China Cracking Down on QQ Economy

Via /., The Wall Street Journal Online reports on the Chinese government's concerns about the QQ coin.

Created by software company Tencent for their QQ instant messenger, the QQ coin is now used by many East Asian online service providers, including MMOs such as Tencent's own "R2Beat," as currency for the purchase of service time and virtual items.

Then last year something happened that Tencent hadn't originally planned. Online game sites beyond Tencent started accepting QQ coins as payment. The coins appeal as a safer, more practical way to conduct small online purchases, because credit cards aren't yet commonplace in China.

At informal online currency marketplaces, thousands of users helped turn the QQ coins back into cash by selling them at a discount that varies based on the laws of supply and demand. Traders began jumping into the QQ coin market as an opportunity to make a quick yuan off of currency speculation.

State-run media reported that some online shoppers began using QQ coins to buy real-world items such as CDs and makeup. So-called QQ Girls started accepting the coins as payment for intimate private chats online. Gamblers caught wind, too, and started using the currency to get around China's anti-gambling laws, converting wins in online mahjong and card games back into cash. Dozens of third-party trading posts sprouted up to ease transactions, turning the QQ coin into a kind of parallel currency.

It can't be easy, trying to segue from Authoritarian Socialism to Authoritarian Capitalism, at the very moment that technology is destroying both traditional Authoritarianism and traditional Capitalism.

Rink.

PS: You find the best things on the Internet. I was Googling "MMO QQ" to find out which MMOs accept QQs, and I found a scientific paper, "Naked singularities, event horizons, and charged particles," which contains the phrase: "when the inverse square gravitational and Coulomb forces are exactly equal, giving the condition Qq = Mmo..."

When Experts Expound on Things They Know Nothing About

Via Poorer Than You, an article on CNN Money called "Second Life's looming tax threat."

The only "news" in this article isn't news -- if people in "Second Life" are making real live U.S. dollars, the government wants its cut. Snore.

But the article goes further, making the absurd suggestion that entirely virtual economies, like the one in "World of Warcraft," should be taxed by the U.S. government.

Riiiight.

Grace Wong, CNN Money staff writer, quotes Christopher Frenze of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, who sensibly points out that "as long as virtual activity stays within the virtual economy, it shouldn't be taxable."

But there are always two "sides" to any argument, and trust the mainstream media to find the "dumbass" side. "As soon as you start looking at what's going on in these worlds, they look a lot like real economic transactions," says Texas Tech professor Bryan Camp. According to Wong, Camp believes that "profits that come from, and stay in, the virtual world are taxable." I hope that's a misquote.

As Stephanie from Poorer Than You says, "Unless the IRS is prepared to tax my Monopoly winnings, they should really stay out of this."

So is there really a controversy here? Is the IRS going to tax my WoW gold? No. Although Ms. Wong would like to imply an impending danger, she quotes an IRS rep:

"Any time someone wins a tangible prize or award, the value is reportable as taxable income. An accumulation of 'points' would not result in tax consequences, but redeeming or selling them for money, goods, or services would."

So, there's no there there. Thanks, CNN Money!

Link.

Good News For Cheaters, Bad News For People Who Actually PLAY

I wrote recently about eBay's bannination of most sales of in-game items. Of course, someone has rushed to fill the vacuum of pure evil.

Sparter bills itself as a "gold escrow service," allowing "gamer 2 gamer" in-game item sales. I suppose if the sales were really gamer to gamer, this would be bad, but not reprehensible -- paying real cash for items in a game like "World of Warcraft" is cheating, but at least it would be small scale cheating between actual gamers.

But you know this is a just a front for the gold farmers. Oh well, it's pretty much impossible to put a stop to activity like this. If idiots want to pay money to cheat, they will do it. And the assholes at Sparter will continue to make money of it.

Via arstechnica.

eBay Finally Bans Gold Sales -- Chinese Economy Collapses

The ongoing war to put an end to organized cheating in MMOs has seen another victory.

Online auction house eBay is finally implementing their own policies, and "delisting" any attempt to sell in-game items and currency that does not have the specific permission of the copyright holder, i.e. the game publisher.

While I'm not usually a big fan of copyright enforcement when it gets in the way of consumer fair use, this is a special case. Gold farmers and their customers don't contribute to a game -- they destroy it, cheating in a way that ruins the enjoyment for other users.

The issue of who owns virtual property is an important and complex one, and I'd hate to see game companies abusing copyright law to control intellectual property created by users. But that's not what is happening here.

I also dislike it when eBay bans auctions to satisfy the wishes of some corporation -- for instance, when I couldn't sell my Japanese Dreamcast on eBay. My Dreamcast was a block of atoms that I had purchased fair and square. I owned it, and I had the right to sell it.

But when a region-locked console gets sold by a consumer, no one is hurt, not even the console manufacturer enforcing the policy. Gold farming hurts everyone.

eBay FTW.

"Second Life" Proves It: Capitalism Is a FRAUD

Valleywag has posted a examination of "Second Life's" virtual economy by a real, live financial consultant who actually investigated what happens when you use Linden dollars as an investment to make real dollars. He characterizes the Linden economy as a "pyramid scheme," because the richest people at the top determine exactly how much money the investors at the bottom can pull out.

