2000 Dollars on an Alliance Warrior?

I know video games are fun. My brother just bought an Xbox 360 a few weeks ago and every time I go home, we’ll play it for a few hours. Even in college, I’ll spend the occasional two hours playing guitar hero with my roommates. Video games are surely a part of my life, but they do not dictate my life.

World of Warcraft and other MMORPGs have become a huge success over the past year. While I don’t own any of these types of games, many people in my house spend their leisure time exploring virtual environments with a virtual character. However, until reading Dibell’s article on play money, I did not realize how time and money intensive these games actually are. For someone to spend 2000 dollars buying a virtual character seems ridiculous and just plain crazy.

We all pay a price for our entertainment. Some of us will buy a plasma TV for 3000 dollars so we can see the Patriots play in HD. Others will invest in video game systems so they can play Halo 2 against online opponents. I myself invested 70 dollars to buy Guitar Hero 2 so I could continue rocking out in the middle of my room. However, the difference is that all these investments are tangible items in the real world. What exactly is the point in investing so much money to buy a virtual “creature” that is not even real? Take Dibbel’s example of a Level 60 Alliance Warrior selling for 2000 dollars on Ebay. Whoever chooses to buy this Alliance Warrior is basically saying, “I would pay 2000 dollars to play World of Warcraft.” Perhaps there are people who are willing to pay such large sums to play a video game, but I for one cannot understand why. If you walked into a Best Buy and saw a video game selling for 2000 dollars, would you even consider it?

Another problem with using real money to buy virtual items is that it blurs the line between what’s real and what’s virtual. If someone is spending large amounts of money to buy virtual items, the game is more than just fun. To an extent, the player is simply living life vicariously through a computer game. He is buying upgrades so he can become the strongest player on Azeroth, but only because he cannot become the strongest individual in his town. Often times, the source of pride or power a player gets from a video game may substitute for the emptiness of their real lifestyle. In these cases, it is more understandable that a player would pay a large sum of money to obtain these types of satisfactions.

Finally, I believe the ability to buy virtual property detracts from the gaming experience as a whole. MMORPGs are supposed to be simulations that, to a degree, mimic real life. Economies fluctuate, alliances form and players interact much like we do in our daily lives. However, in real life, it is impossible to put a price tag on someone’s accomplishment. If a doctor has spent 10 years of training to become a renowned surgeon, I can’t simply pay 2000 dollars to take his place. The same should be held true for MMORPGs because the selling of characters detracts from the realistic qualities of the game. Just like skill must be earned in the real world, such should also hold true in the virtual world.

All this being said, I have still to lay hands on an MMORPG, and perhaps I should indulge myself before making bold statements about them. Maybe I’ll somehow find sanctity from my real world problems by immersing myself in the virtual world. I guess the next time I fail a test I’ll just buy myself a really really smart virtual character to make myself feel better. Maybe all this time I was wrong for thinking that I should be living life in the real world, when I can just buy myself a great life in the virtual one. Then again, where’s the fun in that?