| Real-money Trading |
Website Links For Trading |
Information AboutReal-money Trading |
|
Real-Money Trading or '''RMT''' is a phenomenon that occurred with the birth of online-gaming, especially in the genre of MMORPG . The case works as follows: #A player levels-up in the world of MMORPG and "loots" rare or valuable items that are hard to obtain. #The player will then sell these items on online auction sites, such as EBay . #Other players will purchase, or in this case bid, the item through transactions (usually online). #The player with the item then hands the rare item to the bidder. This has caused a serious problem within many online games as it deals with real money, and not that of the virtual world. However, this action is technically not illegal (other than possibly breaking the terms and conditions of the contract with the game operator), but primarily goes against the wish of the producers of the game and is shunned by many avid fans. In countries where online gaming is extremely popular, such as South Korea , some players are said to have gone under Prostitution in order to pay for the item they bid. VIRTUAL GANGS It is believed that there are some organized groups playing MMORPG games which participate in RMT. The members of these groups are sometimes called “goldfarmers”, “gilfarmers” among others depending on the game. These groups will generally attempt to Monopolize a resource by maintaining players stationed around the location where the resource Spawns at all times. These groups frequently use various disruptive tactics to maintain a monopoly on a given resource, such as Monster Player Kill or Player Killing . Many players characterize these groups as being from China , believing that they work for Chinese-based Sweatshop s which employ people to play the game solely for the purpose of gaining in-game money and items. This belief is usually based on the articles, such as '' Black Snow Interactive and the World's First Virtual Sweat Shop '' and '' Wage Slaves ''. While the existence of organized sweatshops may be in question, there is little doubt that there are indeed groups of gilfarmers within some MMORPGs. Some companies, such as IGE , purchase and sell in-game money and items for real world money. Many players believe that the source of the items and money they sell come from the previously described RMT groups. IN-GAME EFFECTS Real-money trade is often seen as harmful for reasons beyond the disruptive tactics usually used by farming groups. It increases economic Inflation by creating a stronger incentive to create game money via an Exploit , rather than getting money from the usual methods available to all players. Even in cases where such inflation does not occur, the trade changes the play of the game, as less experienced players can get access to items that normally take some effort to obtain. Some players (reference?) feel that this is unfair, that it "spoils" the game, as when a player of Monopoly offers real money for properties in the game. However, not all players believe that real money trade is bad, some players believe that they should be allowed to purchase items if they do not wish to spend the time within the game working towards the items . It remains controversial whether or not the trade of virtual items for real money is to be considered morally wrong. There are also several reports of accounts being stolen from players. Sometimes these accounts are stripped of money and items which are then sold for in-game currency or for real money. On occasion, these account are sold altogether for real money and never accessed again by the player . HISTORY
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|