Look, I am not going to go around buying gold every weekend. I have more time to spend on these games than my friends so I am not playing catch up. Also I have reached the post crash stage. You know what I am talking about, I have already gone through the whole "I am spending too much time on these games" phase. I quit, I stopped playing them for a while. Now I am able to come back and play them as a healthy hobby (alot one week not touch it when I am busy) for enjoyment. At this point you realise that the games come and go (well mostly they are still around but you know what I mean) and its only the good time you have in them that matters. With that said, and from that perspective of observing the games while hanging out it them:
We have to stop refering to these games as "virtual economies". They are real economies, as real as the economy of the U.S., Canada, and GB. They are bigger than some third world economies (plenty of research done on this over the years Google Edward Castranova before flaming).
The gold/gil we get in them is real money, as real as the U.S. dollar. The gold in WoW is backed by hours of legitimate human effort. Working on a computer is legitimate human effort. They have exchanged their time to introduce an asset into the economy. There are writers on websites that get paid to write columns that may never get printed out in hardcopy. Did they not actual create something? There has also been virtual "gold" outside of MMOs for a long time. "Hacker cash" has been traded for years as an off the grid (ironically using the grid) economy.
Real money is not any more real than whatever the heck Furcadia uses (if in fact they use anything). A $100 bill is not actually worth $100 if you break it down into its components. It is worth $100 because we all agree that it symbolizes $100 worth of human effort. We all agree that 1 WoW gold is worth a certain amount of effort. It is in fact worth a certain fraction of the effort required to obtain a high level item. One gil in FFXI is worth a certain fraction of a the work required to get a crystal (the basis for that games economy as it is required for crafting). Money = time. Well more accuratly (and becoming more obvious in today's world) Money = Energy.
And you do agree that WoW money is backed by effort. If you didn't you would not be mad about people buying it. You feel that they have short-cutted your effort. But they haven't. The money that they exchanged for the WoW money was also backed by legitimate human effort.
You are participating in a real economy that like it or nor will interact with the rest of the real world economies. People make a living working in these games in China (heck here too). The problem is, you don't like the exchange rate. People with their big American dollars are coming into your game and buying your 10 hours worth of effort with their 30 minutes worth of effort. They are "cheating" you out of your effort. An hours worth of effort in America is worth more than in Norrath and it blows for the citizens of Qeynos. Think of how people in Thailand and Viet Nam feel.
Since its a real economy I guess you could do something about it. You could throw off the shackles of your colonial oppressors (players with more cash than time). The digital proletariat could rise up against the Alienware equipped bourgeoisie and assert that they in fact control the means of production (you do, you could all go on strike). Just remember you have no civil rights in this economy and the secret police (the devs) can mete out capital punishment for any crime (account ban). Or you could sit back, relax and remember that along with your 1 WoW gold you got a service for your time (fun).
P.S.: Since these are real economies it is only a matter of time before the government gets involved anyway. It will be taxed. It will be watched (in game money could be used to launder "real" world money across national boundaries for crime or terror). However along with this will come government oversite on the practices used in these virtual worlds. In fact you may be guaranteed a minimum wage per hour of effort at some point if the government gets involved. If they can tax you in it, they can also control prices and prosecute fraud and break up monopolies. So get your gamer lobbies running. Its coming. You can buy a ticket, jump on the train, and tell it where you want to go or get run over.
