Virtual Life for Sale

After reading through the readings multiple times and even calling up my little brother, who I never thought would be able to help me with anything in college, I am starting to better understand the madness of these virtual worlds and there bartering systems. As someone who is not into the World of Warcraft, and similar games, I found it hard to understand how these virtual worlds can intersect with the real world and a real economy. Having a better understanding of it now, the concepts still seem to confuse me. I am going to have to take the side of the creators of the World of Warcraft, although much about the game seems fairly addicting, and the economy itself fairly profitable, crossing real money with virtual life is a little over the edge. From what I understand of these games, a person can create his/her own personal paradise, the concept itself seems pretty cool. Think about it, you’re in a position to manipulate your existence in the game. However you are now spending real money to better your virtual life. What happens to bettering your real life, I have watched my little brother sit in front of the computer for hours on end playing World of Warcraft. Very rarely do I ever see him go out with his friends, when I was a teenager I spent countless hours being out with my friends probably doing things I shouldn’t have been doing but I was interacting with other physical beings. My friends and I aren’t as close as we are because we communicated through an online game but because we spent time together. Know I know it sound like I am putting down video games and I do not want you to get me wrong I enjoy most video games as much as the next guy. However I feel that we a crossing a threshold that could ruin socialization just as bad as it can hurt someone’s pocket. The fact that people are buying non-existing real estate is a little off if you ask me. I find it pretty interesting that an economy has evolved from a video game, however the game itself has its own economy within. Much like racing games, such as Gran Turismo and Need for Speed Underground, you have to play to earn some form of credits in the game. Earning these credits, I feel for a true gamer, should be done on your own. By the buying and selling of these accomplishments for real currency you are taking away from the fantasy that is the game. It seems like the feeling of personal pride of playing a game and beating it, is gone. Even though we are all aware of cheat codes which were and still are very popular, its seems that we are now paying unreasonable prices for something that was once free to look up online. Also, we are giving value to inanimate objects in an attempt to enhance our experience while playing the game. They are turning a virtual world into a reality, which is if you ask me preposterous. I think we should stick to what the designers have made a game to be, earn the credits within the game and use them to better the gaming experience, not real currency.