Time to Conquer the Virtual Economy!

Online gaming is one of the fastest and most popular growing phenomena’s to hit the internet. There are many aspects to it and people find them enticing…and even addicting. Online games allow people to escape “reality” and enter a world that is unlike any other. People enter online gaming communities and interact with people that they will most likely never meet. However, the relationships formed online can grow very strong and allow for some truly fun and engaging experiences to take place. This is often considered a major factor for why people become so addicted. Some gamers enjoy the thrill of slicing a deadly orc with their newly acquired sword while others like to test their skills against other people from around the world. But perhaps one area of online gaming that is interesting to look at is “virtual” economies.

According to wikipedia.org, virtual economies are “an emergent economy existing in a virtual persistent world, usually in the context of an Internet game.” With the rise of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) like World of Warcraft and Second Life, millions of people are beginning to utilize the games for more than they were originally intended for. Instead of killing night elves and resurrecting fallen comrades, people are logging on to seek monetary gain. How can people earn money through a game you might ask? Well the answer is quite simple. eBay.com and pretty much any website that accepts a credit card allow people to exchange real money for virtual goods such as gold, weapons and high-leveled characters. These purchases can give players an edge over those who do not buy virtual goods, and many consider that unfair. World of Warcraft discourages this kind of activity because it’s essentially cheating your way to the top but Second Life actually encourages it because it’s designed to emulate real life but in the virtual world. In Second Life, fake money earned in the game called Lindens can actually be traded for real US dollars. That’s the ultimate goal of most people who play it.

The term, "closed" virtual economy is used for MMORGs like WoW whereas the term, "open" virtual economy is used for simulation games like Second Life. The economy designed for World of Warcraft was built to stay in it (closed). Players are supposed to find their own gold on their own time and use that to buy weapons and other items. It defeats the purpose of the game to go on eBay and buy everything you need. People spend hours everyday trying to get what someone else bought in one minute online. Now you may ask, well that complaining person could do the same. Their response could vary from they don’t have the money to do that, or they don’t want to because that “kills” the whole point of the game. As mentioned above, people play online games to explore and escape to another world. You can’t buy experiences or online relationships. Selling virtual items online does hurt the company developers financially. WoW is a game with a monthly fee, so if people buy everything in one shot, Blizzard (games’ creator) loses out on all those months of fees.

As for Second Life, the economy is open to everyone. People can purchase land from the developers for real US dollars. After this purchase they can build up their virtual world even more and earn a great deal of Linden Dollars (the in-game currency). Finally they can exchange these Linden dollars for more US dollars at an online market. I think this economy is excellent for people who want to learn about business and earn real money in a way that was never possible before. “One user claimed last November that her Second Life property business has made her a real-world millionaire” (Giles 2007). That’s absolutely incredible and it’s all possible because of online gaming. In addition to that, it creates a lot of buzz and encourages other people to sign up in hopes of earning some kind of profit.

Online gaming is changing the way people utilize the internet and it provides an outlet for the stresses of daily life. It is creating such an impact on today’s society that it has even created a new type on economic system; the virtual economy. Unlike other real life economies, people can choose if they want to engage in the virtual economy. Even more interesting is the fact that they can participate in a virtual economy for possible monetary gain.

References

Virtual economy. (2007, March 29). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23:04, April 5, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virtual_economy&oldid=118822136

Giles, Jim. (2007). Life’s a game. Retrieved April 4, 2007, from http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v445/n7123/full/445018a.html