There's Money in Those Swords
Nevertheless, it's clear that this sort of trade is here to stay, regardless of how game companies or players feel about it, and many would argue that it's a good thing. The best solution is probably to integrate secure exchange services into the game, so that players don't need to go to outside auctions like eBay to conduct transactions. Several online worlds are already experimenting with this approach. The inhabitants of There, for example, are able to purchase ThereBucks with a credit card and shop for, or sell, game items in an auction that is part of the game. Interestingly, although the last time I checked, there is no "official" way to convert ThereBucks back into real bucks, it is standard proceedure at player-operated banks. In an interview with ACM Que in early 2004, CEO Will Harvey pointed out that one of the top designers of clothes in There is earning the equivalent of $3,000 a month.
I don't intend to encourage anyone to dump their day job and pursue a career as a trader of virtual property, but it can't be denied that some people are making a significant amount of money in this enterprise. One of the highest profile and most forthright traders I've come across is Julian Dibbell, who has documented his experiences trading Ultima Online gear for the last year in detail. If you want some idea what it would take to turn playing into a career, I encourage you to read back through his blog, as it is both informative and insightful. Note that, in the last month of his year long experiment, Julian was the number 2 seller of UO assets on eBay, and made a handsome profit of $3,917. It sure makes the game's monthly subscription fee look like one hell of a bargain.
A Black Market is Born
Of course, World of Warcraft and EverQuest assets are probably where the greatest demand is, at least in North America. Services such as Player Auctions have stepped in to fill the gap created by the removal of EQ items from eBay. The Gaming Open Market once offered a money exchange for different types of game currency, allowing people to more conveniently transfer funds from one virtual world, or game server, to another. After a bad transaction that cost the GOM's operator a consider sum of real cash, the decision was made to limit services to Second Life. (The GOM has discontinued operations because Second Life decided to offer their own exchange system.)
Given the profit potential, I guess it was inevitable that we would see the birth of companies dedicated to the acquisition and sale of game property on a larger scale. Internet Gaming Entertainment (IGE) is one such company. With offices in Hong Kong and the U.S., they now have over 100 full-time employees and a small army of "suppliers" selling them virtual goods from a variety of online games. The whole thing conjures up visions of sweatshops in China where child laborers are forced to toil away at computer terminals 16 hours a day leveling Dark Age of Camelot characters. I don't think we're there yet, but considering the amount of money changing hands, it can only be a matter of time.
Looking Ahead
Over the next few years we can expect to hear a lot more about virtual economies and their impact on real economies, and it promises to be interesting to see how, or if, governments will try to regulate this growing market. I also look forward to seeing how game developers will respond to this phenomenon, since at the moment they seem split between embracing it as a potential enhancement to the game, and discouraging it as an impediment to fair gameplay.
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