Look, I am not going to go around buying gold every weekend. I have more time to spend on these games than my friends so I am not playing catch up. Also I have reached the post crash stage. You know what I am talking about, I have already gone through the whole "I am spending too much time on these games" phase. I quit, I stopped playing them for a while. Now I am able to come back and play them as a healthy hobby (alot one week not touch it when I am busy) for enjoyment. At this point you realise that the games come and go (well mostly they are still around but you know what I mean) and its only the good time you have in them that matters. With that said, and from that perspective of observing the games while hanging out it them: We have to stop refering to these games as "virtual economies". They are real economies, as real as the economy of the U.S., Canada, and GB. They are bigger than some third world economies (plenty of research done on this over the years Google Edward Castranova before flaming). The gold/gil we get in them is real money, as real as the U.S. dollar. The gold in WoW is backed by hours of legitimate human effort. Working on a computer is legitimate human effort. They have exchanged their time to introduce an asset into the economy. There are writers on websites that get paid to write columns that may never get printed out in hardcopy. Did they not actual create something? There has also been virtual "gold" outside of MMOs for a long time. "Hacker cash" has been traded for years as an off the grid (ironically using the grid) economy. Real money is not any more real than whatever the heck Furcadia uses (if in fact they use anything). A $100 bill is not actually worth $100 if you break it down into its components. It is worth $100 because we all agree that it symbolizes $100 worth of human effort. We all agree that 1 WoW gold is worth a certain amount of effort. It is in fact worth a certain fraction of the effort required to obtain a high level item. One gil in FFXI is worth a certain fraction of a the work required to get a crystal (the basis for that games economy as it is required for crafting). Money = time. Well more accuratly (and becoming more obvious in today's world) Money = Energy. And you do agree that WoW money is backed by effort. If you didn't you would not be mad about people buying it. You feel that they have short-cutted your effort. But they haven't. The money that they exchanged for the WoW money was also backed by legitimate human effort. You are participating in a real economy that like it or nor will interact with the rest of the real world economies. People make a living working in these games in China (heck here too). The problem is, you don't like the exchange rate. People with their big American dollars are coming into your game and buying your 10 hours worth of effort with their 30 minutes worth of effort. They are "cheating" you out of your effort. An hours worth of effort in America is worth more than in Norrath and it blows for the citizens of Qeynos. Think of how people in Thailand and Viet Nam feel. Since its a real economy I guess you could do something about it. You could throw off the shackles of your colonial oppressors (players with more cash than time). The digital proletariat could rise up against the Alienware equipped bourgeoisie and assert that they in fact control the means of production (you do, you could all go on strike). Just remember you have no civil rights in this economy and the secret police (the devs) can mete out capital punishment for any crime (account ban). Or you could sit back, relax and remember that along with your 1 WoW gold you got a service for your time (fun). P.S.: Since these are real economies it is only a matter of time before the government gets involved anyway. It will be taxed. It will be watched (in game money could be used to launder "real" world money across national boundaries for crime or terror). However along with this will come government oversite on the practices used in these virtual worlds. In fact you may be guaranteed a minimum wage per hour of effort at some point if the government gets involved. If they can tax you in it, they can also control prices and prosecute fraud and break up monopolies. So get your gamer lobbies running. Its coming. You can buy a ticket, jump on the train, and tell it where you want to go or get run over.
Exchange Servers, Item Malls, Third Party gold vendors, third party character/account sellers are all an abomination unto the MMORPG genre, they should not be linked to casual gamers. People who patronize these services, and services like them destroy the experience for those who choose not to, or those who simply can't afford the extra expense. These services also undermine the work and effort put in by even casual gamers. I doubt a true casual gamer will go out of their way to spend extra money on something to geth them ahead in a video game, especially if that person has other real responsibilities like a spouse, children, pets and a job.
You did not read the article...or you'd see its one instance where it did not destroy the gaming experience of others... (and there are more I assure you.) I can afford an alienware computer...with all the bells and whistles....which will give me an advantage over you... should I be penalized and told I can only purchase a low end Dell to keep it "fair". No, of course not...
And you obviously don't know any real world casual gamers... I do, and I assure you, they all buy online gold, characters and items... Their ages range from 20 to 60.... there's no single pattern other than they all work, go to school (not liberal art majors) or have other family committments which prevent them from spending excessive amounts of time in the game to accomplish the top goals.
Face it...none of us play a game to get it 1/2 finished....we all want to reach the "end game"..and not take 2 years to do it. Since game design is such that it forces our playstyle...don't be surprised that people push back.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I'd be interested to hear comments on the original figures from people that interpret them differently to the articles author. (i.e. the anti selling camp). I have to say on the whole I draw similar conclusions to the author. There would seem to be little to indicate that the exchange has done much to change much of anything. I would welcome another perspective based on the figures?
Personally I don't feel strongly either way however as a general principle it seems better to embrace the idea (and keep control of it) rather than ban it and force it underground. The key figure (that I guess we will never know) is how much more/less is spent on in game items when it can be done legit.
