[MUD-Dev] BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash?

[ren at aldermangroup.com]

On 04 June 2004 ghovs wrote:

> People who directly oppose the use of real life money for
> advancement within the game will oppose it regardless of if you're
> selling it as a game owner or as a game player.

That depends on why the person objects. If the objection rests on
the principle that in game advancement should be based on in-game
activity (which might in turn be because of a number of reasons:
maintaining the magic circle / the game fiction, work ethic etc.)
then sure they will reject any out- of-game method of advancing.

But if the rational is on more pragmatic grounds then it might not
be the case.

One argument already raised is that of liability. It seems to be
that there is a difference between the developer selling items to
players and the developer explicitly allowing players to sell items
to each other - using out of game money that is.

In the case that the developer is `selling' items to players
then this would seem to be a simple extension of the licence they
are granting to players, just as players get some limited right to
use one or more avatars they are just getting the same right to use
one or more swords / light sabres.

Whereas if a game explicitly supports (and possibly implicitly
supports i.e. not explicitly banning in EULA) the exchange of items
between players for out-of-game money, then the spectre of liability
for the value of all in-game items (yes despite the EULA) is raised.

Moreover I would imagine (just guessing here) that there would be a
quite different Customer Service implication in the two cases --
sales from Dev to Player must be waaay easier to track than
player-to-player sales, and we well know that the opportunities for
mischief, griefing and (when you add the financial component) down
right fraud in the latter case are legion.

Ren
www.renreynolds.com
terranova.blogs.com
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