In the beginning of Play Money, Julian Dibbell is killing lizardmen in the realm of Ultima Online and he ends up selling swords and pieces of gold for a living. A real living, not a virtual one. Well then, what does it mean to be “real” in economics? How are the virtual monetary economic decisions made by Philip Rosedale, creator of Second Life, significantly different from those made by the Federal Reserve? I think that the U.S. economy is more “real” because more people are affected by the U.S. economy than by the Ultima Online economy. However, the online economies for MMORPGs and virtual worlds like Second Life are growing as more people become engaged in and possibly addicted to the virtual marketplace for virtual loot. In one year, talented “gold farmers” are able to make $1,000,000 buying and selling fantasy goods in a virtual world. If you are able to spend your entire day playing video games and still make a fortune, I can understand the appeal. When Stephen Dubner, the author of Freakonomics interviewed Philip Rosedale, he asked, “‘How do people find the time for Second Life? It seems like most people are too busy working multiple jobs and trying to keep up the payments on their credit cards and upwardly-adjusting mortgage payments.’” Philip Rosedale responded, “‘Quit your real job and get one in Second Life! It isn’t possible for everyone, but there are more than 40,000 people who make money in Second Life every month.’” My advice, keep your real job.
As I read the interview about Second Life on the Freakonomics blog, Rosedale’s response to one of Dubner’s questions made me think, people have lost touch with reality. The question was “‘Are there any virtual goods which actually cost more than their real world counterparts (at Linden dollar/USD conversion rates)?’” The answer was the polar opposite of what I expected. Rosedale said, “‘What a great question! Well, not too many yet, but unique items like virtual clothing from top designers have been sold at in-world charity events for thousands of real dollars.’” Even though I am a huge proponent of charity events, wouldn’t the buyer want the REAL Chanel suit instead of a VIRTUAL suit? If I ever paid thousands of dollars for chic designer clothing, I would be wearing it, not my avatar.
Works cited:
Dubner, Stephen J. "Philip Rosedale Answers Your Second Life Questions.” The New York Times 2007. The New York Times. Web.
Philip Rosedale is a visionary, a utopian. He is also no longer CEO of Linden Lab. A man from Electronic Arts, with a great deal of experience in designing profitable games, took his place.
ReplyDeleteI'd go on, but Philip was given to hyperbole. SL had perhaps 4,000 of its half million active users making a decent living designing and selling virtual goods. To me they are only different from software designers, who likewise make a virtual item, in that their income was risky; the SL economy could decline fast and where else could they move their virtual business?
Over my years in SL I've interviewed several such folks. I don't know that they worked long hours like those of Dibbell. Some I met really enjoyed the work and still seemed to have outside lives and interests. Often they hired managers who helped them, to earn a small hobbyist income.
The worst addicts in SL that I've met have been social users and consumers, not content-creators. I don't see them as that different from those with obsessive attitudes about social networking.
At least some virtual worlds begin with an economy, so what can be made "in world" can be done legally. Rosedale, however, was far off the mark as to the scope of the economy in his creation.