Comments
Look, I am not going to go around buying gold every weekend. I have more time to spend on these games than my friends so I am not playing catch up. Also I have reached the post crash stage. You know what I am talking about, I have already gone through the whole "I am spending too much time on these games" phase. I quit, I stopped playing them for a while. Now I am able to come back and play them as a healthy hobby (alot one week not touch it when I am busy) for enjoyment. At this point you realise that the games come and go (well mostly they are still around but you know what I mean) and its only the good time you have in them that matters. With that said, and from that perspective of observing the games while hanging out it them:
We have to stop refering to these games as "virtual economies". They are real economies, as real as the economy of the U.S., Canada, and GB. They are bigger than some third world economies (plenty of research done on this over the years Google Edward Castranova before flaming).
The gold/gil we get in them is real money, as real as the U.S. dollar. The gold in WoW is backed by hours of legitimate human effort. Working on a computer is legitimate human effort. They have exchanged their time to introduce an asset into the economy. There are writers on websites that get paid to write columns that may never get printed out in hardcopy. Did they not actual create something? There has also been virtual "gold" outside of MMOs for a long time. "Hacker cash" has been traded for years as an off the grid (ironically using the grid) economy.
Real money is not any more real than whatever the heck Furcadia uses (if in fact they use anything). A $100 bill is not actually worth $100 if you break it down into its components. It is worth $100 because we all agree that it symbolizes $100 worth of human effort. We all agree that 1 WoW gold is worth a certain amount of effort. It is in fact worth a certain fraction of the effort required to obtain a high level item. One gil in FFXI is worth a certain fraction of a the work required to get a crystal (the basis for that games economy as it is required for crafting). Money = time. Well more accuratly (and becoming more obvious in today's world) Money = Energy.
And you do agree that WoW money is backed by effort. If you didn't you would not be mad about people buying it. You feel that they have short-cutted your effort. But they haven't. The money that they exchanged for the WoW money was also backed by legitimate human effort.
You are participating in a real economy that like it or nor will interact with the rest of the real world economies. People make a living working in these games in China (heck here too). The problem is, you don't like the exchange rate. People with their big American dollars are coming into your game and buying your 10 hours worth of effort with their 30 minutes worth of effort. They are "cheating" you out of your effort. An hours worth of effort in America is worth more than in Norrath and it blows for the citizens of Qeynos. Think of how people in Thailand and Viet Nam feel.
Since its a real economy I guess you could do something about it. You could throw off the shackles of your colonial oppressors (players with more cash than time). The digital proletariat could rise up against the Alienware equipped bourgeoisie and assert that they in fact control the means of production (you do, you could all go on strike). Just remember you have no civil rights in this economy and the secret police (the devs) can mete out capital punishment for any crime (account ban). Or you could sit back, relax and remember that along with your 1 WoW gold you got a service for your time (fun).
P.S.: Since these are real economies it is only a matter of time before the government gets involved anyway. It will be taxed. It will be watched (in game money could be used to launder "real" world money across national boundaries for crime or terror). However along with this will come government oversite on the practices used in these virtual worlds. In fact you may be guaranteed a minimum wage per hour of effort at some point if the government gets involved. If they can tax you in it, they can also control prices and prosecute fraud and break up monopolies. So get your gamer lobbies running. Its coming. You can buy a ticket, jump on the train, and tell it where you want to go or get run over.
You did not read the article...or you'd see its one instance where it did not destroy the gaming experience of others... (and there are more I assure you.) I can afford an alienware computer...with all the bells and whistles....which will give me an advantage over you... should I be penalized and told I can only purchase a low end Dell to keep it "fair". No, of course not...
And you obviously don't know any real world casual gamers... I do, and I assure you, they all buy online gold, characters and items... Their ages range from 20 to 60.... there's no single pattern other than they all work, go to school (not liberal art majors) or have other family committments which prevent them from spending excessive amounts of time in the game to accomplish the top goals.
Face it...none of us play a game to get it 1/2 finished....we all want to reach the "end game"..and not take 2 years to do it. Since game design is such that it forces our playstyle...don't be surprised that people push back.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Personally I don't feel strongly either way however as a general principle it seems better to embrace the idea (and keep control of it) rather than ban it and force it underground. The key figure (that I guess we will never know) is how much more/less is spent on in game items when it can be done legit.