[MUD-Dev] [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy!

[Paul Schwanz]

Paolo Piselli wrote:
>--- Paul Schwanz <pschwanz at comcast.net> wrote:

>> It is also most likely the group, 'People who have copious
>> amounts of free time to with which to "purchase" their cumulative
>> characters.'

> Of the two players - one of whom has 'purchased' their character
> with money, one of whom has 'purchased' their character with
> logged time - which player is more valuable to the game (and thus
> your bottom line) in the long run?  Which player has a greater
> perception of investment in their character?  Which player has
> contributed more to in-game social networks?  Which player is more
> likely to be respected by other players?  Which player will remain
> a loyal customer?

I've got a pretty good idea as to who you *think* will be the better
customer, but I've never seen any data to back that up.  Maybe that
would be a good project for Nick Yee.

In the end, even what you imply is nothing more interesting than the
notion that the character purchased with money is a newbie.  So, of
the two players, a newbie and a veteran - which player is more
valuable to the game in the long run?  Which player has a greater
perception of investment in their character?  Which player has
contributed more to in-game social networks?  Which player is more
likely to be respected by other players?  Which player will remain a
loyal customer?

So we should all work together to ensure that MMORPGs don't have any
newbies, right?

> IMO, a player who has 'purchased' their character with logged time
> is more likely to contribute to the long-term health of the game
> in many ways.  OTOH, it is concievable that a player who has
> 'purchased' their character with money is more likely to grief
> play, demoralize players who cannot afford to buy power, and
> otherwise negatively impact the long-term health of the game.

It is equally as conceivable that newbies will be more likely to
grief play and otherwise negatively impact the long-term health of
the game.  Again, you are saying nothing more interesting than that
players who purchase accounts are newbies to the game.

As to demoralizing players who cannot afford to buy power, I think
you are simply making things up out of whole cloth here.  It seems
to me that veteran players who can afford to buy power with time are
just as likely to demoralize players who cannot.  I'd enter your
posting to this list as my first piece of evidence in support of
that statement.

--Paul "Phinehas" Schwanz
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