In China and Vietnam, these creative businessmen created companies which employed real-life laborers in ever growing numbers to sit at computers and mine for digital gold in popular multiplayer online games like ‘World of Warcraft.’
The companies then sell the gold they’ve mined to Western players in transaction done over paypal.
Once a player has paid the real money, he then gets to take the gold from a character in the game.
Many serious gamers would rather pay to get the gold than spend long hours trying to accumulate enough digital currency to pay for it, very much like getting a reward after vanquishing an endless parade of foes.
But the game’s designer, the Blizzard Corporation, said this business of farming for digital gold could ruin all the fun and drive players away.
For their 2012 blockbuster release, Blizzard would launch a new strategy.
They've created a venue in the game that would sell weapons and gear for real money, expanding the market for gold farmers in the developing world, but at the same time, they’re going to get a ‘normal’ commission from the sale of the new items.
No comments:
Post a Comment