Dear Turbine, How's that Store working out for you?

[Guder]

I'll hazard a guess and say "REALLY WELL!"

So, Congratulations! are certainly in order. You have dramatically improved company finances, cash flow, game moral and content, and consumer satisfaction and enjoyment.

The Game has New Life! And, we are all very thankful your experiment worked!

...do you feel a certain "But..." coming on?

But, I have recently become aware of a serious issue with the potential to 'undo' all of the good that you have accomplished...

I hope I am just being overly cautious...I enjoy the game and would hate to see it become undone.

So PLEASE, consider the following Very Seriously: ( and then tell me I have nothing about which to be concerned )

My definition of a 'hobby' is 'an excersise of individual freedom, expression, enjoyment and value.' As such, I consider my DDOing as a hobby. Therefore, I have no problems paying a reasonable sum of money to participate in my chosen Hobby...and a monthly fee about equivilent to a night at the movies is perfectly reasonable in my estimation.

I know there are other good people that enjoy DDO maybe a shade more than do I. These people have no indecision when it comes to paying what they feel is 'reasonable' in the pursuit of their own "hobby" (however they wish to define it.)

HOWEVER, the defintion of 'reasonable norm' in relation to a 'hobby' is my point here.

Weekend softball has a 'norm' of spending $300 bucks on a nice bat, $50 on a good glove and $50 on some decent cleats and then your $40 team fee...I would say 90% of league players fall in the range of $300 - $500 to play team softball.
The really 'into it' folks may spend more on a bat, more on their glove, etc. to run up maybe $1000 to play their chosen hobby...say 50% to even 200% more than the 'average Joe-softball guy.'

In DDO, the Norm, or Average expenditure is $15 a month (or roughly $0.50 per day.)

I know you have customers that are spending as much as $30 PER DAY on DDO...running up $1,000s on plastic
...and I know you are very thankful for the Boost...BUT...

My math fails me as to how many 100s of percent increase that ratio is- 6 fold...60 Times?

I'm boggled.

Societal norms are what we base our defintions of 'normal' versus 'addictive' behaviors.

Carte Blanche could become a very SERIOUS issue.
Somewhere, Someone may look at it and consider DDO a little bit Addictive.

And, if that person does some research into what people consider 'normal' or healthy behaviors and expenditures...and then decides where a Line IS and whether or not people may be crossing said line...

Online Gaming is currently lightly Regulated...but other industries where the consumer may not be able to control the 'spending spree' urge ARE regulated...very Tightly as a matter of fact.

Police yourself Turbine.

Do it NOW...before any problems begin to surface...or someone else decides they need to do it for you.

I for one don't want to see the 'Golden Goose' get cooked faster than it Laid the 'Golden Egg'.

[Phidius]

...Somewhere, Someone may look at it and consider DDO a little bit Addictive....

Have you met my wife?

[Thruck]

Sorry, can't agree with Guder here, except to one extent: putting a parental lock on credit card purchases for parents of minor children.

Adults can spend as much or as little as they want. Sometimes, they do it self-destructively. There are support groups for that sort of thing, I'm sure MMOs won't be far behind. I would suggest that Turbine is free to market their non-carcinogenic, non-driver impairing product to their heart's content, and if someone is irresponsible with his/her money, well, that's why we live in the U.S.A. and bless our collective freedom to be reasonably irresponsible (players outside of the USA - your mileage may vary).

However, as the parent of a kid on DDO, I want a lock on the credit card purchase. Just to let me authorize the charges after I set it up. I'm not as worried about my kid as I am some of the other parents who have posted on here, but still, it would make me feel better. Please don't trot out the "prepaid credit card" solution, because that's just not going to work for me. I play online games for convenience, not so I can engage in multiple extra steps to ensure that the company (and me) doesn't accidentally get exploited by a kid on a tear.

And Phidius, I don't think you can get a spousal lock on your credit card, unless she's really young.

Joseph/Thruck

[Deusxmachina]

Online Gaming is currently lightly Regulated...but other industries where the consumer may not be able to control the 'spending spree' urge ARE regulated...very Tightly as a matter of fact.

What industries are regulated to control people's "spending spree"? Home loans? Pay-loan shops? Car buying? Stock market? Buying state lottery tickets?

(Actually, the stock market sort of is, but only if you have less than $25,000 in your account, and that regulation actually makes things worse and puts you at greater risk, as well as it also simply being unAmerican.)

[Rumbaar]

Yes I don't agree with most of that, but do agree with a follow post of a possible parental lock on the account. I don't think you can remove your credit card details once they are there, or easily do it.

If I want to spend $30 a day on DDO, then all power to me.