Money makes the (real and virtual) world go around. In some sense, money itself is the oldest, most widely used virtual item. Because money is so universally understood, virtual currencies are widely used as incentives in online games. Whatever one’s views are about “consumer culture,” we all seem to have a Pavlovian response to accumulating more things.
Game developers know this and draw on it to reward players. However, once you create a system where more is better, people respond creatively. Where there is a gap between those with more time than money and those with more money and time, someone will come along to close that gap. Welcome to game commerce. It is worth noting that game commerce is not applicable to all games after all, there are games of pure mental or physical accomplishment like Chess or Baseball. Although people do cheat in both, there is no way that most of us will ever be a Chess Grandmaster or in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Anyone can be rich, however, especially in a game. (more…)