Sony: Virtual Currency Must be Convertible
Nearly two years after the launch of the Station Station pilot project, Sony acknowledged that legalizing trade in artifacts and currency is useful for both players and developers. The official introduction of real money in the MMOG does not do any harm, because the black market is still impossible to destroy.
The experiment with the Sony Station Exchange proprietary exchange is particularly important due to the fact that most game developers consider trading virtual currency and artifacts unacceptable. This is usually prohibited by the rules of the game. At least in the most popular MMOGs, including Ultima Online , World of Warcraft and City of Heroes , this is prohibited. Game developers are forced to earn with paid gaming tickets.
However, Sony Online Entertainment claims that it is better to legalize trade. Almost two years after the opening of the corporate exchange center, they summed up the results of this experiment and called it extremely successful . In their opinion, this is the only way to avoid trading on the black market, that is, on eBay , Internet Gaming Entertainment and other third-party auctions. The players, in any case, will find a way how to transfer artifacts to each other and pay for the purchase, but the company does not receive any profit from the black market. Even measures such as putting pressure on eBay and other auctions to ban the sale of game artifacts there are unlikely to help.
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Since trading is illegal, it is very difficult to estimate the volumes of this black market. Some experts say that it can be up to $ 1 billion per year . The leading researcher in this field is the American economist Edward Castronova .
The one-year experiment presented us with the first real data on the volume of the virtual economy. During the year, the official Exchange Station Exchange worked on only one or two of the 30 servers in the game EverQuest II , allowing players from these servers to exchange artifacts and game currency for real money. During this time, 51,680 transactions were completed, and Sony earned $ 274,083, mainly on commissions. The total turnover of the exchange was much higher. The most successful trader for the year made 351 transactions in the amount of $ 37,435. Another player also managed to step over the $ 37,000 mark. Although the company does not tell us the total turnover of the exchange, we can calculate the approximate amount based on the average transaction size (37,435 / 351 ) at $ 106.7. It turns out that about $ 5.5 million passed through the exchange.
In addition to additional profits, the company receives other benefits in legalizing real money. For example, the number of scams decreases. Previously, about 40% of calls to EverQuest II technical support were about transactions with virtual goods, and after the introduction of the official stock exchange, only 10% remained.
Sony experts did not notice any side effects from the official introduction of real money into the game. They say that the players 'behavior on those servers where the exchange operated did not differ from the players' behavior on other servers. This suggests that players in any case will find a way to buy the necessary artifacts. Apparently, the prices on the black market are about the same as on the official stock exchange.
The experiment with the Sony Station Exchange proprietary exchange is particularly important due to the fact that most game developers consider trading virtual currency and artifacts unacceptable. This is usually prohibited by the rules of the game. At least in the most popular MMOGs, including Ultima Online , World of Warcraft and City of Heroes , this is prohibited. Game developers are forced to earn with paid gaming tickets.
However, Sony Online Entertainment claims that it is better to legalize trade. Almost two years after the opening of the corporate exchange center, they summed up the results of this experiment and called it extremely successful . In their opinion, this is the only way to avoid trading on the black market, that is, on eBay , Internet Gaming Entertainment and other third-party auctions. The players, in any case, will find a way how to transfer artifacts to each other and pay for the purchase, but the company does not receive any profit from the black market. Even measures such as putting pressure on eBay and other auctions to ban the sale of game artifacts there are unlikely to help.
')
Since trading is illegal, it is very difficult to estimate the volumes of this black market. Some experts say that it can be up to $ 1 billion per year . The leading researcher in this field is the American economist Edward Castronova .
The one-year experiment presented us with the first real data on the volume of the virtual economy. During the year, the official Exchange Station Exchange worked on only one or two of the 30 servers in the game EverQuest II , allowing players from these servers to exchange artifacts and game currency for real money. During this time, 51,680 transactions were completed, and Sony earned $ 274,083, mainly on commissions. The total turnover of the exchange was much higher. The most successful trader for the year made 351 transactions in the amount of $ 37,435. Another player also managed to step over the $ 37,000 mark. Although the company does not tell us the total turnover of the exchange, we can calculate the approximate amount based on the average transaction size (37,435 / 351 ) at $ 106.7. It turns out that about $ 5.5 million passed through the exchange.
In addition to additional profits, the company receives other benefits in legalizing real money. For example, the number of scams decreases. Previously, about 40% of calls to EverQuest II technical support were about transactions with virtual goods, and after the introduction of the official stock exchange, only 10% remained.
Sony experts did not notice any side effects from the official introduction of real money into the game. They say that the players 'behavior on those servers where the exchange operated did not differ from the players' behavior on other servers. This suggests that players in any case will find a way to buy the necessary artifacts. Apparently, the prices on the black market are about the same as on the official stock exchange.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/3169/
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