MMOG Sites Under IGE Merging?

CTD writes "Grimwell Online notes that IGE has announced a merger of networks involving: Thottbott, Allakhazam, OGaming, and L2Orphus. There is a thread in the Allakhazam forums that brings all the release data together - but still leaves some questions about what is to come. Grimwell raises one in his post about this: 'Even more fun for our friends who work PR for gaming companies. IGE = RMT, which is not the Devil - but is not exactly welcomed at most companies. Will this move help push things past the tipping point and force developers to deal with the new, larger network?'"

Comments

Very thourough detail on IGE, this purchase &

[CTD]

This was put where I could find it, and is a very interesting read. Lots of great detail about IGE/Allakhazam if you want to learn more.

http://wow.azzor.com/445/truth_about_IGE.php

Right, who could blame IGE?

[Somatic]

Yeah, blame the sellers for meeting demand. Except they didn't create the demand, Square-Enix did. It's Square-Enix's game design that causes the demand that the gold sellers exploit. [...] It's hardly IGE's fault that Square-Enix misdesigned their game.

I see. So, because these companies only destroy half the games they infiltrate, that makes it ok. The games that do get ruined were asking for it. Pick a different reason for every game, but it's the game designer's fault for not being able to handle these cartels when they try to take over. Because after all, this has only happened to FFXI.

Cartels like IGE ruin games for profit. They work full time, either exploiting bugs or taking what they want by brute force. They're larger than the largest guilds. They have the financial means, and the manpower, to get what they want in any of a hundred ways.

Blaming the gamers or the game designers for the fact that these guys exist is like blaming someone for getting mugged. Yes, you had a lock on your front door, but was it a titanium lock with 53 bolts? Because these guys just designed a way to pick the old 52-bolt locks last week. Go ahead and upgrade, but just remember, there are a thousand guys in your hallway with hundreds of millions of dollars of resources, and they'll be working on that lock 24/7, and every time they get in, it's your fault. Also, you can't tackle the problem like a normal security expert does, because what these guys do is apparently not illegal. They have nothing to lose, in fact everything to gain, by trying again, and again, and again.

Online games obviously need to defend against it better, but blaming them because this huge, sustained effort against them exists is just insane.