It’s becoming increasingly clear that attempts to completely ban Real Money trading in online games are fighting a losing battle. When games allow players to trade items within their virtual worlds, the emergence of a real money market is almost unavoidable. Game companies might succeed in shutting down high-profile traders who operate with obvious methods – like mass transactions from single accounts or in-game spamming. However, the decentralized nature of open marketplaces, where any player can become a seller or buyer (think eBay or dedicated MMORPG trading sites), makes comprehensive control nearly impossible. Resources spent on sting operations and chasing down a small fraction of offenders could be more effectively invested in enhancing the game itself. Perhaps even more complex solutions are being considered, but the fundamental issue remains.
Why Fighting Real Money Trading Hurts Game Economies
If a game’s economy isn’t designed to withstand external market pressures and players find ways to bypass restrictions, the in-game economy will inevitably suffer. This creates a dilemma for game developers. Continuing to fight against real money transactions can be a drain on resources and ultimately ineffective. So, what are the alternative approaches?
Embracing or Eliminating In-Game Trading: Two Paths Forward
One radical solution is to eliminate in-game trading altogether. This prevents any external market from forming, as there’s no player-to-player item exchange within the game world. Conversely, another approach is to fully embrace real money trading. Game companies could even facilitate this themselves, creating an official marketplace. By selling virtual items or in-game currency directly, they could potentially generate significant revenue – perhaps enough to sustain a free-to-play model. Furthermore, by monitoring and underselling third-party markets, they could regain control and profit from transactions that are already happening.
Game Design Evolving Beyond Traditional In-Game Currency
We already see trends in game design moving in these directions. Modern games like PlanetSide 2, Hawken, and Warframe have moved away from traditional in-game currencies. Instead, they utilize experience points (XP) and premium currencies. XP can be earned through gameplay or purchased with real money to accelerate progression. While these examples are primarily in the shooter genre, the core principle is applicable elsewhere. Transitioning RPG players away from gold (GP) might require a more nuanced approach, given the genre’s emphasis on immersive fantasy worlds. Making buying and selling completely impossible could feel artificial within that context.
Rethinking In-Game Economies for the Real Money Era
Perhaps gold could still exist in RPGs, but its utility could be limited to purchasing basic, non-magical items. A separate “enchantment point” system could be introduced, allowing players to imbue standard items with magical properties. This would effectively diminish the importance of GP, provided players had sufficient enchantment points. Another model, similar to soulbound items in World of Warcraft, restricts the tradability of valuable items, limiting the potential for real money transactions around them.
Alternatively, more nuanced in-game social mechanics could be explored. Imagine a system where large in-game currency transfers between players are restricted initially, based on character relationships. The game could track player interactions – time spent together, activities undertaken – to build a relationship metric. Larger trades would only become possible as characters develop stronger in-game bonds. While this adds complexity and might not entirely eliminate botting or sophisticated trading networks (requiring proxy accounts, for example), it introduces a layer of social depth and discourages purely transactional player interactions. However, each of these attempts to control real money trading requires resources and can lead to complex rules that might detract from the core gameplay experience.
Conclusion: Adapting to the Reality of Real Money in Gaming
Ultimately, the challenge for MMORPGs and online games isn’t to eradicate real money trading – a likely futile endeavor – but to adapt to its existence. Whether through embracing it directly with official marketplaces or designing game economies that minimize its disruptive impact, acknowledging this reality is crucial for the long-term health and player experience of online games.
