I was rather fascinated to stumble across a BBC news article last week, documenting a report by Manchester University into virtual “gold-farming.” According to their research, a whopping 400,000 people earn on average £77 per month generating and selling in-game currencies. 80% are based in China.
I must admit, my first thought was complete mystification. Surely games are purchased to be played, no? And yet here is a scenario – well, 400,000 of them to be exact – of consumers spending their cash on a title, and then spending MORE cash to get someone ELSE to play the game for them.
No Spandau Ballet lyrics, please…
But then as I began to ponder, it occurred to me that it is not really any different than, say, dog walking. You buy a dog. You then pay someone to walk that dog whilst you’re out at work or otherwise occupied. You get home, and voila! You are received by a chilled out, contented canine. No being dragged through a park whilst it’s bucketing down with rain. No scooping up after Princess FiFi. Except, in this case, walking is smashing a gazillion trolls over the head with a sledgehammer. And Princess FiFi is a level 81 Paladin with 30,000 gold.
It must also be said that gold-farming is usually a violation of a game’s terms and agreements. Players caught doing it can be banned and have their account shut down. So then why do so many people do it?
It’s the classic phrase of time equals money. But by splashing our cash to have people acquire us high-powered avatars and the latest virtual gear, are we exploiting them? Or are they exploiting us? Has the online virtual world gone mad? Or perhaps just a little closer to our own reality?
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