Well some virtual property has real world tangeable value. I remember when I played Everquest similar characters sold on Ebay for around £1500-£2500. It seems odd to people who aren't massively into online games, and I never did have the heart to sell my own character, but some people really will pay through the teath to have the best in an online environment.
In a sense it's no more unusual than investing in a hobby, and if it saves you a few years of the tedious bits you dont like to get to the content that you do, then I guess it's understandable these things can be worth an aweful lot of real world money.
I guess that's why economies in these games are getting trashed by so-called 'farmers', to the point where a friend of mine recently had a right go at me for buying gold in WoW with almost fanatical zeal, accusing me of supporting an industry that destroys the game mechanics. I didnt want the gold myself, I bought it as a [admittedly somewhat unusual] valentines gift for my WoW besotted other half to help get some epic thingy or other and it was the only means I could help her.
So virtual goods are worth real money. These days, whole games can be purchased virtually and there is certainly tangeable value to the consumer there too. Imagine if you online software account details where stolen and the password changed... Again, a tangeable loss.
There is no doubt that virtual goods do hold real world value these days.
In a sense it's no more unusual than investing in a hobby, and if it saves you a few years of the tedious bits you dont like to get to the content that you do, then I guess it's understandable these things can be worth an aweful lot of real world money.
I guess that's why economies in these games are getting trashed by so-called 'farmers', to the point where a friend of mine recently had a right go at me for buying gold in WoW with almost fanatical zeal, accusing me of supporting an industry that destroys the game mechanics. I didnt want the gold myself, I bought it as a [admittedly somewhat unusual] valentines gift for my WoW besotted other half to help get some epic thingy or other and it was the only means I could help her.
So virtual goods are worth real money. These days, whole games can be purchased virtually and there is certainly tangeable value to the consumer there too. Imagine if you online software account details where stolen and the password changed... Again, a tangeable loss.
There is no doubt that virtual goods do hold real world value these days.