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Post by Ryan Burger on Sept 20, 2005 15:13:12 GMT -5
Did you know?
Over 4 million people worldwide, one million of whom are Americans, subscribe to World of Warcraft, a popular online game?
Most of these people play $13-$15 dollars every month in order to play?
China has enacted anti-addiction legislation that limits players' game time in World of Warcraft and several other games?
In-game World of Warcraft currency sells on eBay at an exchange rate better than the Iraqi Dinar?
These facts are signs of the tremendous impact online games are having on our culture.
The fact that there is an exchange rate raises some alarming issues:
What happens if one person steals another's virtual property? Is this a criminal act punishable through court or should it remain within the company that administrates the game?
What if the exchange rate gets high enough that someone could make a living by earning in-game money? Is this person deadweight in society? What are other implications?
Indeed, does this mean the virtual currency is real? What does this indicate about the direction our society is heading?
These are the issues we, Team AWESOME, hope to address.
We are five students at NC State University doing a project for STS302H (Contemporary Science Technology and Human Values). We are researching MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) economies and their interplay with non-game economies.
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