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Why do people buy virtual goods in MMOs?

James Egan — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Player Housing, Academic, Virtual worlds

Massively multiplayer online gamers spend hours -- so many hours -- working towards obtaining virtual gear. Epic armor sets, mounts, player housing, faction ships... the list goes on, and will continue to go on. Our collective fascination with these intangibles ensures our desire for them -- and for those things beyond a player's reach solely within the virtual realm, real world cash makes all things possible.

This is the research focus of Ph.D. student Vili Lehdonvirta of the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, who breaks down our buyer's impulse according to three criteria:

Functional attributes, such as speed, hitpoints, teleportation.

Hedonic attributes, or how the virtual gear looks or sounds, its provenance or its connection to the background fiction of the setting, and of course customizability.

Social attributes, particularly the prestige accorded with ownership of a rare item.

Have a look at his "Virtual item sales as a revenue model: identifying attributes that drive purchase decisions" for a thorough analysis of why many of us are so inclined to obtain something that's ultimately ephemeral, which goes beyond the simpler "useful vs. decorative" angle.

Why do people buy virtual goods in MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Exclusive WAR in-game item to be released with C&C: Red Alert 3

James Egan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Warhammer Online, News items

So you're one of the lucky few -- well one of 60,000 anyway -- who got your hands on the Warhammer Online Collector's Edition, and without any of the order snags people have been reporting. Well congratulations! You've got the Greenskin miniature, the graphic novel, the art book, the virtual items and the exclusive quests. So now you can sit back and relax, secure in the knowledge that you have the most badass collection of Warhammer Online gear ever assembled, both in-game and out.... right?

Actually, wrong. For the Warhammer Online player who simply must have everything, there's one more step to go as it turns out. There's another exclusive in-game item called "Korssar's Helm" that allows you to transform into a bear. The catch? You need to order, or pre-order, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 to get the WAR item...

Continue reading Exclusive WAR in-game item to be released with C&C: Red Alert 3

Exclusive WAR in-game item to be released with C&C: Red Alert 3 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMObile: extensions of our social and gaming networks

James Egan — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Opinion, Mobile, Virtual worlds

How many times have you wanted to check on your game stats, switch skill training, or buy something at an auction house while you were nowhere near your computer? We have a host of mobile devices and services available to us with speed increases every year, but still connections to our online social networks are quite limited when we're not in front of our computers.

Shouldn't more companies focus on allowing our mobile devices to act as extensions of our computers and consoles? That's what Tom Sperry, CEO and President of Exit Games Inc. thinks. He lays out his vision for how things can improve, in this scenario:

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MMObile: extensions of our social and gaming networks originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 Jun 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lessons learned in virtual worlds

James Egan — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Virtual worlds

Nic Mitham from K Zero is going to offer up the key things he's learned about virtual worlds in the last 18 months. But who is Nic Mitham, you wonder, and what is K Zero? Mitham describes himself as a "one time corporate strategist, ad man and analyst. Now spreading the metaverse word." K Zero describes itself as a virtual worlds consultancy, 'specialists in connecting real world brands and companies with the residents and environments of virtual worlds.'

Mitham's most recent blog post, '50 lessons I've learned in virtual worlds' is an introduction to his upcoming series of reflections on the unpredictable nature of the metaverse. The series of posts will be a look back at what Mitham's seen in the 18 months he's been immersed in the virtual. It's chiefly aimed at those interested in doing business in virtual worlds. Mitham writes,"The point to getting my 50 lessons 'out there' is to attempt to ensure mistakes made by companies along the way are not repeated by others and also to hopefully assist new companies in this space get traction as quickly as possible, because that's in the interest of everyone."

That's not to say that only biz types will get something from his blog; the series of insights is likely to have some significance to the people who populate the virtual worlds already in existence, and those who will flock to the birth of new worlds in the future.

Lessons learned in virtual worlds originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MapleStory reaps over $29 million in U.S. virtual item sales

James Egan — Sat, 31 May 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: MapleStory, Business models, Economy, MMO industry, News items

2007 proved to be a good year for Nexon in the United States, particularly with its free-to-play MapleStory. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that the although the game has 85 million users worldwide, only 5.9 million of them are U.S. players. Given the relatively small percentage of its player base located in the United States, it's surprising that MapleStory made an absolute killing on in-world transactions in 2007; the WSJ reports that 'Nexon's U.S. revenue last year more than tripled to $29.3 million from $8.5 million the prior year.'

Jeremy Liew provides some additional commentary on the Nexon windfall over at Lightspeed: "With $30m in US sales and 6m US registered users, assuming a 20% "active player" rate and 10% "buyer rate", that implies an ARPU of $20/mth which sounds about right and is consistent with number we've seen from games in Asia. It sounds like the US will be following very similar models of virtual goods monetization that we've seen in Asia." It's interesting that the predominantly Asian business model of legitimized RMT is already gaining some degree of acceptance in the United States, albeit a slow acceptance.

