chris Pegg at 2:09am 17th January 2012 Sorry - fact 1 was an opinion, not a fact :)
  2. Ian Bell at 10:27am 17th January 2012 Ok, so lets take the kids out of the equation. I am a HUGE Blizzard fan. I want to pay one price for the game, maybe a subscription fee each month (if its online) and that's it. I don't want a auction house with real money being used. That's completely idiotic. I am not a cow that needs to be milked constantly.
    Justin Bell at 11:03am 17th January 2012 Like he said, it's a completely optional feature. You don't want to have something like that, don't use it. There will be an in-game currency auction house as well. They've said as much.
    Ian Bell at 11:04am 17th January 2012 But will there be an advantage for users that pay with real money? Or will the goods be the same on both auction houses?
    Chris Pegg at 11:41am 17th January 2012 No, there will be no advantage. Plus, unless the person with the bottomless credit card is on your friends list, or that person has similar gear/stats to you, likely you will never meet them in game at all, as they will have superior gear/stats to you.The point is, you do not have to buy any items at all in order to be able to complete Diablo 3. It's perfectly possible (according to Blizzard) to solo the whole game from Normal, through Nightmare, Hell and Inferno difficulties.Inferno is (I would imagine) finely tuned for the player that knows how to play, understands how the game mechanics work, and understands exactly what items and stats on those items they require to prevail. Whether they choose to learn what needs to be done to craft and enchant the right items as they progress, or if they choose to use the Auction Houses, it is up to the player.Lets say some spoiled little rich kid uses his mom's credit card to turn his character into something that resembles Chuck Norris. In a multi-player, it would make the game easier... but.... according to Blizzard, the game system matches players of similar gear/stats to group up, or to do battle in the PvP arenas... so like I said, chances are, you'll never meet them.I personally do not believe it will detract from the game in the slightest to be able to "have an option" to be able to buy items for gold/real money. It's no different from what's in existence right now (World of Warcraft has a whole multitude of sites where you can buy items and gold for real money, so does Diablo 2, and I'm sure many other MMO's to boot). What this DOES do, is bring a "safe" and "legal" element to the buying and trading of digital items.At some point in the game, I envisage that I will be browsing the auction houses to see what's on offer, but that won't be any time during Normal or Nightmare modes - but that's my choice. Blizzard have given me the choice of how I want to play the game, and I have a lot of respect for that. So Blizzard stand to make a bit of extra cash on the side... but it's optional. There is no subscription fee - the only fee you pay is the purchase of the game itself. I fail to see how you would be 'milked constantly', seeing as the only way you would be spending cash, is by going onto the real money auction house yourself, by your own choosing, and buying something - just like you would do with eBay, or any other auction-based Web site.The only difference is, with the D3 RMAH, you ALWAYS see what you get, there is no chance that you could be duped into buying something that isn't what's on offer (as is possible with eBay).
    Ian Bell at 11:51am 17th January 2012 Ok, I get it. I still think its a bad idea, but as long as I am not forced to use it and there is no advantage that other players will have, I am COOL with it.So will farmers more likely put their items up at the "real money" auction house instead of the in-game (not real money) auction house? If so, that would suck because you will likely not get good items unless you pay right?
    Chris Pegg at 11:54am 17th January 2012 You're using the mentality that you HAVE to use the Auction House in order to be able to get anywhere...Just play the game, reap the loot and have fun... I know I will be - I've waited 11 years for this! ;)
    Ian Bell at 11:55am 17th January 2012 I will try it Chris, I'm a huge Diablo fan and will give them the benefit of the doubt! :)
    Bradl3y76 at 11:06am 18th January 2012 If you work, or have excess of a good that is in demand. Would you prefer real money, or in game money? Keep in mind that real money is convertible for goods and services outside of Diablo, where the other money is not. Now this creates incentive for goods that would otherwise be sold on the AH for in game money for real money creating an artificial shortage for those who prefer to pay with in game money. Children/adults that can afford emotionally and financially to buy the initial game, but cannot afford to pay real money for fake gear will be at a disadvantage and shorted of the overall experience versus a scenario where real money is not involved.No matter how optional you view the RMAH, the game by admission of the core designers is centered around gear/loot. Introducing the option of real money for the central purpose of the game reduces the availability to those who cannot pay for the gear. This in turn reduces their overall experience.Will it stop me from playing? Probably not, but it does reduce my overall satisfaction with my initial purchase of D3. It will probably affect my long term in game experience when I see a piece of gear that I would normally be able to use in game money for, but cannot as the price commanded is no longer in Diablo currency that has experienced hyperinflation.
    
