As real as real? Macroeconomic behavior in a large-scale virtual world

Abstract

This article proposes an empirical test of whether aggregate economic behavior maps from the real to the virtual. Transaction data from a large commercial virtual world -the first such data set provided to outside researchers -is used to calculate metrics for production, consumption and money supply based on real-world definitions. Movements in these metrics over time were examined for consistency with common theories of macroeconomic change. The results indicated that virtual economic behavior follows real-world patterns. Moreover, a natural experiment occurred, in that a new version of the virtual world with the same rules came online during the study. The new world's macroeconomic aggregates quickly grew to be nearly exact replicas of those of the existing worlds,

Maintaining and losing control during internet gambling: A qualitative study of gamblers’ experiences

“…However, similar to results of this study, other gamblers considered that use of electronic cash leads people to spend more when gambling online than offline. Studies have found that users of virtual worlds tend to follow similar patterns of economic consumption and expenditure as in real-world situations (Castronova et al, 2009). Further research is required to understand why for some people, virtual worlds and currencies are not used in the same way as real money would be.…”

A study of RMT buyer detection for the collapse of GFG in MMORPG

“…현실세계에서 범죄 조직이 존재하듯 게 임 내에도 존재하며, 현실세계와 유사한 형태의 경제 행위가 발생 한다 [2]. 온라인 게임의 인기가 많아짐 에 따라 게임 내에서 획득하거나 구매하기 힘든 아이 템은 희소성을 갖게 되었다 [1].…”

Predicting Guild Membership in Massively Multiplayer Online Games

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