When Play Money Becomes Real Money

I'd like to start off by saying that these two chapters of Play Money were great. I really enjoyed reading them and I will most likely buy the book very soon. I believe Dibbell does a great job exploring the very interesting phenomena that is the popularity of these MMORPGs. Many of the questions asked in the reading are things that I have thought about for a long time and I'm very glad to find a book written about these very questions by someone who has actually investigated the subject. In the process of writing this essay I have actually ordered the book from Amazon.

The sections of the book that we have read focus mainly on the question "What is it about MMORPGs that attract people so much?" Branching off of that question are other questions such as "Why is it that restrictions and scarcity are so necessary in these games?" "Why would someone be willing to pay real money for a digital item?" and "How do people's behaviors in these games fit with existing economic and psychological beliefs?" Each of these questions also branch off into a series of new questions.

Why are restrictions and scarcity so necessary to creating a successful MMO? Why aren't people happy with simply getting everything they want with a keystroke? How could an endless supply of everything ever get boring? The example that Dibbell cites in Play Money is Castranova's "puzzle of puzzles." Why is it that no one would buy a two piece puzzle? It's because a puzzle, much like a video game, isn't about having a finished product. It's about the journey getting there. This seems like common sense, and it is when you're talking about simple games like puzzles. As the games get more and more complicated, that statement becomes less and less true. While current video games are still based on restrictions and rules and there are plenty of people who follow all of these rules so they get the full experience of the journey instead of skipping straight to the completed game, there are also plenty of people that will buy a game and a cheat book and basically skip to the end. This is something I see all the time, but I have not yet been able to understand it. I don't get why someone would pay money for a game and then pay extra money for the book that tells them everything they need to do to get to the end the quickest and with the least effort. It reminds me of walking into a maze with a map complete with a big red line marking the way out. And yet, a large percentage of people who play video games do just that.

I would also argue that these are the same people that pay fifteen dollars a month for the privilege to go out and pay more money to buy a level 60 Human Paladin complete with all epic armor and weapons. I have so far been unable to understand this phenomena. Hopefully, I'll be able to find more insight in that book I just ordered.