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The Economics Of Gender In Everquest
Obscure Economist writes "The Social Science Research Network has just posted a new paper of mine that follows up on some issues from a previous paper I wrote about MMORPG Everquest's economy. The new paper asks: If two equivalent avatars were being offered for sale, and the only difference was that one was male and the other female, which one would have the higher price? As it turns out, female avatars sell for about 10 percent less than male avatars, holding all other characteristics equal. Most gamers are men, so this seems to suggest that men do not like being treated like women. Of course, just why that is, and what it might mean in a broader context, is open to debate."
I always though that all you have to do to get a girl is to buy her a beer (or two)... ;)
But then again, you don't have to give anything to a man to get him. Well, Everquest seems to have strange economic and social rules.
SCNR
My cats ate my karma. They also wrote this comment.
Could it be that most men prefer to role play male characters, therefore creating a higher demand, therefore resulting in a higher price ?
Hell no! There are huge, huge ramifications on a broad socio-economic scale that will justify at least 2 dozen more essays written by a social science student with a closet EQ addiction.. which will all unfortunately be posted on slashdot.
mike
female chars get given all kinds of stuff, so it is easier to get them to the same level, they should be cheaper! and wow, they are, what a surprise.
... quite a fair few blokes in online games like EQ UO et al play female characters. Female characters get treated better and tend to get away with a lot more. You will find it a lot easier to get help from somebody if you have a female avatar than if you had a male one.
:P
Some people (including ones I know) use this to exploit other gamers. But, talking about sold accounts is a little different. If you are buying a well developed character you wouldn't likely need to exploit the female avatar to further your character developement or loot whoring.
If I used female character I would have to play a lesbian role
Given what most male EQ players look like, do you really want to look like a woman? When it comes to relations with the opposite sex, most of them resemble a certain Muppet (WO-MAN! WO-MAN!).
With that being said, though, I fail to see how this relates to real life any. EQ players aren't exactly a statistical cross-section of society (or even gamer society).
"Most gamers are men, so this seems to suggest that men do not like being treated like women."
Maybe it simply suggests that most men who play everquest *prefer* to play a male character simply because they're male.
Brian
I am a straight guy with a girlfriend and a life and I like to play girl characters.
Why?
I mainly play games that involve blowing things up, and I think girls with guns are sexy. Same with girls who drive fast cars, girls who can swordfight (q.v. Emma Peel, Uma Thurman in 'Kill Bill', Charlie's Angels, yada yada yada.) And I know a lot of other guys who think the same.
Also, look at how popular Tomb Raider was. So it doesn't make a lot of sense that sword-chicks on Everquest would sell for less. Maybe the magic and fantasy geeks have a stronger desire to be CONAN THE BIG UGLY MUSCULAR BARBARIAN than those of us who already look that way.
But I suppose what it all comes down to is that I wish I'd been able to spend my college years 'researching' this kind of paper.
Or maybe I just like looking at girls' butts, offscreen or on...
Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage
Could it be that most men prefer to role play male characters, therefore creating a higher demand, therefore resulting in a higher price ?
You have just displayed logic, and forethought in a slashdot post. Please cease all communication until this has been corrected.
HUGE ramifications on a socio-economic scale.
http://use.perl.org
Granted, the playerbase of EQ isn't as varied as, say, the viewerbase of movies in America or something. However, as far as games go, EQ has a surprisingly varied userbase for a computer game.
Like most computer games, the playerbase is heavily skewed towards the young male student demographic, but also incorporates a more varied cross-section of gamers than most computer games (especially single-player ones). I guarantee you'll find more variety in the player base of EQ than in Counter-Strike or UT2K3. (not bashing those games; they're well-made and enjoyable)
There's also an interesting essay about men and women on the site I've linked to.
As for your Muppet comparison, I'd wager that it's really just the vocal and annoying minority that stand out to give such a bad impression, much like how that one customer who just rips you a new one will ruin your day and stand out more in your mind than the 20 pleasant customers you dealt with.
