Buying your way ahead

[thosholm]

A nice article from the BBC
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Buying success in online gaming

By Dan Simmons
Reporter, BBC Click Online

As online gaming becomes increasingly popular, real-world trading of virtual items used in these games has rocketed. Dan Simmons finds out what happens when fantasy gaming meets cold, hard cash.

With the spread of broadband connections, multi-player fantasy gaming, in which thousands of gamers can play simultaneously, has taken off.

Stunning virtual worlds promise adventure and glory, often for a monthly access fee of around $10 to $15 (£6 to £8).

The most popular titles have attracted more than three million subscribers. The social interaction between players often leads gamers to develop tight-knit communities, forming in-game allegiances.

It is a formula that has also led to some seriously dedicated playing. Around 20 hours a week is the average.

"You've got a lot more human emotions coming in to play, you're getting friends, a social group and you may have a social standing within the group," says Rhianna Pratchett, a gamer and games writer.

"It can be very addictive and the hoarding of weapons or getting the best weapon or getting to the next level up or getting the next spell is addictive."

One gamer in China even killed a fellow player over a sword used in an online game.

Paying to win

But dedicating so much time and effort is not the only route to success.

Over the past year the trade in virtual items and currencies used in these online games has been booming, despite it being outlawed by most of the game producers.

People who spend money to buy gold or weapons or even to have their characters levelled up are just plain cheaters
Matt Royle, gamer
It is called the secondary market. Rather than relying on skill and guile, players can use cash to buy the items they need.

Hundreds of dollars can change hands for anything from swords to flying carpets on auction sites such as eBay. And many online companies have started offering direct selling services.

This year in Asia the amount of money changing hands for in-game goods is expected to be more than for the games themselves.

But there has also been a backlash from many gamers.

Matt Royle, who spends four to five hours a day playing World of Warcraft, says richer players are getting an unfair advantage.

You can't buy a gold medal and then claim you're the world high-jump champion
Professor Richard Bartle
"People who spend money to buy gold or weapons or even to have their characters levelled up are just plain cheaters, to be honest.

"People who play for the real amount of time and for the gaming experience are getting a raw deal because other people come along and just ruin it with their high-level characters or their weapons that they haven't actually earned."

And some experts, including lecturer and games consultant Professor Richard Bartle, who helped invent the first online multi-player game, agree.

"Most of the players hate this kind of activity, really, really hate it. As far as they're concerned, they're playing a game," he says.

"And if someone comes along and turns it from a game into work, they think: 'I work all day, and now my fun is being spoilt by these people buying success.'

"You can't buy a gold medal and then claim you're the world high-jump champion. You have to jump something."

Powerful market

Sony Online Entertainment, responsible for EverQuest 2, at first tried to ban the trade in virtual artefacts. But just a few weeks ago it did a u-turn, opening up its own official trading site to US players, called Station Exchange.

Chris Kramer, of Sony Online Entertainment, says: "The decision for our company to create Station Exchange was kind of a long road for us.

"Over the last five years we've seen the secondary market for sales of virtual goods go from a few guys selling our characters on eBay to about $200m in sales annually.

"We can no longer ignore a secondary market that has reached levels as high as that."

Sony Online says it offers casual gamers who are time-poor a way to keep up with friends who play more often.

It also gives new players the option of joining a version of the game that allows real-world trading or one that aims to control it.

Some players clearly like the shortcuts that cash offers as well as the chance to make money.

Rhianna Pratchett says: "It's always a kick when you find a great weapon in the game anyway, and if you're actually thinking: 'That's great, I can go and sell that on eBay and get myself some DVDs or buy my Mum birthday present' or whatever, I can imagine that can be a lot of fun."

Trading in fantasy games can make you serious cash. One player made $4,000 in one month.

With real money at stake, these virtual worlds are being used as very real sweatshops.

In some countries, groups have been set up simply to collect valuable items and gold, a forbidden practice known as "farming".

Others use automated programmes or bots to do the job, but the result is fewer in-game goodies for the genuine players.

Taking action

The gaming companies try to stop them, but it is unclear how much success they are having.

Two online sales companies told us it was possible they were being supplied by "professional" players.

One, which claimed to do 300 sales a day to World of Warcraft gamers, reassured me that I was unlikely to be banned from the game, or taken to court, if I traded with them.

The games developers hold the intellectual rights to everything in the game. So, technically, even if you buy or sell gold or items, they are owned by the game's developer.

Blizzard Entertainment, publishers of World of Warcraft, says it monitors what happens in-game as well as on the internet regarding real world trading of items, but it would not reveal how it does this.

It says it has taken action against more than 1,000 players. While it does not support independent companies buying and selling its in-game creations, it has not yet decided what action to take about this problem.

