World of Warcraft was launched late November 2004. Since March of 2005, the company has removed more than 800 players suspected of farming from its servers. Nonetheless, World Cyber Games organizers Herman Ng can understand where the allure of buying gold lies. "MMORPGs have very immersive environments. So whatever you possess in that world, your friends can see it. To obtain a rare item or to be an advanced player gives you bragging rights in a way," said the 27-year-old. Others, however, feel adding real money into the equation taints the value of the play and destroys the enjoyment of the game. Audio engineer Willy Goh, 28,said: "I would never buy World of Warcraft Gold because the fun is in the journey. The sense of achievement is in finally killing that ultra-big monster, not in amassing items or cheap gold." IT writer Chan Chi-Loong, 29, agrees. "Some people might feel that their time is precious, so to get the maximum enjoyment from the game, they pay for a short cut to the process," he said. "But if you get to the advanced level too easily, it loses its value. In that sense, I prefer to just enjoy the game for what it is."
