MMORPG Item-Accumulating 'Sweatshops' On Rise?

Thanks to Play Money for its post discussing the rise of the big-business MMORPG trading entrepreneur, with particular reference to Internet Gaming Entertainment, of which weblog author Julian Dibbell says: "In addition to the half dozen executive types working out of IGE's Boca Raton headquarters, the company employs another 65 Chinese citizens at its Hong Kong base of operations, the majority engaged in 24/7 delivery of virtual goods." He continues: "Imagine, furthermore, my wonder at learning that some of IGE's chief suppliers are mainland Chinese subcontractors running EverQuest-playing sweatshops in the hinterlands (at a level of production perhaps only hinted at in the famous but abortive Black Snow sweatshop in Tijuana)."

Comments

Realization..

[Hott of the World]

Ok, the real world and MMORPGS are mixing way too much for my tastes.

Soon, there will be as many people working in the game as there are playing it.

Oh well.. The Gaming Companies should realize this potential, and just start selling items, gold, and characters for money..

But then again, all those accounts.. the monthly fee's alone keep the businesses happy.

Re:Realization..

[*weasel]

That idea has been proven false in practice. Simutronics (numerous times) and Sony (less directly with their platinum EQ servers) have done this effectively, along with others (mostly for-pay MUDs).

What customers want, is consistancy. Companies that create a seperate server with purchase-able items and content have not received any such backlash. Indeed the only malcontent from players over the practice at large, is the mixing of people who 'bought' their character/gear and the people who 'earned' it.

Massmog companies need to realize that this 'black' market for items only exists because the demand is great. If they simply legitimized the tactic on specific servers (more likely provide isolated servers for the minority of 'purists'), the black market would die, and their own revenues would increase.

granted, administrating such a market is difficult, as each Mace of Thwacking Sony sells in EQ would decrease its own value. but the black market shops have figured that out, as have the makers of Magic The Gathering Online.

When the rules force a pent-up demand to be filled only by illegal means, then it will invariably wind up supporting other illegal activities. First Prohibition, then the War on Drugs, and now (to a lesser extent) 'illegal' massmog character/item sales.

Re:Realization..

[*weasel]

Hey, I'm with you. It makes me sick in my heart just to -know- that games let people -pay- for hand-tailored characters, quests and loot.

naturally, some of this comes from the massive time investment these games demand, versus the immediate gratification our society craves. to some people, if they have the money to spend, why not? if it's going to 'save' them 3 months.

but outside all that, some people just really seem to enjoy playing through games with cheats, and more powerful characters than you're 'supposed' to have. Even in single player games.

But it is a reality. And as reality often is, it's a dirty one. People are -going- to pay for this sort of service in any sufficiently popular game. The responsible solution is to legitimize the practice, section it off from people who don't want to participate, and then make an honest attempt to crack down on the underground markets on 'pure' servers.

personally i think simply making it easy to do, and making it so a purchaser can transfer his character if he decides to buy something (so they don't have to start over) -- then people will tend toward the legit route. Which is better for all involved. Purchasers don't get ripped off, purists don't get cheesed off, and proprieters make more money.

Virtual Economies.

[Jeffool]

The combination of time and resources that goes into developing virtual goods to produce an assumed 'worth' is comparable, at least on a base level, to the developing of real world goods. So if players spend 60 hours a week trying to achieve goals, attain resources, etc, do they have nothing for their time(or 'work'?)

I've got no problem with a game saying that people can/cannot sell virtual content. So long as they are completely upfront with the player before they have to buy the game, I think each developer has the right to decide if they want to allow this or not.

Those that do not simply adhere to the current system, with perhaps some better ways to insure that people don't sell characters (the larger issue, as I see it.) Ways such as refusing to transfer a character until after a certain time after it's creation, or refusing to transfer to a person with a different name or address.

Others should allow an in-game way of selling items for real world money, only with a small 'tax' for things over a certain amount. Say, for anything over $20, the seller is docked 10% (or some amount, whatever) as a tax for living in the 'land'. Wouldn't it be great to see a note on the bank wall reading "The kingdom is doing wonderful! Everyone will be expected to pay $5 less of their monthly contributions for the month of January! -signed, the King"? It's not an insane idea given the business model. Developers could reduce the users' monthly fees if things went well. This would be especially helpful to early adopters, as that's when you'd probably see the largest influx of people, fawning of the cool new scheme. As long as they don't "over" charge when the economy sucks.....

Jeffool
Just some guy.

What's the Bottom Line?

[Slider451]

It's one thing to invest your time doing something you enjoy and get something back. Arts and crafts shows thrive on this idea. But to farm items in a game strictly for monetary gain seems like a waste. I haven't seen any quantifiable data on this. What is the actual return on time investment?

Consider the days it takes to get a character to a decent level with decent enough equipment and keys to access the choice areas, and the camping time for the rare spawns. How could that possibly earn one a decent wage? I suppose it's better than working in an actual sweat shop if that's your only alternative. But I'd think people savvy enough to max EQ could find respectable employment elsewhere.

Re:MMOG's, value and item trade

[SuiteSisterMary]

Well, there's two ways to go about this.

One, of course, would be to remove the concept of 'spawning.' Monsters would reproduce, there's be villages in the hinterland training warriors, producing crude weapons for them, and so on. Wipe out that goblin village, and you won't see many goblins around for a while.

The easier, and perhaps as good, would be to introduce multiple currencies. If all the goblins in the came carry GoblinBucks, but the merchants in town only take EverCard (accepted by more Merchants around the world) then you need to convert the currencies. If lots of newbies have been out whacking Goblins, well, GoblinBucks ain't worth so much all of the sudden.