News

Diablo III release held due to South Korea's concern with auction house feature
Posted: 05.01.2012 05:39 by JonahFalcon Comments: 15
It seems that the auction house in Blizzard's long-awaited action-RPG Diablo III is holding up the release of the game.

South Korea is delaying a rating on Diablo III thanks to their concern over a real-money auction house feature in the game. According to a spokesman, "Committee members are conflicted about what to do with Diablo 3 because of Blizzard’s information on the game’s “auction house” feature." The ratings board is concerned that using real money in the auction house would be essentially gambling, pointing at the “cash out” feature that allows players to convert gold into actual money.


Since Blizzard has committed itself to a simultaneous worldwide release of Diablo III, this issue will hold up the release date in all regions.

A new ratings board hearing is scheduled for the 6th January. Stay tuned.
Source: GameFront
Related games: Diablo III (PC)

Comments

By SiyaenSokol (SI Elite) on Jan 05, 2012
SiyaenSokol
Good heavens... so this is what is keeping the game. I don't think that an auction house with real money is a good idea, but maybe I am just missing something.
By djole381 (SI Elite) on Jan 05, 2012
djole381
Auction house was a bad idea from the start.
By JonahFalcon (SI Elite) on Jan 05, 2012
JonahFalcon
Isn't this "legal" gold farming? Sheesh.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jan 05, 2012
herodotus
Damn Blizzard and their serious connections with South Korea. It appears at times that this is the sole country (no pun intended) that Blizzard is marketting for. Sure it's a cash cow for them, but gimme a break.
This game is sadly dropping further off my "must buy" list
By SiyaenSokol (SI Elite) on Jan 06, 2012
SiyaenSokol
Indeed, this is a bit much. South Korea is probably Blizzard's biggest supporter, but hey, come on, there are other people over the world too you know.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jan 06, 2012
herodotus
With Activision-Blizzard it's always all about the money....always.
By jenniferloop (SI Newbie) on Jan 07, 2012
jenniferloop
Diablo 3 Download where can i get, is there any newsletter which i can subcribe to know the excact release date of this game
By jenniferloop (SI Newbie) on Jan 07, 2012
jenniferloop
[ADMIN DELETE: Please do not post links to illegal game downloads]
By unsilviu (SI Core) on Jan 07, 2012
unsilviu
Blizzard doesn't oppose gold selling as an idea, they forbid it in WoW because most of it is handled by crooks who hack accounts, if they control the market (and get a nice profit) they won't say no due to some principle. I think they would have implemented it in WoW themselves had they known players wold be so willing for it. And in a sense, they already have: there was a pet that you could buy for $$ and then sell with gold at the Auction House, so there is a precedent for the Diable situation.
By obiwanmccartney (SI Veteran Newbie) on Jan 08, 2012
obiwanmccartney
Screw Korea, arent they, along with China and maybe Russia, the biggest cause of grief when it comes to gold farming and hacking and such?
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jan 08, 2012
herodotus
Frebruary...good month to release, so we'll see.
By unsilviu (SI Core) on Jan 08, 2012
unsilviu
@obiwanmccartney No, and even if they were one of the countries where this is prevalent, you can't judge an entire nation of gamers by its fringe elements. Not to mention the fact that they are one of the greatest consumers of western games: StarCraft is their national sport, and they have laws to stop the serious problem of internet addiction(which aren't like the laws proposed by conservatives in the US, they're there to prevent an actual, existing problem).
By SiyaenSokol (SI Elite) on Jan 10, 2012
SiyaenSokol
@unsilviu: Wise words my friend, and I agree, there is no need to judge an entire nation for the few stupid things others do. Every country has got its pros and cons, and one thing is for certain, the South Koreas love our games, and they sure as hell play Starcraft like no other.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jan 10, 2012
herodotus
It's interesting to note that the reason why "Starcraft" has such a huge place in the hearts of Sth.Koreans is because it was the first MP game available when internet cafes made their debut in the country.
Just a side-note, chaps....