In a case against two Lineage II players in which the pair were caught selling very large sums of in-game currency for real money, a ruling has been decided.
According to the original article, this practice known as RMT (or Real Money Trade) is now legal in South Korea.
As RMT is a practice disliked by many players in the English speaking world, this may come as a surprise. TERA is being developed in South Korea and we can only imagine what implications it may or may not have on the game over in Asia. Luckily, it may not have a large impact over on this side of the globe for now!
What do you guys think? Do you think this will have any implication on our playing experience? What do you think it could do to TERA's Korean economy and overall playing experience?
The
original article can be found below! :]
Quote
The odd thing about us gamers is that we seem to think of the various doodads in our games as being real -- even more to the point, as being ours. We think and act as if we're owed some compensation if we're deprived of them. Which is silly, really -- after all, that Monster Signa isn't a real staff, that Deputy Chain Coat isn't a real coat, and all that gold isn't real money.
Except that now, in South Korea, it is. A ruling by the nation's supreme court has stated that virtual currency is the equivalent of real-world money. Even more sweeping are the details of the case that led to the ruling, in which two men were on trial for exchanging a large amount of Lineage II Adeena for cold, hard currency.
For those of you who might not be drawing the link, the core there is that selling in-game currency for real money is essentially just an exchange of currency and perfectly legal in South Korea. This could have sweeping implications for RMT operations the world over, not to mention free-to-play games and... well, online games in general. The official story is available online from both the Korea Times and JoongAng Daily.
: One member wants to ensure that we don't think RMT is illegal in the west. There are no laws to regulate these practices currently and the TOS of a game only exists as a contract between a player and a company.
This is still a very interesting and through provoking article!
Filed by vault1@mmosite.com at 9:45 pm under vault1@mmosite.com Tagged City Of Heroes, Contests, Costumes, Game Events, Games, Guild Wars, Halloween, Lineage Ii, Ncsoft
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