Online Gaming Economies
In a recent article at qj.net, they pointed out that the IRS of the United States will soon release an in-depth study on the virtual economies of online games.
On top of the IRS' watchful eyes are big brand titles such as World of Warcraft (and their 7 million users) and Second Life, where they use "Linden Dollars", named after the founder of Second Life.
According to that report, each "gold" in WoW has an unofficial rate of 7 gold to 1USD. While each US Dollar is roughly equivalent to 50 Lindens.
With a never-ending law of supply and demand (and of course, a 24 hour cycle of looting, crafting and buying/selling), online gaming economies such as those games above have caught the ire of governments. With the value of ingame items sky-rocketing, Uncle Sam is considering to have your Orc Loots or rare-boss-drop-gears included in your tax declaration form soon.
According to Jeff Bardzel, assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Informatics; "Because you can buy and sell virtual currency and assets online, the distinction between 'real' and 'imaginary' has lost its meaning," Bardzell said. "Criminals are now stealing in-game identities and selling their virtual assets for real money."
While the online gaming industry is headed to road of wealth, a certain "fork" on that road will make everyone think twice about the distinctions betwen virtual and real. Ultimately, the question (and the responsibility) on how to control and regulate wealth (and probably taxes) within both worlds will fall unto the shoulders of both developers/publishers and users.
Which makes me think how currencies such as the zenny fare to the local peso. I wonder how many jallopies have ever dropped in pRO since 2003?
It would be interesting to see a study about this in the near future.
Thoughts?
Good Night,
GM T
The following article is a personal insight of the author and does not, in any way, reflect the position of any game company, local or foreign.
5 comments:
lolz. the last paragraph was funny. :D come think of it. XD how many jellopy was dropped since pro's open beta. heheh..
my last info about zenny rate on php is 3-5 pesos per 1m. pero hinde pde tingi, wholesale dapat. hehe.. 50m and above. :D
gm im dying hard to have the PW CBT pls send me the installer. my email add (xannemg@yahoo.com) and pls check my blog http://khanaticslovepw.blogspot.com
tnx
may posibilidad na pwede na pasukin ng BIR online game developer/franchiser dito sa pinas? hala ka! handa nyo na ITR nyo...hehe
I can't even start to imagine how they would undergo such a task,
better leave that to the experts.
But I think paying taxes for your rares would be such a burden, especially if you're just
playing for fun.
But of course the interaction of virtual and real world economies cannot be ignored.
Tens of thousands of dollars are being transacted each day in World of Warcraft alone.
It must also be noted that the bulk of these "assets", currency or items, are being generated by "Chinese Farmers" and companies that are setting up shop
in other countries like the Philippines.It does seem that even
the international economy is involved. In fact a lot of people are making their living on this so called virtual economy.
There are a lot of factors involved that someone like me, who is ignorant in the workings
of economy, cannot comprehend how this must be dealt with.
ngek! yari mga merchants neto. susugurin ng bir mga naka "cart" lolx. pano nalang kaya mga npc na pinapagbentahan ng loots? anong mangyayari kay ziz odasha/bo hammer/lotan III na OP maningil sa pag combine ng item para lang basagin? so kung bibili ka rin ng pots kelangan mo rin manghingi ng O.R.? lolx
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