RuneScape: buying MMO gold with real cash like funding prostitution

Buying MMO gold is like funding prostitution - Image 1Trading in-game items and money for real world money has always been a problem with MMOs. Some consider it a given, while some consider it a heinous crime. How heinous exactly? According to RuneScape content boss Imre Jele, it’s tantamount to organized crime, like drug rings or prostitution. Check out the full article for details.

Buying MMO gold is like funding prostitution - Image 1

Trading real world cash for in-game items and gold is a common problem in MMOs. Some have tried to squash it and have been effective like Final Fantasy XI, but the problem seems to thrive for as long as MMOs exist.

Some may consider this to be a given and have accepted it, but some consider it to be a heinous crime. Just how heinous? According to Imre Jele, content boss of RuneScape, it’s tantamount to funding organized crime. In an interview, he said:

The biggest concern about illegal real-world trading is – sorry for this example as I know it’s not politically correct – it’s a bit like prostitution.

It’s not necessarily the prostitution which is a problem, although you might have moral problems with it. The real problem is the organised crime that’s built around prostitution; the human trafficking, the drugs, etc.

And that’s the same with illegal real-world trading. The problem comes in when they start doing other illegal activities. One of the biggest is the use of stolen credit cards.

The problem has become so rampant, Jele continues, that he believes MMOs will eventually have to change their structure, making real-world trading a tolerated practice, if not an all out integrated feature in the game.

Another option, he says, is making a game so much fun that no one feels the need for such transactions: “If I am incapable of providing you with enough fun while you collect that 1000 gold for a steed, then the game is not good enough.”

Via EuroGamer

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