Blizzard estimates more than 90% of its own World of Warcraft subscribers disapprove of buying virtual items with real cash.

Because most real world transactions are completed in-game between characters, some think they will never be stopped.

Others believe the gaming hosts are not doing enough to curb it.

For those who like to use their cash to get ahead, it enhances their gaming experience.

But those seeking a level playing field, where success relies purely on skill and dedication, may soon be left high and dry, dreaming of a fantasy world.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/4747939.stm

[altomesa]

Interesting article. Something that's been debated for quite a while now, although, I don't think it's really an issue with Ryzom because the community is so small. It's very rare to see any Ryzom item on ebay except for the boxed game itself.

[alyssah]

I agree, interesting article. But think about it. What could we possibly find to do if we could BUY our lvls/mats/dappers/weps/missions offline. It doesn't really bear thinking about, does it?

[sentri]

Interseting reading thanks for article.
Interesting how to deal with such activity by the way.

I can't quite precise what I feel but I have such unclear "feeling" that if real money will start to run those online games too much those games will become to close to real life to be fun anymore.

Surly we will see in future how this issue will evolve.

side note as for SoE
I was trying to get to Star Wars Galaxies before (finaly did quite becouse of bugs in this game) but this how greedy SoE is for money is in bit of bad taste. They charge for pretty much everything while they already taking monthly fee.
Im not surpised they didnt want to miss the chance of get those few $ extra from this eBuying thing. Have feeling that in future they will regreat their current politics though. EQ2 did appear to be such success as they expected and SWG not doing better either.

Well time to go sleep and rest windter coming to Atys soon

[magick1]

Note: Articles on BBC are copyrighted, therefore only copy part of it otherwise Nevrax could get into hot water.

Anyway, I don't think this is a problem for SoR.
First of, there are few special items and some of those are rubish, the rest are obtainable by regular actions ingame or on the bazaar forum.
Secondly items wear out, so you more or less end up with items for show or special ocations.
Thirdly player base is not large enough to support it, the attempts that I have seen have been laughable, at best.

I can think of these "special items":
Easter egg rewards (not tradeable)
Old staffs
Candy canes
Boss armours
Event items; axe, amps and dagger (any more?)

Certainly not something to pay a forune for if you were insane enough to do that kind of trade.

[micrix]

Yesterday in a newsletter i received:

China bans minors from games containing PvP

About the topic:

Check "Project Entropia". A game where ingame and RL money is one and the same. One is able to change RL money to ingame currency and back.

[gialla]

What I don't understand is why a player would pay a monthly fee to play a MMOG, and then pay again to not play it.
I mean, if u gonna buy all the powerfull items, u are not playing the game.
I you are paying someone to level up your character, you're not playing the game.
Where is the adventure, where is the fun ?

Also I think that game like EQ2 where it is legal to buy items and paying them with real money, should be banned by the MMOG community. Players should move to better and more serious games

[sentri]

I think it affects games where PvP and things you achive by PvPing are some kind of "status" and being all powerfull mighty helps you play games in some aspects.

Like for example Lineage 2 - there leveling was really slooowww and boring, same when it comes to get some good items that were very rare. And on other hand to win castle siege and own castle every bit of power was able to change fate of battle.
Now if you realize that in game as L2 getting some one level better weapon were taking like 2 months of everyday grinding (for working person) then I think you can understand that some who wants to siege a castle or play with already uber friends pay extra $ to get this item or get leveled to level of your friends.
Though I still think it is against game rules and generaly idea of playing a game I can understand such actions, though Im far from approving them. In the end if developers would like such things to be possible they would let you create character of any level and with any avaible equipment.

Similar with WoW. It's like 2 part game, in first you go to 60 and get all best items - in second it is just PvP. If you want to skip this 60 road then you buy character with best items and there you go - you can go and shine in PvP, battlegrounds, raids and such.

[centur5]

Interesting. Not sure why the companie would wont to stop this though. The people that created the charachter payed for the time and it makes more people interested in the game.

Personaly i would have to admit that cheating would be bad but if someone wonts to sell there char and didnt leave any social ties behind i would be non the wiser when i see another 250 lvl person go by. I feel like saying you have too play YOUR ac**** is foolish and a overcontroling idea. What next ... i cant let my freind come over and have him lvl for me for a bit. Weather you buy it or you have a freind do it for a favor from other peoples in-game view its the same idea. After all we ought only limit people were we constructualy must and i dont see a good constructual reason we ought to.

I guess im just trying to say i really dont feel bad if i find someone who has bought a lvled char. and as such there money is there money.

As far as the idea for paying for things in games goes. Its already been done when you bought a exspantion pack or payed for a game guide or bought a high preformance pc. Money will always be linked in anyway it can be to anything people wont.