Greed in Stores

By Theonlyjohnny Resident

    Yes, I know greedy store owners are not a new thing, however some of them have gone above others and have reached almost the pinnacle of greed. These store owners have basically been using their customers, just to get more linden. Whether by a so called "discount group," selling upgrades, or through other means.

    One store, which I will not name, I have visited, has lots of avatars, weapons, and avatar accessories, for extremely high prices. These prices are so high, they will turn people away at the first sight of them. However, rather than lower the prices, the owner of the store simply made a group, and gave a 90% discount on everything in the store, to all group members. A lot of people would have been overjoyed, if it wasn't for one small problem. To join the group, it costs L$ 3000.


This is a problem for quite a few reasons, one of them being the fact that most people will only buy one or two items from a store, unless it's a well known store with low prices. This means that people would actually be paying more for the product, at this store, since the prices are too high, and it's not really well known, also only a few products, at this store are decent. The second problem being the cost to join the group isn't the only fee. There is also a L$ 1000 weekly fee to stay in the group. This would be ok, if it was going towards the store, which, not surprisingly, it isn't. In fact I doubt the owner of the store has spent any of it on the store, considering the fact that I have watched this store for a while now, to see if the prices go down, and after 2 months, there hasn't been a single change. It makes me wonder where all that linden is going, seeing as how the group is getting about 5 new members a day.

    Another store sells avatars, and clothing. Of course, these products use scripts and they do require upgrades every now and then. However, unlike most upgrades, which are free, these upgrades cost, for the first upgrade, the same amount as the product, and then the price is double the previous price, for each upgrade after the first. A lot of these upgrades shouldn't even cost anything, since most of them either just replace invisiprims with alphas, or they upgrade the coloring, slightly. If the upgrades added new parts to them, or added new buttons to the hud, that would be worth paying for. However these charge people a lot of linden, for a small thing that they could do themselves.

    I guess these people, and others like them, believe that everyone else is around, to provide them with linden. This is just a tip, you may want to do research about people before you buy from them. If it seems too good to be true, it most definitely is.

Theonlyjohnny Resident

Marketplace Problems

By Theonlyjohnny Resident

    I, like most people in Second Life, see the marketplace as a useful tool, which can be used by all. However, there are a few problems that I wish to discuss. These problems clutter the marketplace, and make it hard to find what people want.

    The first problem is the overwhelming number of Demos. Demos were originally used for trying before you buy. They were great, however now there are way too many demos in the marketplace. In fact, typing the word Demo in the marketplace search will result in 105,878 items that either are demos, or have demos. This means that just searching demo will result in approximately 52,939. Of course, this number isn't the actual number of demos, which is a much higher number, however, it does show how demos have practically taken over the marketplace. Also, some of the demos are not specified as demos, but they are demo versions of items in the sellers store.

    The next problem is of greed. Not just in outrageous prices, but also in the sale of items that should be free. Upon searching for various objects in the marketplace, I have discovered many items being sold for prices that they do not deserve. One such item, a pair of boots (which I will not give the name of), that have nothing special about them, no texture change hud, no color change hud, they are one prim each, and yet their price is a staggering L$ 5000. This price is well out of most people's price range, and those that can afford them, wouldn't buy them because they aren't even full perm, nor do they have a cool design. Another thing I have noticed, is that people are actually selling their demos for linden. Demos were meant to be Try before you Buy, and it has angered quite a few people, since they don't want to spend linden on something that isn't even the full product.

    The third problem is that of lies and half-truths. A lot of people have many products, without pictures, but the product isn't what the seller said it was. I have experienced this when I bought what I had thought was a couch, however, it turned out to be a notecard mocking me. This is against the TOS, however it is still being done, and a lot of people have made quick bucks doing this, cheating people out of lindens.

    These problems, and many more, make the marketplace a place where people need to be cautious of what they buy. My suggestion is that you always read the review, and if an object doesn't have a review, make sure it has a pic, if there are no pics, or reviews, but it is free, then it is safe to buy. Otherwise, don't buy it. If the seller doesn't have the time to put up a pic, you shouldn't waste your time, as it could be too good to be true.

Theonlyjohnny Resident

Eve Online’s Veteran Players Revolt Over “Monoclegate” Controversy

Among Science Fiction Massive Multiplayer Online games, the top-ranking one has been Eve Online. A ship vs ship combat game in which players organize into alliances, it has stood over most of the “Other than WoW” crowd. Recently however, some developments could put this status into question.

For most of Eve Online’s history, players never saw their game face. That’s because all the action was in space. For some time, there’s been talk of allowing players to walk about in their ships and space stations. On June 21, their “Incarna” update finally allowed it.

At SL8B, I had a chat with GoSpeed Racer, whom also plays Eve. She told me this update came with a catch. If you wanted to put accessories on your avatar, most clothes would cost the equivalent of $17.50 US dollars. More expensive is the monocle, which costs a $70. When I went to read more about it, I came across more news. News that was making veteran Eve players afraid and angry.

A document from the company behind Eve was leaked which revealed plans to allow purchases of ammo, ships, and other equipment, in addition to other things like faction standings. Why the fuss over these “microtransactions” as they were called. Eve is not a new game, but has been around for several years with a core of dedicated veteran players. And the company had promised for some time there would be no items affecting gameplay up for sale when microtransactions became an option. The message taken by many as the result of this leak was “We lied.”

Articles on Massivley stated that the company’s initial answer to the controversy did nothing to soothe player anger. The results were numerous protests in-game. One film of a protest showed “hundreds” of players firing on a space station. Not all Eve players share this opinion. Another Second Life friend who began playing Eve was unaware of the controversy when I mentioned it, and didn’t see what the fuss was about.

Massively’s “Eve Evolved” columnist was hopeful, but also worried that the company was willing to demolish the sense of community the game had in the name of short-term profits, “I don't want to look back on this weekend in years to come and say to people, ‘This was the day that EVE Online died.’ ”

Fortunetly, CCP realized the mess that had come about. An apology was issued for the tone of the initial response, and they went as far as to fly the game’s “Council of Stellar Management,” a group elected by the players to represent their views, to Iceland for a meeting. After some time to talk, the company issued a statement that their store “will be used for the sale of vanity items only. There are no plans, and have been no plans ... to introduce the sale of game breaking items or enhancements ...”

Responses to Massively’s article were mixed, the majority of those responding expressing some level of skepticism. Although some are willing to believe the company behind Eve Online, it seems the “Monoclegate” controversy has left a sour taste with some veteran players that will take time to fade.

Source: Massively, PC Gamer (picture from PC Gamer)

Bixyl Shuftan

*Addidtion* - GoSpeed has her own blog with her comments on the matter.