For a brief moment it looked like the hiring of former IGE lackey Dave Christensen by Sony Online Entertainment might pass with nary a ripple.

But then it hit: Sony Online Entertainment just hired a guy from a company that is essentially the marketplace for gold farmers in almost every MMO on the net.

Or as Michael Zenke so deftly put it "SOE spits in our face."

Of course Sony has the right to hire whoever they want from where ever they want, but I think what rubs so many people the wrong way about this particular hiring is the stand that PC gamers, PC magazines and developers took against IGE early on.

I understand SOE's desire to try and tap new markets, but I don't think this is the best way to do it. Whatever the company gains from hiring Dave Christensen is not worth the loss of respect from the gaming community. Brian Crecente

SOE Spits In Our Face [MMO Nation]