Via PlayNoEvil

MapleStory reaps over $29 million in U.S. virtual item sales originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 May 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Virtual items trader receives Red Herring award

James Egan — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Economy, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items

Red Herring has named Live Gamer, a virtual items trading company, as one of the top 100 privately held companies in North America in 2008. The annual Red Herring 100 North America Awards are given to companies identified as the most promising tech startups.

Love it or hate it, RMT is not going away. The virtual trading economy, which includes avatars, items and in-game currencies, is estimated to be a market worth more than USD 1.8 billion. Much of this trading takes place on the black market, exposing buyers and sellers alike to potential fraud. Live Gamer aims to remove the sketchiness from virtual item trades, enabling secure player-to-player trading while taking business away from some of the banes of the MMO world: virtual item thieves.

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Virtual items trader receives Red Herring award originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 May 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Game developer sued for virtual losses

James Egan — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Legal

Shanda, operator and developer of several popular online games in China, is being sued by a gamer for RMB 100,000 (USD 14,300) in losses resulting from technical issues in Legend of Mir 2. The plaintiff, named Wen, claims to have spent roughly RMB 200,000 (USD 28,600) on virtual items in the game. Wen filed the lawsuit in Shanghai, following the disappearance of more than 30 of those virtual items over the course of a year.

Shanda is no stranger to controversy, or to the legal system of China. An assistant manager at Shanda received a five-year prison sentence in 2007, following the discovery that he and two conspirators established an illegal trade in virtual items in 2004 and 2005. The trio netted a cool RMB 2 million (USD 286,000) in just 14 months. Although the lawsuit presents little in the way of financial distress to Shanda and there is no way of knowing if the company was negligent at all in respect to Wen's grievance, this is yet another incident of negative publicity related to Legend of Mir 2.

Game developer sued for virtual losses originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 May 2008 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Plans underway to mirror 2010 Youth Olympics in virtual Singapore

Adrian Bott — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Academic, Virtual worlds

You've never been to Singapore? Just point and click.

Singapore's Media Development Authority have announced plans for a 3D interactive online version of their city, dubbed Co-Space. There's no shortage of interest from potential developers; fifty firms have come forward in answer to the MDA's call for proposals. Although the amount set aside to fund the project hasn't been made public, interactive and digital media are considered 'strategic' to Singapore, with a overall backing of $500 million.

Continue reading Plans underway to mirror 2010 Youth Olympics in virtual Singapore

Plans underway to mirror 2010 Youth Olympics in virtual Singapore originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 May 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Virtual Worlds Help In Addiction Therapy

Adrian Bott — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Academic, Virtual worlds

Virtual worlds are all too often spoken of as something you're in danger of becoming addicted to. We've all heard the stories of inertia, bloat, pallor and unemptied cat trays. But Professor Patrick Bordnick, associate of the University of Houston, is using VR to help treat addictions in the course of therapy.

As Professor Bordnick points out, imagination alone isn't a particularly powerful tool to recreate the situations in which a recovering addict learns to say 'no': 'As a therapist, I can tell you to pretend my office is a bar, and I can ask you to close your eyes and imagine the environment, but you'll know that it's not real'.

Rather than ask the patient to visualise a bar stocked with alcohol or a party where cigarettes are on offer, Bordnick uses a VR helmet along with other components such as olfactory stimulation and actor participation to create a highly plausible and immersive environment. Although the patient consciously knows he is taking part in a VR simulation, the immersion has proven sufficient to build intense cravings, just as if the focus of the addiction had really been present.

By supplying an enviroment that is realistic enough to stimulate cravings but remains controlled and safe, Bordnick can gradually train patients in the use of coping skills. As those skills will have been developed in the face of a close analogue of the real thing, the patient is much better equipped to contend with the challenge of the real-world situation.

Virtual Worlds Help In Addiction Therapy originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 May 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ron Paul march in Azeroth

Mike Schramm — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Culture, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Raiding, News items, Virtual worlds

Here's video via Gamepolitics.com of the march that took place last night in Azeroth (a.k.a. the World of Warcraft) to support Ron Paul, a Republican candidate for the president of the United States. We originally reported on this topic over at WoW Insider (which, if I may say so, was one of the reasons so many people showed up), and we'll have more coverage of the march last night there soon.

But while Gamepolitics gives a good man-on-the-scene writeup, they also avoid the real question here: does real-world politics belong in a world like Azeroth at all? No one questions it when politicians show up in Second Life-- in fact, the few Second Lifers I know take it as a badge of honor that their world is important enough to host those folks. And certainly there are places where politics don't belong-- on WoW's roleplaying servers, discussion of the real-world is a no-no.

But let's not forget that we players aren't just avatars in a game- we're real people with opinions of our own to express, whether they be political or otherwise. Whether they should have or not (and many players on Whisperwind, where the rally took place, where extremely unhappy with the queues and congestion on their server last night), they expressed those opinons last night.

Update: Looks like Paul also wins the presidential naming race.

Ron Paul march in Azeroth originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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