NationStates Jolt Archive

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-general&t=278543&p=1

Just wanted to know what everyone here thinks about selling items on a video game for real money. In the link above, Blizzard expresses that it can ban users' accounts for this offense, but they go a step further and suggest legal action. I have no experience in law, but do you think this is possible? Could Blizzard actually win a case in court?

A lot of people in that thread use the "I'm not selling the item/gold, I'm selling my time" excuse. What does everything think?

Selling fake things for real money is one of the stupidest things I've heard. I think this phenomenon started with phone sex. "I'm beating off with a woman talking to me! For only $4.59 a minute!" Real money for virtual satisfaction. Then pay for porn sites came up. "I'm beating off to a digital photograph of a girl performing oral sex on a horse! And it's only $9.99 a year!" I feel the next step in such a operation is jerking off to scratch-and-sniffs of a woman's vaginal juices. "I'm beating off to a scented piece of paper! And it's only $6.50 a sheet!"

i dunno how blizzard would bring them up on legal charges, maybe argue they are selling blizzards intellectual property? which would be a reach

i dunno how blizzard would bring them up on legal charges, maybe argue they are selling blizzards intellectual property? which would be a reach

In the Terms of Service (TOS) and the End User License Agreement (EULA), it clearly states that all in game content are the property of Blizzard, and as we all know you can not sell what is not yours (legally). I just don't know if it's enough to win a case in court.

In the Terms of Service (TOS) and the End User License Agreement (EULA), it clearly states that all in game content are the property of Blizzard, and as we all know you can not sell what is not yours (legally). I just don't know if it's enough to win a case in court.
It's enough.

It's enough.
in a civil suit probably, you could put up a good fight though

Meh...I say if people are stupid enough to buy it, they get what they deserve...

In the Terms of Service (TOS) and the End User License Agreement (EULA), it clearly states that all in game content are the property of Blizzard, and as we all know you can not sell what is not yours (legally). I just don't know if it's enough to win a case in court.

Traditionally, Blizzard has just banned people from their servers and has not actually pursued legal action. I think the threat of legal action is just that, a threat, designed to scare all but the ballsiest people from doing this. But they do reserve the right to press legal action as per the TOS you agree to when you install a Blizzard game.

Diablo has it: The in game currency is Stone of Jordan Rings and you can buy like 100 for X amount of cash.

Used to be in EverQuest, the dollar-platinum piece trade rate was worth more than some real world currency.

I play Final Fantasy 11 now and there are these nasty people called gil-sellers who farm (the term means do something over and over again) gil (in game currency) and sell loads of it online to people who can't farm their own. It promotes laziness and it ruins the ingame economies... mostly. It just wrecked FFXI's economy and Square-enix released a patch and fixed the prices of things so that hopefully the economy will stabilize out.

Of course there a few good reasons: In a game like FFXI, you NEED good gear to get a group to go and kill stuff with. Having sucky equipment/spells gets you hated and not wanted in groups (you also have to suck at your job) but many people buy currency to actually play the game instead of just farm or whatever.

I don't buy the virtual stuff; there's enough spending outlets for my dollars as it is.

Interesting thread, I think this all started when Everquest and EBAY became really popular at about the same time. About 4 years + ago you would see tons of items pp (Plat pieces) on EBAY for sale.

And I have to admit I was one of them. For example, while I was school I sold a rare "manastone" during christmas. Basically I used this cash to pay for all my books. HUGE sale....

*beats all TOS breakers with a stick*

There's my opinion ;)

BAck in the day it was GOOD money for playing a stupid game lol...

Oh yeah, I know it's a good source of income, but people who do it are reneging on contracts they knew the details of.

So...

*beats some more*

;)

Oh yeah, I know it's a good source of income, but people who do it are reneging on contracts they knew the details of.

So...

*beats some more*

;)

Remember back in the day it wasnt part of any contract, BACK in the daaayyy...