User talk:Timshi
Real Money Trade
Please note that this page is under construction
Real money trade refers to the phenomenon of trading virtual currency for real currency. Real world economies are emerged from the These virtual economies are often found in large MMORPG's, such as World of Warcraft, Second Life, and Maple Story, where the virtual environment is competitive and virtual assets are in high demand. Real money commerce has been an explosive industry; in the last couple of years, it has grown to multi-billion dollar proportions. Virtual currency is accessible through web pages that broker and sell such currency to the end user.
Reaction from the Game Industry
Sony has had a firm stance on the issue and periodically remove game items that are sold for real currency from the game. Blizzard has also reminded that such actions are against their terms of service, and anybody caught doing so will be banned from the game. However, one of the inherent issues of real money trade is that it is extremely difficult to monitor and distinguish real trades from illegitimate trades. Still, other developers have taken a more hands off approach; in some cases, they have helped and facilitated the exchange of virtual goods.
Ethics
Trading real currency for virtual items and services has been a controversial subject in the sense that those who purchase items and services have a seemingly unfair advantage over their peers. A certain demographic considers it cheating to purchase items and services as a player could just "buy" their way into certain game statuses.
Economics From the economic perspective, virtual goods and services do have demonstrable value. Because players in these virtual environments are willing to exchange real currency in exchange for these resources, it thereby demonstrates utility to the end user.
Popular Sites:
MarkeeDragon Masked Crusader
Security Concerns
The European Network and Information Security agency have estimated the RMT industry at 1.5 billion dollars. Locking such a large amount of money up in the "grey-zone" of the economy could lead to massive online fraud.
