- Diablo 3 requires an internet connection to play. Offline play will not be possible.
- Diablo 3 will include an auction system that allows players to buy and sell items for real money.
To me, the real money auction system is (so far) the most controversial announcement about Diablo 3, and it seems to have been somewhat overshadowed by the 'offline only' news.
I believe that introducing an auction system, in which players can buy or sell in-game items for real cash, goes against one of the main attitudes Blizzard has had with regards to its other games, especially World of Warcraft. The view that players shouldn't be able to gain an advantage over others in a game by spending real world money has resulted in the banning of many a World of Warcraft player trying to sell their in-game gold or even their entire account.
So, why now? What makes Diablo 3 any different, when what's on sale is exactly the same as in World of Warcraft? In the linked Joystiq news article above, Blizzard argues that Diablo differs in that its items are completely random, rather than being "deterministic, dependent mostly on skill, progression, and time spent playing." While it's true that your gear naturally improves as you progress in World of Warcraft, with a lot of 'gap filling' gear being on offer for various in-game currencies, much of the gear from raids and dungeons still remains random, and may very well include the best items for your character. Since these items are random, there's every chance that you'll never see, for example, the best shield for your character drop at all. Now imagine if that shield was available to purchase with real money, from someone who had been lucky enough to see it drop. Some might argue that this is exactly what Diablo 3 will be doing.
Of course, items from World of Warcraft raids could never go on sale for real money for the same reason that they can't be auctioned for in-game gold right now; there has to be an incentive for players to keep raiding. Teamwork within guilds thrives because of the model of progression that raiding provides. To have raid items available for anyone to purchase would kill progression. Diablo is more of an individual experience. While multiplayer is available, it isn't mandatory, and the entire game can be completed alone. So yes, it appears that Diablo 3 may be more suited to this new way of acquiring items, because it doesn't matter how far ahead of everyone else that shiny new, self-bought sword puts you, everyone will eventually finish the game anyway, you'll just get there faster if you spend some money on your character.
But why real money? If the aim is to allow players to buy the items they've been too unlucky to find themselves, couldn't the same have been achieved by sticking to an auction house that uses in-game currency? Item drops may be random, but gold is predictable; every character is capable of attaining gold without relying on chance, meaning that it would be fully possible to remove the random factor in obtaining certain items by focusing on saving up enough gold. The difference would be that the item had still been earned by playing. No-one would be gaining an edge just because they're willing to put extra money into a game that they've already paid the full price of a PC game for. Yes, an in-game currency-based auction house is being implemented too, but how many people are going to use it to sell items when the alternative is to sell for real money?
The reasoning given for the option of trading with real money effectively sounds like "if you can't beat them, join them." Diablo 2 items are wrongfully sold outside of the game for cash, and Blizzard believes that the new auction system will encourage people to undertake this activity officially, within the game, rather than underhandedly outside of it. This brings us back to the initial question: why take one attitude for one game and a different attitude for another?
What if Blizzard tried to eliminate illegal gold selling in World of Warcraft by incorporating it into the game in an official capacity? They could introduce a currency exchange in which real money could be converted to gold, and vice versa. It wouldn't create a problem with progression as the best items would still only be obtainable through raiding. Instead, players could pay a little extra cash and not have to spend as much time doing daily quests and farming materials to sell on the auction house in order to afford some of the game's high-gold cost luxury items. Boil it down to the simple formula of real money being exchangeable for less play time being required to obtain certain items and it starts to sound a lot like Diablo 3's micro-transactions.
Finally, how does this affect gameplay? Are certain achievements going to be easier for the player who paid to gear up their character? Is PvP going to be ruled by players with the most cash to spare? And what effect is this going to have on the game's economy? By offering two separate auction houses, the market is already split. Ultimately, it's going to be the 'gold farmers' that dominate. How are you going to handle the competition of their stockpiles of items they've farmed up, when all you want to do is sell the axe you found that doesn't suit your class? Blizzard has a lot to consider when implementing this, and will have to be careful not to upset the balance of the game for those that intend on closing their wallets following the initial purchase of the game itself.
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