Real Money Inside in MMORPGs?

Cranial writes "Sony Interactive expressly forbids the selling of Everqest or Everquest II ingame items or characters for money, but why? Imagine Massively Multiplayer Games where you can actually cash out your loot in the real world. What if that jewel in the dragon hoard was actually a digital title for the Hope Diamond or a real ancient artifact? This article on Programmers Heaven proposes a new economic model for MM games allowing free exchange of game money and items in the real world. Essentially it is a hybridization between online gaming (casino) and MM roleplaying games. Fascinating concept."

Knowing my skills ....

[korielgraculus]

Ah ha! I can trade in all my equipment for a used coffee cup!

Yeah...

[Tediak]

Because this is what roleplaying is all about. Loot.

My wife...

[hshana]

...would never let me play this one. Then again, who needs a wife when your living digitally...

Re:project entropia

[drinkypoo]

You can turn a monkey into money without the assistance of a game, just put it in the classifieds, or perhaps you could find an interested zoo.

Real world issues...

[bytesmythe]

I wonder how well an MMPORG would work as a tax shelter? Instead of getting money in the real world, you just get it dumped straight into your "Everquest IV: The IRS Has No Power Here" account. And if people would claim loss of game currency on as an itemized deduction.

Of course, sales taxes would be a pain in the ass. "Sorry, I'm not paying CA sales tax when I'm obviously performing this transaction in Midgaard." And if someone beats your character's sorry ass and takes your money, you'd have a hell of a time convincing the cops to track down one Umbrak the Barbarian, 8.7 feet tall, green skin, no hair, weight about 430 pounds, wielding a large spiked club and resistant to cold spells.

This just doesn't sound like a good idea.

I'll sell my excellent karma

[duckpoopy]

for $2. Any takers?

Profiteer!

[The Old Burke]

You are one of those people that profits on others peoples problems. Using the market pressure in forcing them to buy profiles on Ebay.

It's nothing noble in making a profit on something that you did not create.

You are one of the same types of people that in a emergency situation would try to profit on the chaos by inflating the prices on goods hard working people need to survive.

This is getting interesting

[mnmn]

I can see it now. 25 years into the future. The country is one big communist state. Everyone is poor and machines do all the work. But the state provides high speed internet connections and free Linux-based game machines. People spend 14 hours a day in a huge virtual world. The game is called Matrix. People dont care. Children are weaned on it. People meet each other on it. They practise their religion in the system. They form armies behind their ideologies and fight wars with various virtual technologies. Noone cares what happens outside. ...or do they!

Re: project entropia

[Black Parrot]

> you can put money in the system to get game money, or take game money out of the system as real money. Its been around for a while.

Yep, it's a very old idea, commonly known as "the stock market".

Re:well, at that point it

[gilroy]

Blockquoth the poster:

How valauble is something that can be created infinite times?

Exactly the question that has the RIAA and MPAA laying awake at nights....

Re: Poor Evercrack players

[Black Parrot]

> Not only are they going to be addicted to a new game, they'll bankrupt them too.

It must be a pathetic lifestyle, being so addicted to a game that it cuts into your Slashdot time.

Now I'm off to do something constructive - after I check to see whether any of today's stories have any new posts.

Re:there's good reason not to allow it

[Anonymous Coward]

As I play a RPG wombat, I wholeheartedly agree.

Commie

[Anonymous Coward]

The FUN of these games is that ANYONE regardless of status in the REAL world can become someone great

The FUN of living life in the REAL WORLD (well, America, at least) is that ANYONE regardless of status at birth can become someone great.

I can just see it now

[Anonymous Coward]

Yipes, Just imagining Judge Wapner trying to get to the bottom of this virtual world thingee.

Wapner: Now you bought what, from whom?

Plantiff: The ad clearly said a +3 shoe for $100 dollars

Wapner: So defendant, what happened. Did you not deliver the shoe?

Defendant: Yes, your honor I did deliver said shoe.

Wapner: So Plantiff, what is your beef?

Plantiff: Well what he sent me was a size three shoe stuffed inside a game box!

last time I tried one of these

[ocie]

it was a text-only mud my freshman year of college: ..
you are in room with a dirt floor. you see:
life

> get life
Connection closed by foreign host.
%

You forgot to mention the REAL reason...

[Gzip Christ]

You can't charge for game items because SCO has patented the business model of charging for fictional things.

Read the Daily Victim lately?

[roystgnr]

You'll want to check out their thoughts on tax shelters in MMORPGs [gamespy.com] and the risks involved. [gamespy.com]

Re:Wasn't real money per se..

[switcha]

Imagine, if you will, what would happen to slashdot if karma points could be traded for cash on ebay?

Somewhere in the ramifications of that, is the delicious idea of a "Troll Tax".

Horrible Idea

[Phemur]

If virtual items could be used to make real money, then the control of the economy would be put into the hand of game developers. Essentially, game developers would now have a license to produce money.

Although, it would be funny to hear Alan Greenspan talk about the effects of nerfing the Druid farm class on the US GDP.

Phemur

A TOTALLY reasonable argument, except for

[mackstann]

Turn off the computer and go outside for a while.

You're a MADMAN!

Re:Wasn't real money per se..

[elmegil]

no no no.

A "troll toll".