Real Money Trade
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Revision as of 20:39, 18 December 2011 by Timshi (Talk | contribs) (Created page with "(back to index) '''Real Money Trade''', or "RMT" is when game assets, such as characters, currencies, and items are traded for real world currency. The virtual econom...")
Real Money Trade, or "RMT" is when game assets, such as characters, currencies, and items are traded for real world currency. The virtual economy is an emerging market where people enter for recreation and entertainment purposes rather than by necessity.
Background
Real money trade is a phenomenon that has existed ever since the advent of multiplayer video games. However, it wasn't until the release of large scale MMORPG's such as Ultima Online, EverQuest, and World of Warcraft that the secondary virtual marketplace grew exponentially. Edward Castronova, back in 2001, claimed that the virtual economy in EverQuest had a GNP comparable to some real world developing countries. Since then, there has been a growing academic interest in the RMT industry.
