RMT is now LEGAL in Korea!

Image by LotusMonger via Flickr

When you deal with Real Money Trading (RMT) within an MMO, you're likely to get a permanent ban (permaban) from the game, unless you play in South Korea.

The MMO world has been abuzz with the news that a court in South Korea has just ruled that converting in-game money to real money has been deemed legal after two Lineage players did some business and got caught:

The two allegedly purchased “Aden,” cyber money in an online multiplayer role-playing game “Lineage,” worth 234 million won ($207,558), which was lower than market price, through game item-trading Web sites.

Then they allegedly resold those purchased items to some 2,000 other players and earned about 20 million won.

However there are some details that the RMTers should follow before dealing business:

• Players cannot cash in if they used bots or macros (good luck detecting that!).
• The article also notes that Korea passed a law that the government will collect a VAT of 10 percent on these types of transactions... given the alleged trading volume of $1 Billion or more per year, that is real money in these fiscal hard times. This may have even more impact on game companies in terms of record keeping and reporting.

As expected a lot of people (players and non-players alike) have had negative reactions to the ruling:

Parents' associations and anti-gambling activists criticized the decision, arguing it may set a bad precedent for the younger generation. Others said it will provide fresh impetus to the online game business.

However, some are embracing the thought that game developers/publishers will be earning more:

"The ruling has brightened the future of the Korean game market," said Prof. Chung Hae-sang at Dankuk University. "So far, the industry's growth has been interrupted by tough regulations."

The global scene is worried because most of the MMORPGs (like NCSoft games: Lineage 2, Aion, Guild Wars, etc.) comes from South Korea. Does that mean gameplay changes in the international versions will be in order? Will this improve in-game economies? How will this affect the booming Free-to-Play market (F2P)?

The face of MMORPGs surely has changed...

Korea Supreme Court rules virtual currency convertible
Ruling to Boost Sale of 'Cyber Money'
Supreme Court acquits two in cyber money game case

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Guild Wars 2 News: Beta in 2010 and Launch in 2011

NCsoft CEO Jaeho Lee made reference to the possibility of a 2010 beta, and subsequent 2011 launch for Guild Wars 2 in a recent conference call to investors, stating, "I believe there will be certain public events in the year 2010... at least a closed beta test for those titles. Commercialization will be expected, at this point, probably some time in the year 2011."

You can download and listen to the conference call yourself here.

via mmorpg.com

Wow, I hope it's worth waiting for...

Posted via web from Geekpapa Blogger Lifestream

Ubuntu for the Philippines

Some of the reasons why most computer users in the Philippines don't even want to touch Linux is because it's too hard to learn and that they can't play their favorite games on it. All I can say to that is poppycock!

I want to convince the internet shop owners and business owners out there that you don't need to resort to paying huge amounts of money to Microsoft or resort to practicing installing hacked Windows (that are just as dangerous since they hardly get updated and thus open to security and malware problems) just to get online or use a computer.

• MS Office vs. Open Office/Google Docs: Both MS Office and Open Office are virtually the same in every aspect that the only difference between the two is the price: paid vs. free. Even the updates are free, so no more buying the next MS Office update...

• Getting online: some people are still scared whether Ubuntu will get them online, but I promise you, it's even easier and faster to get online with this OS than it is with Windows. Regarding browsers, there's a Linux version of it whatever may it be.

• Typing in commands: some users I know suddenly get squeamish at the first site of the Terminal. I admit I was one of those folks but you get used to typing in commands. Plus, there are a lot of resources out there that provides step by step instructions on how to deal with the Terminal, so don't fret.

• Games: A lot of people are afraid of losing their games when they switch to Ubuntu and that's understandable. Not all games can be played with Ubuntu, but those that are worth it does! For example, I have been playing the following MMOs since I transferred to Ubuntu:

• Perfect World Ph
• Zhu Xian Online (Jade Dynasty)
• Red Cliff
• EVE Online
• Guild Wars
• World of Warcraft

I'm planning to try out Runes of Magic Ph on Ubuntu as soon as it goes to CBT.
To see the complete list of other Windows games that play on Ubuntu via Wine better check out this database.

Here are just some online guides on my current fave ph mmorpgs:

Perfect World on Ubuntu:


How to run Zhu Xian Online (ZXO/ Jade Dynasty) on Ubuntu

So there you have it. I hope to see more Ubuntu users in the future!