Domination
07-21-2005, 08:25 PM
WITH THE MARKET for virtual goods in Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Games making some virtual economies worth more than some real national ones it has come as very little surprise that some publishers who have long been fighting the sale of virtual goods on places such as eBay have finally relented and decided that if they can’t beat 'em they should join 'em.
Sony Online Entertainment, the company behind Everquest II among other MMORPGs, have led the way for traditional MMORPG publishers by making available their Station Exchange service where players can buy and sell anything from a handful of the local currency to entire high-level characters complete with special items.
Online economies are as complex and fruitful as real ones in many respects and as well as making shed loads of money that publishers such as Sony want to make a slice of, they also provide very interesting economic testing laboratories.
Everything from inflation to price collapses and economic stagnation and boom can be seen in the complex modern MMORPG, in which almost the entire game is run by players who can go so far as to specialise in certain trades.
Sony’s move is a bold one and other MMORPG publishers have ranged from quietly waiting to see what happens to outright condemning them for sanctioning the sale of virtual goods. It can be seen as a way of "cheating" the game by purchasing readymade items for play, but others might argue that SOE is merely following the market trend.
During the pre-launch of Station Exchange Sony picked up the following figures:
During the two week trial period, each participant spent an average of more than $14 per player on various auctions.
Nearly one fourth of all the auctions begun on Station Exchange ended in a sale.
The highest price item during pre-launch was a stack of money (20 platinum, 35 gold, 40 silver) that went for $315.
The average price for a 1 platinum piece is $20.41
The average price for characters is $65.92.
Total amount of virtual cash auctioned during the two weeks, across multiple sales: 117 plat, 74 gold, 78 silver, 14 copper.
That was only the pre-launch, though Station Exchange is merely the first official market for these goods and they have been proven to work extremely well through 3rd party auction sites. The big question now is if other mainstream publishers will follow SOE into this market.
Source (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=24789)
I wonder does this have anything to do with the peer to peer Sony was talking about.
Sony Online Entertainment, the company behind Everquest II among other MMORPGs, have led the way for traditional MMORPG publishers by making available their Station Exchange service where players can buy and sell anything from a handful of the local currency to entire high-level characters complete with special items.
Online economies are as complex and fruitful as real ones in many respects and as well as making shed loads of money that publishers such as Sony want to make a slice of, they also provide very interesting economic testing laboratories.
Everything from inflation to price collapses and economic stagnation and boom can be seen in the complex modern MMORPG, in which almost the entire game is run by players who can go so far as to specialise in certain trades.
Sony’s move is a bold one and other MMORPG publishers have ranged from quietly waiting to see what happens to outright condemning them for sanctioning the sale of virtual goods. It can be seen as a way of "cheating" the game by purchasing readymade items for play, but others might argue that SOE is merely following the market trend.
During the pre-launch of Station Exchange Sony picked up the following figures:
During the two week trial period, each participant spent an average of more than $14 per player on various auctions.
Nearly one fourth of all the auctions begun on Station Exchange ended in a sale.
The highest price item during pre-launch was a stack of money (20 platinum, 35 gold, 40 silver) that went for $315.
The average price for a 1 platinum piece is $20.41
The average price for characters is $65.92.
Total amount of virtual cash auctioned during the two weeks, across multiple sales: 117 plat, 74 gold, 78 silver, 14 copper.
That was only the pre-launch, though Station Exchange is merely the first official market for these goods and they have been proven to work extremely well through 3rd party auction sites. The big question now is if other mainstream publishers will follow SOE into this market.
Source (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=24789)
I wonder does this have anything to do with the peer to peer Sony was talking about.