Another side of the coin...

Selina brings up an interesting topic about gaming in her last post. She talks about how games (and subsequently developers and companies) are now charging for things that essentially give an advantage to those who can afford it in an MMORPG, namely gear, statistics, weapons etc. What we have here is an advantage to those who have money to burn, and not everyone has the money to drop on gold mansions and rocket cars. It's not a level playing field once the game asks real money for an advantage, just look at FIFA 09 Ultimate Team.

But there's another side to this issue. In a genre which is absolutely dominated by World of Warcraft, any other MMO is gonna be desperate to make an impact on its players. It's gotta do what it's gotta do, and if it means charging real money and stuff, well that's too bad. How else do you expect the game to survive?

Selina also brought up loyalty as an issue. Fair enough, but these game companies will just have to have faith in their long time fans that they will dish out the money for the game that they love. Some players will, and some players won't, but again, it's necessary for the survival of the game. If keeping the game alive means shelling out extra dollars, then I'm sure some will be willing to do that.

So there's my side of the argument. The impact of spending real money for an advantage still hurts, but as I said, it's a dog eat dog world out there, and gaming companies gotta do what they have to do to survive.