I have read of players selling online items and characters for real money already. I was recently reading about a game in development which if I understand it right is scheduled to be Free to play, but in game money for food and items is purchased with real money at an exchange rate, so you can play a starving beggar for free. I foresee a time when the casual gamer who doesn’t mind spending a few bucks on his gaming buying in effect goods and services from a professional gamer in effect for real cash I’m not sure I like this idea what about you ?. Edited by - nomax5 on March 27, 2002 10:29:36 PM

What the hll!?
This was EXACTLY what i was thinking about a few days ago. And i though my idea was original :D

The AP was me :D

The AP was me :D

I think this will result in a world populated by beggars

I think some people could make a real living by playing such a game. However, there will be only a few people who actually make considerable amount of money. And the game would need to have a huge amount of players, something like in EQ.

People will pay for entertainment, whether they get that entertainment from a TV in real world or a TV in virtual game world - it doesn''t really matter. So far the virtual worlds are rather limited due to technical stuff. But in the future, you could eventually see virtual companies forming in virtual worlds, selling virtual products to people playing the game. I wonder how those would be taxed, would it be based on location of server? or no tax at all? doubt it, maybe the makers of that game will tax people who make money inside the game. heh

Sorry, but while it sounds like an ideal dream - and people are doing it, or trying to do it, right now - it''ll die a painful, agonizing death.

I just went over this concept with lawyers, planning ahead to curb this; the prevailing stance is that a player:
a) is selling digital code, which they do not own
b) is re-licensing an account, which is illegal without the original licensor''s consent

Why do you think the old TOS (Terms of Service) have now become phrased as a EULA (End User Licensing Agreement)? Its to emphasize that this is a LICENSE, not OWNERSHIP. You own the box, the software that will let you access the game server - but you are LEASING the right to exist within that game on a monthly basis.

The problem is that the major game companies have, primarily, been afraid to litigate against these people from fear of alienating the player base, and causing a backlash of negative fan input.

The suit against Mythic Entertainment is pure stupidity on the part of the players who brought the suit. Mythic likely would have been willing to settle something out of court and keep it quiet, but by the players filing suit against Mythic to "defend their right to sell property they [think they] own" they''ve now brought it out into the public legal forums. If this suit continues, it WILL become a legal precedent; every game developer with any sense is watching to see how this plays out.

Eric, what are you talking about? I think you miss read the post. He is talking about a game that is set up for people to sell stuff for real money.

I think, if done the right way, this could allow for an enhanced game experience. You could be in a virtual world and see people actually living their lives and working all around you.

This could also lead to a great number of problems if not policed right. Imagine having to post real money for bail, so you can get out of jail. That could lead to a stiff fine if caught being a PK.

If done correctly, it could be fun, but I don''t see it happening any time soon. (at least not correctly)

It''s already being tried. I beta''d it for a while (VERY early Beta), but wasn''t all that entertained by it and don''t really like the idea of a game that is built around the players buying or selling the items that they acquire.

I forget the name of it offhand, I think it''s a swiss or norwegian company if that helps.

I like the idea of being able to sell items from a game, but if it is possible, then I think that it would require a few different features.

No farming possible. Same critters shouldn''t drop the same thing over and over and it shouldn''t even be area (zone) dependent. This way the ''ph4rm3r5'' aren''t sitting there camping a critter for the same high-price item over and over.

It should be regulated by the company that puts the game out. You want to sell something? Stick it in the ''sell'' box in your bank and the company will handle it all from there, either crediting your acct for the sale price or sending you the money, after a small fee (10%?).

The big reasons for the latter is to simply avoid fraud. You pay for a Fabulous Felonious Flamberge, you should get just that.

Sure, there would be people who would run out on higher level raids for stuff to sell. The majority of them still spend time getting stuff for their characters though and half of the time when you go on a raid there''s a good amount of stuff that you get that is simply to trade for other stuff.

There will also be people who would do it simply as a way to pay for their accts and that should be fine. If you have the time and/or items but don''t have the money, you can make it and go from there.

One nice thing is that it would keep the price of items down to a certain extent, simply because the danger of getting banned isn''t there.

Project Entropia... just remembered the name.

http://www.project-entropia.com

[edited by - solinear on March 28, 2002 12:31:23 PM]