Ian Bogost on Advertising in Games

Ok, so a billboard in a driving game may make sense — but what about games where it doesn't make sense? As Ian Bogost points out, "Would an orc order pizza? Does a dystopian planet from the future need a pacer drink?":

This untapped potential of games upsets the very foundation of advertising as we know it. Instead of surrounding us with images that reflect lives unlived, games can allow us to try out hypothetical lives with new products, people and ideas. To realise this potential, advertisers of both goods and viewpoints must stop blindly inserting their billboards into games or creating feeble copies of the cornerstones of videogame pop culture. Instead, they must start simulating the products, public policy positions, charitable interventions and other worldly ideas in new games - games worthy of our attention.

I'm not sure I want to see advergames all over the place, but if we have to put up with in-game advertising, a little more sophistication would be welcomed.

Advertisers have yet to unlock the power of play [The Guardian]

Designing the Single Player Economy

Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom Closing, Fans Hysterical

Once upon a time, Disney had this virtual world called (creatively enough) Virtual Magic Kingdom:

As with Habbo Hotel, Virtual Magic Kingdom was developed by Finnish studio Sulake and shared many similarities with the social networking site. Players with registered accounts are able to decorate their personal rooms, earn and spend in-game credits, and participate in a variety of online events and activities with their customized avatars, all in a "safe, non-threatening environment."

Disney Closes Gates To Virtual Magic Kingdom [Worlds In Motion]

Who's Winning the Gold Farming War?

Steve at PlayNoEvil has some interesting analysis up on the current state of gold farming in MMORPGs (though he does admit that since hard stats are difficult to come by, "any analysis is more akin to reading tea leaves"); using data provided by mmobux, he looks at the pricing trends to try and divine what might be going on in the wild world of selling gold:

If anti-gold farming initiatives were effective, gold prices should go up as the cost of business increases for gold farmers. (NOTE: This assumes that demand is fairly constant. If game companies could actually convince their players not to buy gold, than prices would drop with a glut of gold on the market and no one to buy it. I've not been able to get volume data from any gold sellers, but my sense is that their customers are not going away.)

The Gold Farming War - Who's winning? [PlayNoEvil]

The UK Declares War On Canadian Game Industry

"The Canadians have driven a tank over the French Citroen and have now parked on our lawn," Paul Jackson, head of the industry organization representing British games studios, complained to the Financial Times earlier this week. "It is becoming very challenging to keep core development studios here."

Chinese Game Market Grew to $1.66 Billion In '07

Human and Property Rights in Virtual Worlds

SXSW hosted what sounds like a very interesting panel on the issue of personal property rights in virtual worlds: this is becoming an ever more important issue, with lawsuits a-flyin' and people getting arrested for virtual property theft. So, how is this issue going to get nailed down? And when? And by whom? The panel consisted of GoPets CEO Erik Bethke, Live Gamer co-founder Andrew Schneider and attorney Greg Boyd, with Charles River Ventures' Susan Wu moderating.

Wu began by discussing the recent Bragg v. Linden Labs court case — in brief, a legal battle between a Second Life user and the world's parent company over land that Bragg apparently improperly acquired, resulting in a ban from the world by Linden. That case, Wu says, was a landmark in that it demonstrated that virtual property rights have tangible value in the court system ....

"What are the prevailing customs that should apply?" Wu asked. "Is it the country where the company is based? Is it the country where the customer lives? We don't even know what the basic virtual property rights are that we should be concerned with."

These sorts of issues will get nailed down eventually (maybe?), it's a serious balancing act in a lot of ways. And once you mix in the reasonably global nature of many MMOs? Well ....

Human and Property Rights in Virtual Worlds [Worlds In Motion]

'The Power of Free to Play'

Adrian Crook had an interesting presentation at the GDC Worlds In Motion Summit on the issue of free to play games - where they've been, where they're heading, good things, bad things .... He's put up the slides and speech over at his website, and while the narrative redux is apparently not as zippy as the original presentation, it is an interesting listen.

Crook points out some growth challenges to free to play, though he notes these are definitely not deal-breakers for the business model. First, there are virtual property challenges. "At some point that's going to be decided by the courts. Hopefully we're out ahead of it," Crook said, pointing out Eric Bethke's forward-thinking endeavor to create an avatar bill of rights. Second, there are differing broadband speeds. And rising development costs will become an issue now with the advent of Electronic Arts' highly-polished Battlefield Heroes. Larger-scale F2P products are going to raise the quality bar, Crook says.

The talk clocks in at a little over half an hour, but if you're interested in the free to play model, it's definitely worth taking a look at.

The Slidecast from my F2P GDC Presentation [Free To Play]
Adrian Crook Talks Free To Play [Worlds In Motion]

'World of Answercraft'? Amazon.com's Askville

There's an interesting piece over at Terra Nova on Amazon.com's Askville, an online question and answer forum with a slight twist - you gain experience points and quest gold! For what purpose? Good question - the author tackles the purpose and ramifications of this sort of virtual incentive system with a lengthy essay and plenty of links that I spent a while clicking my way through.

The question we might ask is: why would this matter? Other than for tax purposes or interpreting the language of wagers, do we really need to place those beads neatly in one of two boxes: money or esteem?

If you can exhange Quest gold for an Amazon gift card, then it is money. But if it also "show[s] everyone how active and helpful you've been on Askville" then it is also something else—a token of esteem. So, like many status markers out there that people might pursue ..., Quest gold belongs in both boxes at once. Prizes have valences in market, reputation, and ludic economies.

I am far from an economist, but the spread of RMT and other in-game economic developments, as well as 'ludic' transactions in non-game settings, is interesting to ponder - will the application work outside of games? Do people buy into it? An interesting piece that's worth a read through (and some clicking on the links if you have time).

World of Answercraft [Terra Nova]

Game Developers Rolling in the Lucre

The U.S. computer and video game industry's annual growth rate from 2003 to 2006 outpaced the US. economy's growth by 13 percent, according to a new study released today by the Entertainment Software Association.

The industry as a whole employees more than 24,000 people with an average salary of $92,300 in 2006, according to the Video Games in the 21st Century: Economic Contributions of the U.S. Entertainment Software Industry study.

"Computer and video game companies play an ever increasing role in our nation's growing economy," said Michael Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. "These companies and their colleagues across the nation are making entertainment software one of the fastest growing industries in the United States."

The report goes on to list a potpourri of interesting factoids:
The computer and video game industry's value added to U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2006 was $3.8 billion.
In 2003-04 and 2005-06, the industry's contribution to real growth exceeded its share of GDP by more than four to one.
The entertainment software industry directly and indirectly employs more than 80,000 people in 31 states; and, U.S. industry employees received total compensation of $2.2 billion.

Wait, the average salary is $92,000? Full release after the jump.

'Metanomics' - A New Series on the Metaverse and ... Stuff

Call For Papers: Economies and Virtual Worlds

'Analyzing the Analysts': Thoughts on the Wii

Clip: Real Estate Roller Coaster

MMOG Tax Man Comes Aknockin'

Micro Dissected and Analyzed

Screw Greenspan, Here's Everquest Economics

Xbox 360 and Gas Prices