The will allow us to sell virtual items from the game on sites like ebay

They will allow us to sell virtual items from the game on sites like ebay. i think this is great for the game. here is the quote from richard garriott

Richard Garriott "the objects have real value, a virtual object that took time and effort for somebody to acquire even in a game, has by definition value. and so there's really no way we can stop people from trading those for value, however/wherever they want and so you know so as long we allow someone in the game to walk up to someone else and hand them their sword... well that means that they could have made a side deal in conversation on ebay or wherever else to have traded some cash or bitcoins before handing that sword back and forth so it is absolutely inevitable and we do and will support it."

starting at time stamp 17:15 in this audio interview here http://letstalkbitcoin.com/e86-virtual-worlds-real-money/#.Uwjw_fldW_g



i really like how the original ultima online handled it. they basically thought it was cool how people were able to buy and sell items/gold, houses and accounts on ebay. it was a sign of how great the game was that people paid real money for things in it. they also had a policy of not intervening in such trades, basically do it if you want but we won't interfere if something goes wrong. therefore most people only did these kinds of trades with people who had great reviews on ebay or similar sites.

it looks like they have a policy like that for this game. i also think such a policy could be used to get the word out about the game, after 6 months or so there might be news stories about people selling houses for 15,000 dollars on ebay and it could put a positive light and attention on the game. they could compare how other games ban you for it but this game allows it and thinks its cool and a sign of how compelling their game is.

 

Before this starts some crazy thread that explodes into crazyness .... please listen to the pod cast ... Portalarium has not commited or acknowledged anything concerning RMT ... just an opinion piece from RG

 

So the value of my houses just went up. Awesome!

 

well they were asking him about shroud of the avatar and later on in the interview he went on to say that he expects and in facts hopes that people will be selling virtual items on ebay

i think this is great news

 

They've pretty clearly stated that AFTER the game releases, they intend to take a neutral stance on real world money transactions, but will not actively condone or support them due to legal considerations. But until release, they're understandably taking a harsh approach to prevent financial or legal consequences from someone promising in-game items that are neither available or even possible to deliver yet.

They have to cover their bases, lest we end up with the game development becoming entangled in a legal quagmire, and potentially risk delaying the actual launch dates. Until they further choose to clarify their position under the actual Player Marketplace that's been made available, I would definitely caution anyone about risking account suspensions and/or potential bans as a result from unauthorized transactions involving RL monies. There are too many "buyer beware" risks this soon into early development.

We need to be patient, and let the Developers finish the actual game, before speculating and risking anything before the goods are actually delivered into our (virtual) hands.

 

Speaking in an interview is not company policy - this is a very sensitive topic, I'm just trying to ensure folks don't go into a frenzy over something that can could simply be nothing

 

Too bad there's no way for us to stop/limit the gold farmers in non-PvP areas.

 

report them when you see them

 

Does Richard Garriott support bitcoin ?

 

Open minded about it - but by no means did he make any statements concerning its involvement/or lack there of in this project ... he was speaking on "let's talk bitcoin" so he was fielding questions about it

 

He has mentioned several times (I particularly remember him doing so in KS) that he thinks in-game houses will have real value. I'd be willing to accept that as truth. Admittedly, we don't yet know how far it will be supported. Would be interesting to know their position on acceptance versus supporting this concept.

Richard has mentioned on Twitter that he is looking into ways of how to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. I know this because I asked him, and he replied.

 

All I'm saying is ... until it's on paper and post it on the web as official policy ... no need for folks to go haywire

It's clear from multiple sources what his personal stance is - no argument there

 

Agreed and already acknowledged. ;-)

 

If I remember correctly, it was ebay, who banned the sales of virtual goods on their side.

 

only for games that said it was against their terms of service.

but nowadays people would use other sites instead like playerauctions.com

 

44:53 " ... I'm confident we will ultimately take bitcoins within the game itself. "

 

Oh well ... let the shenanigans begin

 

yes just remember that "ultimately" could be over a year from now. i wouldn't recommend they use such an unstable thing as bitcoins right now. those things vary a lot in value and i really want to see this game succeed.

 

That's great news! He is really progressive man. I hope that other crowdsourced projects will embrace bitcoin which is real "freedom money".

 

While this sounds nice in theory, the possibility exists that you could incur a real world tax liability for slaying an in game dragon. Games have avoided this problem because it's always been a one way street.