I am very interested in how this will all play out.
Personally, I think the auction house real money economy is going to be huge. If the trading that went on in Diablo 2 is any indicator:
- people in low wage countries will easily be able to live of the auction house without necessarily having to work for a gold farm.
- hardcore gamers are likely to be dissatisfied with high level content so easily available, but then again, they may take to turning a profit on hard to get stuff.
- casual gamers with jobs will get the maximum amount of fun out of their hour of gaming a day. For a small price at least.
These are incentives for 3 different demographics, 2 of which are highly desirable for Blizzard.
Personally, I think the auction house real money economy is going to be huge. If the trading that went on in Diablo 2 is any indicator:
- people in low wage countries will easily be able to live of the auction house without necessarily having to work for a gold farm.
- hardcore gamers are likely to be dissatisfied with high level content so easily available, but then again, they may take to turning a profit on hard to get stuff.
- casual gamers with jobs will get the maximum amount of fun out of their hour of gaming a day. For a small price at least.
These are incentives for 3 different demographics, 2 of which are highly desirable for Blizzard.