Gold farming is "inevitable?"
Kerry Fraser-Robinson, the founder of virtual world developer RedBedlam, stated in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz that the industry should focus more on integrating gold farming into the game design, rather than attempting to stomp it completely out of the system.
"It's going to happen whether you like it or not," he said in today's interview. "People will always find the path of least resistance, if you stop them buying your gold then they'll buy that gold from somebody else who is gold farming."
Fraser-Robinson pointed to examples started by EVE Online, such as the inclusion of a robust virtual economy and the inclusion of a professional economist to provide advice about that changing economy. He believes that companies should start following the carefully planned advice of economists, even going so far to add one to your staff for consulting.
On the other side of the fence is Broken Toys writer Scott "Lum the Mad" Jennings. He makes the point that MMO companies do need to re-evaluate their own business models, as people will gladly co-opt an outside agency to buy gold from, yet they don't tolerate the company that runs the game selling gold for cash. Sales models need to be adapted on a per-game basis, and not blanketed across the industry. Scott has much more to offer on this issue, so check out his own blog on the matter and weigh the opinions for yourself.