Then again, I suppose it's just more sensational to rip on EQ gamers with your Animal-like chant of "LO-SER! LO-SER!". You'd fit in at the New York Times, sir.
Legal disclaimer: I play EQ, am a single male in a healthy relationship, earn a decent living, and tend to be online less than most people sit in front of their football or NASCAR (only a handful of hours each week).
Mmmmm.... Pigeons. Sometimes, they come with notes attached...it's like...a fortune cookie with wings.
..maybe it's just that men would rather play their own gender than engage in irreversible cross-dressing... Ya think?
"How much for the little girl? The women, how much for the women?"
"What?!"
"Your women, I want to buy your women! The little girl, your daughters! Sell them to me, sell me your children!"
"Maitre D! Maitre D!"
I've finally had it: until slashdot gets article moderation, I am not coming back.
I am am male and play a female character in one of the online games and it has been an eye opener. I won't every do it again, and if my character could get a sex-change I would do it in an instant. You may occasionally get treated better, but you also get followed around a lot, harassed, and the comments made are not ones to which you would want your daughter or wife exposed. I know at least one real life woman who will only play male characters because of this....
For those of you interested in some pretty good surveys and studies that follow this, you may want to look here.
There is no human entity, just human Cubics - as in 4 different people in a 4 corner stage metamorphic rotation - never more than 1 corner at same time. -www.timecube.com I have demonstrated absolute unrefutable proof of 4 simultaneous 24 hour days with in a single rotation of Earth. No other man or god can claim such Truth manifestation. The academic brainwashed mind is corrupt and can't comprehend Cubic magnificence. -www.timecube.com
"There is no teacher but the enemy."-Mazer Rackham
According to , About 84% of EQ players are male, while 16% are female. So as others have pointed out, this would expain why male characters are more valuable, men want to play as men.
The same study says that nearly 48% of men have a character that is female, but nearly all of them spend most of their time playing as a male.
http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
Our LAN gaming group is about 7-8 people, all guys (most over 30), and about half of the group plays female chars. Admittedly, we have yet to play any massively multiplayer games in the group, but if you go on what happens in DungeonSiege and UT2K3 (our faves), half the group will be playing with chick skins or chick chars.
I played UO for a good long time, and found that while I got more assistance and lenient plunder-sharing privs with my chick char, I got hassled by the dO0Dz (a.k.a. adolescent boys) for "favors" any time I was in town. I could unleash a six-pack of whoop-ass when I had to, but after awhile it seemed more trouble than it was worth. I went back to my male-gendered chars and never went back.
Some of the other posts from guys with female chars ring really true. It's pretty cool to see a chick (maybe your chick) kick ass in a game. It's unexpected, or perhaps less expected than the conquest of a buff male char named "GorkonTheDestroyer". I get the sense that this kind of expectation will become less significant as we get more strong women roles in film and game entertainment products, but it's definetly there.
I plan on signing up for StarWarsGalaxies at the end of the month (assuming timely release), and I will probably start a female char. I wonder how it will go, and what the dO0Dz of the future will think of it.
.. pa-ra-bo-la, pa-ra-bo-la, 2 pi R, 2 pi R, where's your latus rectum, where's your latus rectum, 2 pi R
I play a female character in Everquest and I have noticed no difference in the way I am treated and have never been sent suggestive messages. But then again, I don't role-play, so I don't necessarily act like a female, or flirt with other players, so maybe that makes a difference.
-- C.
And is typical of why some people get rich.
There's NO DIFFERENCE in performance yet the female avatar is 10 % off.
Which one does the intellegent sentient buy?
It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
... all you would need to do is make it so avatars could be *completely* undressed, and then put true reflective mirrors in EQ ... now your lvl10 poledancing character suddenly sells for 50x the cost of the highest male char ...