IBM Tries Middleware For MMO Economies

Posted by simoniker on Monday February 23, 2004 @12:07AM from the virtual-world-domination dept.

Thanks to Wired News for its article discussing IBM's new Business Integration for Games (BIG) middleware for online gaming, technology which "lets game publishers install billing software to keep track of transactions in their online worlds", and IBM claim might "make it easier for the publishers to charge players to gain access to new content or new areas to explore -- something that currently has to be done with expansion packs and incremental product releases." According to the IBM project manager, the BIG project could "allow users to unlock new weapons or powers by paying for them within the context of the game", and it's also suggested that the tech, though just a sophisticated in-game billing system, might mean "hard-core fans could develop their own content, insert it into the game and make money from other fans."

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what I see from this by Anonymous Coward · 2004-02-23 01:28 · Score: 5, Funny

BigBadMonster is DEAD!

You gain 150000000 experience points.

$15 has been billed to your account.
A pyramid scheme? by MMaestro · 2004-02-23 01:50 · Score: 5, Interesting

"hard-core fans could develop their own content, insert it into the game and make money from other fans."
So hardcore fans makes and sell content to non-hardcore fans, while the developing team makes and sells more content to the hardcore fans, while the producers makes and sells bandwidth and servers to the developing team?
Unless they charge a low price for this type of game, it won't have mass appeal. (Pay a front-end fee, a subscription fee, AND a fee for extra content? Uh, not exactly budget minded.)