Virtual World Currency Exchange Launches

Thanks to Terra Nova for the news that a MMO currency exchange website now allows cross-trading of virtual world currency, meaning you can trade your Ultima Online gold directly for simoleans from The Sims Online. Terra Nova notes that the site, the Gaming Open Market, "plans to cover [currency for] Ultima, Sims Online, There, EverQuest, Camelot, Star Wars Galaxies... and of course the US dollar." The FAQ page on GOM's site explains that "...in-game commodity transactions are handled by meeting a GOM representative (called an "associate") in your game", and explains the service's alleged advantages: "the GOM Currency Exchange (GCX) gives you the speed of a real-life discount stock brokerage, and provides the security of an escrow service, while bringing together buyers and sellers of common goods."

Comments

As a former MMORPG player

[Kethinov]

As a former MMORPG player, I always found the concept of real life value to in game objects to be disgusting. I only played (Ultima Online) for the PVP and that's all I enjoyed about it. A few expansions ago I got fed up with the growing emphasis on player wealth. It got to the point where only the wealthy players could PVP successfully.

So I stopped playing. But like all good opportunists, I took advantage of what disgusts me the most: the value of my in-game possessions. I sold my in-game house on Ebay for $300 and all my in-game gold for a similar figure and reclaimed most of what I'd pumped into the game over the years. I could have sold my account for an equally large sum because it had a veteran status, but I'm only willing to sacrafice so much of my dignity. I don't think I could live with myself if someone was running around in-game with my name. :)

After I stopped playing it really started to dawn on my how much of a shady business MMORPGs really are. They're not about keeping you entertained, they're about keeping your subscription. Although, to be honest, the early years of UO were a lot of fun. I'm just glad I had the good sence to bail out when I realized it was more frustrating than fun.

So what stops me from...?

[MarvinMouse]

Setting up some bullshit bot to make as much money as possible in one game, and then just trading it for US dollars?

Like, if there are no prevention on that, then that's what I am going to do, but some stupid Sims Online bot that just makes sure my character stays alive and leave the program running in the background. If I can earn more money than I pay in subscription fees in a month, it's basically free income.

Obviously there has to be some serious restrictions.

The Ultimate SOE Revenge

[Mike Hawk]

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Almighty Dollar.

So you say you are setting up a service to profit from our game without us getting a cut? Well we could try to EULA you out of existence, but we have a better idea. One day, after you are nice and operational and have plenty of liquid currency deposited we plan to do one of two things:
1) Change currency to something else entirely making all currency held obsolete and worthless, or
2) Multiply all in-game prices and creature drops by a factor of 1000000. A rat that used to drop 1 copper now drops 1000000 copper. A sword that used to cost 5 copper now costs 5000000 copper.

Whats that? But you already paid out significant amounts of real US Dollars for the currency you have in stock? A noobie can walk outside of town and trip over that much in-game money? You just lost a ton of operating capital and your investers and customers don't trust you anymore? Dang, sucks to be you.

GG

PS These comments, nor Mike Hawk, represent SOE, EA, Lucasarts, George W. Bush, Principal Skinner, or any entity public, private, or imaginary, this is just what I would do because I can be a vengeful arse.

Re:The Ultimate SOE Revenge

[Carnildo]

That'll just screw over the existing players. The GCX won't care -- they're not the ones buying and selling currencies, they're just providing brokerage and escrow services. All they'll need to do is multiply the size of their basic currency block by a million, and they're back in business.

Re:The Ultimate SOE Revenge

[Mike Hawk]

Except they would have to put up most of the up-front cash to get this thing going. They buy the online currency high to get moving, but then the online currency gets devalued. Get it?

Re:The Ultimate SOE Revenge

[PainKilleR-CE]

The only up-front cash they're actually putting up is for the accounts for the 'associates' that handle the transactions in the game, and from the looks of it they may not be paying those costs, either (though I can't be sure).

Otherwise, the only thing devaluation of currency does is effect that particular's game's currency's value on the market. They simply find one person that wants to sell say UO money and wants Sims money, another person that is selling money for another game and wants UO money, and someone that's selling Sims money and wants money for that other game, and arranging the transactions for a small percentage. The simplest example is when someone is selling UO money for cash, and someone else is buying UO money for cash, they simply handle the transaction (again, for a small percentage).

Essentially, the only money they should be keeping around is their cut, because they find a buyer for the money someone is selling before they take it off the seller's hands.

It's not much different from Ebay, except that it's specifically for handling game items, which have specific problems associated with them (like delivery), and they're adding some assurance much like PayPal is supposed to add, that you'll actually get the money in the currency you're looking for. Whether or not you will depends on whether or not someone's selling, and how much money you get depends on the value of that currency.

In the long term, the only way that devaluing currencies can hurt them is if they're stock-piling their cut and playing the market to turn their cut to cash at the best time rather than doing it whenever possible. At that point, they're playing a market just like people do with stocks or real currency markets, and it's their loss if they hold onto significant amounts of in-game currency (and someone finds a way to devalue that currency).