This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Krid: This isn't about outright cheating, this is about paying off the people in control to give you something that others either can't get or have to work for. If it's against the game's TOS, then it doesn't belong here. I'm going to delete the gold buying entry now.
Einar: I'm not sure the Oblivion entry belongs here, since at least the PC version comes with the Elder Scrolls Construction Set that allows you to just mod in game-breaking stuff for free.
Krid: 1) The other versions don't, though. 2) That's outright cheating. 3) Editing the game requires skill and knowledge that most people don't have.
Bon Sequitur: 1) Because there's no credible way of modding console games, 2) Can you really cheat outright in a single-player game? 3) There are hundreds of free mods with content both game-breaking and not. This trope may not apply to single-player games at all.
Also, this trope is presented very negatively when in some cases it's an actual business model and not a way of making even more money on top of an already existing product. TC Gs and some MM Os (Particularly Asian ones) in particular are this way because that is the chosen business model (In the case of MM Os, this usually mean playing in the first place is free) and not an example of milking an existing cash cow.
Eric DVH: An actual business model which encourages inequity in lieu of skill. That's one cultural divide I'm glad to be on the right side of.
