Mythic declares war on gold sellers

Ah, gold sellers. The much debated scourge of the modern MMO. Sometimes we get a glimpse into the life at the Chinese gold farms, where young men spend their days playing World of Warcraft and spamming chat channels instead of wasting away on the streets. But the fact remains that they ruin the game for a lot of people, generally screw up server economy, annoy most players and drive game makers crazy.

And Mythic won't have it. Of course the gold farmers are already active in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. They move in when everyone else does, seeing new markets open up with every new MMO. I played Pirates of the Burning Sea during the opening week and saw more gold spammers than actual players in the chat channels there, so I can understand why Mythic go after them straight away. Marc Jacobs have posted a rant about the whole procedure on his personal blog, which is well worth a read.

We can debate if gold farming is a good thing for the economy in third world countries, or if it helps young people in China that otherwise would've gone without work. It's a good discussion to have. But sometimes it all boils down to "it's our game, we make the rules, get out". Or, in the words of Jacobs, "go to hell".

And I love the WAR-acronym for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. You can use it for all kinds of funny headlines. I could go on forever.