It turns out that inside the game, counterparty risk is tremendous. In fact, entire banks will suddenly disappear. Or banks will simply renege on obligations without recourse. Worse yet, the very people who provide the source of nearly all demand-liquidity within Second Life, those guys at the top of the virtual playpen pyramid, are the same ones who effectively set the SLL/USD exchange rate.

Basically, "Second Life" advertises huge returns in Linden dollars on your investment in US dollars; then they promise you can turn those voluminous Linden dollars back into real cash. It all works, until you try to pull your money out. Then the handful of wealthy SL denizens who control the market change the exchange rate, only letting you have a tiny return on your investment.

The joke of course is this is exactly like real-world capitalism. The SL economy is just an extreme model of a real capitalist economy, minus the few tepid socialist restrictions real governments put in place. The American economy is controlled by a handful of very wealthy individuals, who manipulate markets and lawmakers to protect their wealth and to stifle possible competition. There's no "meritocracy," because the very wealthy will always cheat.

They don't necessarily cheat because they are bad people (although some of them surely are) -- they cheat because the capitalist "ethic" tells them that protecting their own interests is best for everyone, and if they don't do it, someone else will.

Remember -- what this consultant labels a "Ponzi scheme" was not designed that way by the creators of "Second Life." It's just what happens when a few people become very powerful, and look out for their own interests. And unlike in a capitalist model like "EVE Online," SL players believe they are protecting real money. So they act like real plutocrats.

Wouldn't it be nice if we lived in a world where ONLY game players were allowed to behave this way?

Player Makes WoW Cash Through Prostitution -- No, Really

In a story about gold farmers, a Korean online newspaper mentions the adventures of Rob Conzelman of Philadelphia, whose WoW character "VillageBike," earns gold as a prostitute. She stands outside of inns wearing nothing but a bikini, and other players pay her to go upstairs and lie down on a bed so they can lie down on top of her.

I have to admit that VillageBike looked hot even on my extremely low-resolution screen. She could compete with Lara Croft -- the first and most successful attempt at profiting from horny gamers -- any day. Before long, a level 20 Mage approached with a predictable clunker: "Village bike, huh? Can I take you for a ride?" he asks. "Sure thing, baby, we can take this party upstairs for 5g," answered....

Why do I have a feeling only 14-year-old n00bs are paying for this?

Conzelman has a column on Dragonfire [warning: heinous, deplorable, and wholly unnecessary Flash interface), and discusses his activities there. Conzelman claims he could earn $4 real-world an hour this way, although he doesn't reveal if he actually has.

And you thought this kind of thing only happened on "Second Life."

Partially Free MMORPGs -- A Master List

This one of three lists of MMOs -- the other two are a list of Free MMOs and a list of Pay MMOs. I will keep all three updated, with links from the home page.

Here are my criteria for a partially free MMO. The program download must be free, and one must be able to play without paying a monthly fee. However, the site may charge for premium items and content; it may also charge a monthy fee for extra content.

	Cash charge for premium items
	Asian Fantasy
	Community
	Furry
	Golf
	Isometric
	Macintosh
	Martial Arts
	Medieval Fantasy
	Modern
	Naval
	Occult Horror
	Pirate
	Puzzle
	Science Fiction
	Shooter
	Text-based
	Virtual Pets
	WWII
	2D Side-scroller
	Windows

PARTIALLY FREE MMOs

Albatross 18 aka PangYa 2005

Anarchy Online 2001 Free for “fr00bs,” ad supported; $14.95/month eliminates ads.

Ashen Empires 2004 Free play up to level 10; after, $8.95/month.

Conquer Online 2005

Deicide Online 2006

Dransik 2003 Free; $8.95/month to increase backpack size and upgrade to "Ashen Empires"; game is not supported by publisher.

El Kardian 2001

Entropia Universe 2003 No cost to download and play, but ALL items cost real money; however, in-game money can be cashed out as real money!

Eternal Lands 2003 Items are unusually expensive.

FaitH 2002 Free play with limited access; premium membership $5.95/month; additional charges for custom avatars. Internet Explorer required.

Five Masters ????

Flyff 2004

Fung Wan Online 2004

Furcadia 1996

Eudemons Online 2006

Gunz The Duel 2006

KAL Online 2004

Knight Online 2004 “Free2Play” with cash payment for special items, cannot log in when server loads are heavy; Gold Premium $24.95/month.

Maple Story 2002

Monster and Me 2003

MU Online 2003 Free to play with limited support; pay-to-play servers $12/month.

The Legend of Ares Beta

Martial Heroes 2003

Myth War Online 2006

NavyField 2004 Free play has penalties after level 30; all players pay cash charge for “premium” ships; subscription $11.99/month.

OZ xxxx

Pirate King Online 2006

Puzzle Pirates 2003 Cash charge or $9.95/month for special items.

Rakion 2005 Cash charge for “Power User” status.

RAN Online 2006 Cash charge for “character cards,” costumes, items; US server closed -- English international server based in Malaysia.

Rappelz 2006

Rubies of Eventide 2004 Free with limited functionality, or a one-time $50 donation.

Second Life 2003 Cash charges for certain resident-created activities and items; $9.95 a month to own “land.”

Runescape 2001 Free (ad supported) or Membership ($5/month).

Silkroad Online 2005

Space Cowboy Online 2005

Supreme Destiny 2006

Survival Project ???? Cash charge for items (but you can pay for points at Shell stations in Malaysia!)

Tibia 1997 Free with limited access; premium membership $19.95/3 months.

Xiah ????