I want to piggyback on Ted's recent post on inflation but go in the opposite direction.
We all repeat the mantra that inflation in MUDs/MMOs is inevitable - both the RMT and the in-game economy. And if you've played SWG, you'll remember the run-away inflation there.
But here's the weird thing. I'm not seeing this in WoW. Prices for most goods and services seem to have fallen over the past few months rather than risen. Some examples on my server (medium PvE):
- Reagent: Large Radiant Shards - used to be 8-10g, now about 4-6g
- Crafted Weapon: Phantom Blade - used to be 50-60g, now about 25-30g
- Enchantment: Fiery Enchant - used to be 45-50g, now about 30-35g
And this is in the face of what everyone seems to think is massive influx of RMT into WoW servers - given all the fuss over gold farmers. But even if that were not the case, shouldn't we see inflation from an aging server anyways as more and more people hit 60? Stability is one thing, but deflation just seems strange.
So my questions are:
- If you play WoW, are you noticing deflation on your server?
- If there is deflation in WoW (rather than the typical inflation), what is so different about WoW's economy that's causing this to happen?
- Has Blizzard actually figured out how to prevent inflation?
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