By: Snake2003

I work at a local newspaper and I sometimes I get to write about things that just get people angry. Today it’s your turn to get some shit thrown at you with some good old facts about your favorite people: Gold farmers in MMOs.

Before I continue on let me tell you that I am in no way affiliated with any gold sellers, spammers or other similar Web sites. I am only here to tell you the facts and perhaps shed some light on some people that so many others love to hate.

First, put yourself in a gold farmer’s shoes: You have no economic opportunities in your country such as in China or in the Balkans (where many of these people are from) and need to feed yourself and your family. If you had someone tell you that you could feed your family, cloth your children and provide a shelter for your family just for farming virtual currency would you turn that down? If the only alternative was working in a dingy factory or other place that could potentially cost you your life in the long run would you turn it down?

If you said yes, get your head checked, because this is what these people are faced with.

“But Snake2003 they ruin the economy of the game and it’s not fair!” No, they don’t ruin the economy and here’s how: Just like you and I they go out and make the gold. In fact, you probably buy their shit off the auction house or whatever trading system is setup in the game. So by buying their stuff it’s just plain hypocrisy, but you do it anyway because you want the item.

Now, I’m not saying that the farmers who cheat and use bots are OK. I don’t condone that at all. Those people do get caught and are banned. In fact it’s pretty risky to run a gold farming operation using bots because if the GMs in a game catch on to it you could potentially lose thousands of dollars of virtual currency, which is bad for business.

When you buy their gold you are trading your money for their time. Face it, would you want to spend hours and hours killing the same old shit just to get something? No one does, and that’s what the farmers capitalize on. Most of the online companies which I have interviewed about this subject say that most of their farming is done in an office by a dozen or so people and it’s all farmed by hand. The same way you and I do it. So if they want to make a few bucks off it who gives a shit? If you have the money to trade for the currency why not save yourself time and have fun with it.

You spend $10-$15 to watch an hour long movie when you could buy some virtual currency and have hours and hours of fun with that. What’s the harm in that? You have more fun in the end and they get their money, everyone wins.

Find out more with this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho5Yxe6UVv4

Editor's Note:

I just want to say that Snake2003 brings up a great point. Way back in level 60 WoW, one of my guildmates had the pleasure of speaking with an actual gold farmer. The dude farmed some items he needed and they had a little business deal going on. The dude was from Taiwan, I believe, and explained to us that he lives like a king because his job is so much more lucrative than any of the other manual labor jobs. It's unfortunate that it has to interfere with your game, but you're letting someone else feed their family.

That being said, I would also like to point out that I disagree with Snake2003 in that I feel gold farming technically does tilt the playing field. You're making an assumption by saying I buy his wares off the auction house. Also, the entire idea of paying for gold is rejected not because of the game's economy. It's because of the REAL economy. Not all of us have $15 we want to throw away on fake gold. Those players who are more well-off will have more money to buy more gold with. Personally, I'm broke. If I had an MMO account, I would not be able to rationalize an investment in some fake gold for $15. Certain MMOs are based on this idea of "Micro transactions" where you pay real money for better in-game items. Blizzard, for one, has rejected this idea as have many other big MMOs. They take a non-capitalist approach to in-game actions. True, many other games let you pay for in game money and items legally. That particular business model has its advantages, but in WoW (the gold farming capital of the world) it is not the case.