Guild Wars 2 Gem Store (part of a game) : silly in-game purchases

f you don't know what Guild Wars 2 is, I suppose I should start by explaining that is is an MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) game that is free to download and free to play. You don't have to upgrade to the expansions right away because the free world is massive. However, like many games that have been around for years and years, there are not many people in those areas anymore. To be honest I don't know where they are.

There are at the moment 2 expansion packs that cost something like 20 to 40 dollars each, if you want them. You are never obligated to purchase these things. There are optional purchases in game that take place at the "Gem Store" and most of these items offer no real playing advantage and they are just convenience or aesthetic items.

That being said I want to speak about something that costs real-world money that I have never spent money on, nor will I ever spend money on it. These are called "skins" and only changes the way your character looks, it has absolutely ZERO combat benefit or any other benefit whatsoever.

There are hundreds of items (skins) available for purchase at any given time. Mostly, unless on special they go for 500 to 1000 gems per item, slightly more for a full set of gear. To put this into perspective 2000 gems costs about 20 USD. So if you want to have an intersting and somewhat unique looking sickle it is gonna cost you around 10 bucks.

no doubt it looks awesome, but who do you think is looking at it? Likely only you

I know some people that up to 100 dollars a month at the gem store and to me that is just a level of foolishness that I have a really hard time relating to. The game is free to play but the people who develop it make hundreds of dollars a month (instead of 10 to 20 dollars a month from a subscription) off of quite a few players. I am not going to come down on these people because as Sheryl Crow says, "if it makes you happy, it can't be that bad."

That's a pretty awesome shield and it currently sells for around $15 dollars.

Some people have taken it so far that they don't really even play the game just try to look as awesome as possible and they hang out with people that have similarly awesome looking characters. I guess this is just something I can not possibly relate to but hey, if Guild Wars is able to make money off of selling a digital shirt and they aren't stealing from anyone, i say "go for it."