    Kory Bizal at 11:46am 17th January 2012 You choose whether or not to put it up on real money or gold auction house when you create the auction. There will be so many people creating auctions though that pretty much anything you find on the real money auction will also be available for gold most likely. Everyone who played Diablo 2 online knew there were websites that sold gold and items, tons of people used those sites. The difference now is that Blizzard is taking the cut instead of some random website, which is just a smart business move all around that doesn't make them look bad in anyway if you actually know how things have worked in the past where people would get scammed at the other sites.
    Ian Bell at 11:52am 17th January 2012 Don't you think that is a little greedy on Blizzards part though?
    Kory Bizal at 12:05pm 17th January 2012 Well would you rather have some 3rd party getting the money or Blizzard because it's their game? Not really greedy, it's their game, if anyone should make money it's them. Plus they are still a business and honestly them making money just means they have more money to make their next game with. Another thing is that by using money they make from the real money auction house they could continue paying people to update the game for years and years which makes the game self sufficient.
    Ian Bell at 1:28pm 17th January 2012 No I would not rather have a 3rd party control it. I want them ALL locked up with the key flushed down the drain. Burn them all Kory!!
    LTDeuce at 9:51pm 17th January 2012 Not any more greedy then the monthly fee associated with WoW, that is for sure.
    
    Justin Bell at 3:14pm 17th January 2012 From my understanding the cut is fairly small that they take as well. So while they probably won't be taking enough per transaction for anyone interested in using this method to make some spare cash, they'll make enough overall to be helpful. :D
    
    Dan Pemberton at 11:25am 17th January 2012 Your making my brain hurt. You don't need to use it. There is another in game gold only auction house that you can use. They are also adding transaction fees to the RMAH so only exceptional gear goes on it, therefore the gold auction house is still valid. Especially when you consider Min/Maxing gear and the hardcore community. Great items with mediocre stats will bleed over to the gold auction house over time. Try and reflect on the D2 economy and what they had to do to maintain it... They had to WIPE the servers every so often because the economy got to saturated. That's ridiculous when you think about how long it took to get to a high lvl. So your character gets moved to open B.net and you could play there but they wanted to ladder to be valid so some of the top items could only be transmuted in ladder games. Which got you back in there leveling again in a broken system.I'm in the beta and have played with the auction house systems and they work much better then d2jsp or any of the other silly 3rd party sites. Now lets be honest in terms of security there is no argument. If you had any idea how easy it was to abuse the D2 system your head would spin. The fact of the matter is that people would use 3rd party sites, get ripped off and blame blizzard for it. Thats one thing they are trying to avoid.When you have a game where items have value, can be traded AND are NEVER EVER EVER guaranteed that creates a market. So unless you can give another alternative than Blizzard being the mediator I think your opinions are pretty invalid. The only realistic option is to make items BOP and BOE like in WoW but the community would freak.
    Ian Bell at 11:54am 17th January 2012 I get it Dan. I am just worried that the system will get tainted. I am not going to keep dumping my heard earned money into a game. I play The Old Republic and I am perfectly content paying for the game and a monthly subscription. I don't want to keep putting money into their pockets. This is the same reason why I hate DLC that is too shallow. Game creators intentionally save the good stuff for those willing to pay more. It's just plain greedy!
    Chris Pegg at 6:12am 18th January 2012 I completely agree with you on DLC, however it's no different from buying the basic toy from a toy store, and then buying the extra bits that make it more cool, or your "Complete box set of [enter series here] 1-8", then finding that they are to release a 9th series so you fork out for another "Complete box set".I originally bought a screensaver from Sachs (Marine Aquarium) under the proudly lofted banner of "all upgrades free, for life"... which was a long... long time ago, and the guarentee doesn't apply anymore.I bought a Powerball under the lofted banner "Lifetime guarentee, Lifetime money-back guarentee"... however I wore them out after a couple of months (I was ranked 6th in the world at one point) and they stopped sending me replacement parts, so I put it down and left it to gather dust.I want something special with Diablo 3. I want a game that I pay for, that I can play in its entirety, no hidden extras, no downloadable content you have to pay for (although I've not heard anything about that, don't know if the rumours are true or not).Blizzard is a company that has a massive turnover. They make around £9mil every month, just from WoW subscription fees alone. I will be shocked if they try and screw their fan base with DLC...