

Gamers are spending billions on virtual goods in the U.S.











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RE: Disturbing
By Targon on 12/31/2009 7:10:43 AM , Rating: 2
If you think about it, entertainment is something people have ALWAYS spent money on. The more someone works, the more there is a need for entertainment. The problem is how much money people will spend, and if there is any real entertainment value in what gets purchased.

Spending real money for decorative items in a game has always seemed like a BAD way to spend money, but items that provide extra entertainment value by themselves, such as extra levels in a game, or other play features that encourage more use of existing parts of the game(which extends their value even after paying for it) might be seen as valid purchases.

My own feeling is that if you feel that $10 for a 1.5-3 hour movie can be justified, then spending $10 for something that will make you want to play something for that amount of time seems like a fair trade-off. This is where the price of expansion packs for games and DLC comes into play.

Now, the question is, is one object by itself worth spending money on? How about multiple objects? To this, I personally say no. Things that add game features on the other hand may very well be worth it.

The weird thing is when companies buy things in a game environment in the hopes of selling them for a profit. This is where things REALLY get strange. Most games have rules saying that it is against the rules of the game to sell in-game items for real money to any third party. This would prohibit these companies from doing business if they follow the rules of the game they are trying to make money off of. Gold/Platinum sellers in games for example are generally breaking the rules, and it is an offense that can get people banned from the game. So, it is possible that the "virtual assets" could suddenly become worthless. THAT is what makes this sort of thing a bad business model.


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