[MUD-Dev] Re: Virtual/Real Currencies

[Ola Fosheim Grøstad]

Timothy Dang <tdang at eller.Arizona.EDU> writes:

> I have to say, as an economist, I don't particularly think game
> currency should become real currency. "Ever" is a very long time,
> though. It's quite possible to imagine that in 50 years there will
> be at least one "game" with such a large subscriber base and
> social import than it would be worthwhile having an exchange
> market between its currency and RL currency.

While I understand the concept of a "MUD economy" it would perhaps
be useful to think about all the "game economies" that do interact
with the "real economy".

  - Games that provide artifacts. Sold and traded. (Magic the
  gathering?)

  - Casinos.

  - Arcade and game-like vending-machines.

  - Pro-sports. (you earn money based on your performance and
  reinvest it into training programs).

I am sure there are many more examples.

> On the other hand, as someone who wants to do empirical economic
> research in ORPG's, I think that it would be most valuable to have
> a game *without* any trade or exchange for RL currency (or other
> game currencies for that matter). For most purposes, the more
> closed a game world's economy, the more valuable it can be for
> research.

*nods* But of course, MUD economies are never fully closed unless
the MUD has been neglected by the admins... (A well run MUD is
continuously rebalanced.)

--
Ola - http://folk.uio.no/olag/
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