RedHerring.com:

Blizzard said it shut down more than 18,000 accounts that were using illegal software to cheat in its immensely popular video game World of Warcraft. In the game, players spend hours collecting virtual gold and other goods that advance the player’s status. But some players use unauthorized programs to collect gold easily, then sell it for cash on third-party sites like eBay. By banishing the players, Blizzard has taken a hard stance on the issue. Some online video game companies ignore the practice of “gold farmingâ€? or actively encourage it. … According to Andrew Sukow, CTO of Advanced Economic Research Systems, a Canadian research firm that examines market data on eBay, $2 million in World of Warcraft gold sales had been conducted on eBay as of April this year. Dave Popowich, the marketing coordinator for AERS, said that in October and November, eBay saw a total of $682,000 in sales of World of Warcraft gold. “eBay cracks down on this all the time, but with this number of sales, a lot of it goes through,â€? said Mr. Popowich.

Ich befürchte jedoch, das wird nixbringen, denn:

On MySuperSales.com, for example, gold is offered for $64.99 per “50 gold,� while on IGE.com gold is offered for $51.99 per “500 gold.�

Wo es so viel Geld zu verdienen gibt, wird es insbesondere mit Cheating/Duping immer weitergehen.

Frage am Rande: Was ist eigentlich, wenn ein indischer Bauernsohn seine Zeit im Internetcafe verbringt und sich 12 Stunden täglich auf legale Art Gold erspielt, das er dann per eBay verkauft? ist das auch illegal oder moralisch legal?

Btw, Blizzard verdient mit WoW prächtig. Kurz mal einige Analysen, erneut aus RedHerring.com:

By some estimates, the Irvine, California-based company is earning more than $30 million per month, just in basic subscription fees, and generated $1 billion in sales in a year from the game when both fees and sales of in-game items are included…. After the first 250,000 subscribers, the margins of the game are as high as 80 percent, according to analysts like Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan…. Blizzard spent roughly $55 million building World of Warcraft over a three-year period, according to estimates. Blizzard’s major costs come from managing the servers for 5 million accounts. … The expense is high but with 5 million players all coughing up monthly subscription fees after their one-time starter fees, the cost is minimal compared to the returns…

Und der Analyst prophezeit:

Mr. Pachter predicts that after three years, World of Warcraft will drop to 1 million players. “It’s a short-lived phenomenon,� he said. “The next generation of video games will be richer, and PC gamers will walk away from their PCs.�

Gähn, wie oft haber ich nun schon seit ca. 1990 gehört, daß der PC Markt keine Chance mehr hat… immer diese alte Leier von „Experten“. So what…