Diablo III

THE BUZZ: Blizzard has detailed the system that will be in place for real-money auction houses when the game launches May 15.

Each of the game’s three regions – Americas, Europe and Asia – will have its own separate auction house. Each of these houses will be independent, items listed on one will not appear on the others.

Transaction fees will apply to real-money sales. Equipment will cost $1 per item and commodities such as gems will cost 15 percent of the final sale. Players will be able to pay for purchases with either their Battle.net account or Paypal for a 15 percent fee.

EGM’s TAKE: This is a serious money spinner on Blizzard’s end. The 15 percent transaction fee is an awful lot, and that’s for both buying and selling. On the other hand, players will also be able to make a fair chunk of cash if they are willing to put the farming hours in. We expect some of the rarest items to be selling for insane amounts. Whether a real-money auction house is a good move is hard to tell at the moment, give it a month and we’ll have a much clearer picture.

Do you agree with real-money auction houses? Will you use it? Leave your thoughts below.