Virtual goods

Virtual goods are non-physical objects and money purchased for use in online communities or online games. Digital goods, on the other hand, may be a broader category including digital books, music, and movies.[1] Virtual goods are intangible by definition.[2]

Including digital gifts[3] and digital clothing for avatars,[4] virtual goods may be classified as services instead of goods[2] and are usually sold by companies that operate social networking services, community sites, or online games.[2] Sales of virtual goods are sometimes referred to as microtransactions,[5] and the games that use this model are usually referred to as freemium games.

Virtual money

Virtual money (or in-game currency) is used to purchase virtual goods within a variety of online communities, which include social networking websites, virtual worlds and online gaming sites.

A key revenue driver within social media, virtual currencies are specific within each game and are used to purchase in-game goods. Characters or avatars in virtual worlds own things within the context of the virtual world and users will collect each games' virtual currency to purchase land, supplies and various items used to enhance their status and add points. Some virtual currencies are time-based, relying upon measurement of in-game achievements in order to accrue exchangeable points.

History

The first virtual goods to be sold were items for use in MUDs, early, graphical online multiplayer games on the PLATO system and text-only games on other computers. This practice continued with the advent of MMORPGs. Players would sell virtual goods, such as swords, coins, potions, and avatars, to each other in the informal sector. While this practice is forbidden in most blockbuster online games, such as World of Warcraft,[6] many online games now derive revenue from the sale of virtual goods.[7]

When Iron Realms Entertainment began auctioning items to players of its MUD, Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands, in 1997, it became the first company to profit from the sale of virtual goods.[8] But it wasn't until the mid-2000s, with companies like Korean Cyworld leading the way,[9] that virtual good sales became instituted as a legitimate revenue-making scheme.

Virtual goods may continue to be a primarily Asian phenomenon, as between 2007–2010 70% of worldwide sales were made in this region.[10]

Revenue

In 2009, games played on social networks such as Facebook, games that primarily derive revenue from the sale of virtual goods, brought in US$1 billion, and that is expected to increase to 1.6 billion in 2010.[11] Worldwide, US$7.3 billion was made from virtual goods that same year.[10]

Estimates of the future market for these small items vary wildly depending upon who is making the prediction. 2013 sales will be US$4 billion according to one analyst[11] and a year later reach 14 billion according to a different analyst.[10]

In 2010, a virtual space station in the game Entropia Universe sold for $330,000.[12]

The popular, free-to-play video game Fortnite: Battle Royale generated more than $1 billion in revenue across all platforms. This revenue comes entirely from in-game purchases, which — in Fortnite's case — offer no competitive advantage to the game.[13]

Research

In online games, virtual goods could be lost due to some unexpected reasons. This brings problems for service providers as well as purchaser. Encryption techniques primarily used for other purposes may, here too, provide functionality. These may include access control, hashing, encryption, digital certificates, and fingerprinting.

Illicit sale

Main article: Gold farming

While many companies have embraced exchanging cash for virtual goods, the practice is forbidden in most blockbuster games,[14] which derive income from subscription fees. This doesn't deter all players from saving playing time by illicitly buying in-game currency with real-world cash from an alternate source– violating their agreement with the game's operator in the process.[15]

China outlawed the practice of buying real-world goods with virtual currency in 2009,[16] something that had become popular in some parts of the country.[17]

Virtual goods purveyors

See also

References

  1. ^ Amazon may benefit as digital goods sales jump reuters.com, Fri Dec 23, 2011 11:32am EST
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Virtual Goods: the next big business model techcrunch.com, Jun 20, 2007
  3. ^ Sales of virtual goods boom in US news.bbc.co.uk, 10:32 GMT, Thursday, 22 October 2009
  4. ^ "Lucrative Alternatives to Online Advertising businessweek.com, October 23, 2008, 5:00PM EST". Businessweek.com. 2008-10-22. Archived from the original on October 27, 2008. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  5. ^ a b Uh-Oh: World of Warcraft Introduces Microtransactions Wired's Game | Life blog, November 6, 2009
  6. ^ How to Stay in the Game (Part 2 of 2) Archived 2010-02-07 at the Wayback Machine blizzard.com
  7. ^ a b Virtual goods give Web firms new revenue in ad slump reuters.com, Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:50pm EST
  8. ^ a b The World of text MMOs / MUDs – An Interview with Matt Mihaly, CEO of Iron Realms Entertainment Archived 2008-10-02 at the Wayback Machine playnoevil.com, Friday, September 8. 2006
  9. ^ a b Cyworld ready to attack MySpace money.cnn.com, July 27, 2006: 11:35 AM EDT
  10. ^ a b c Virtual goods revenue to hit $7.3 billion this year cnet.com, November 15, 2010 9:51 AM PST
  11. ^ a b A virtual farm turns new ground for game developers reuters.com, Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:05am EDT
  12. ^ "Man buys virtual space station for 330k real dollars". Retrieved 2010-06-23.
  13. ^ Kaylee Fagan, "Fortnite — a free video game — is a billion- dollar money machine", "Business Insider", July 29, 2018
  14. ^ Poor earning virtual gaming gold bbc.com, 01:36 GMT, Friday, 22 August 2008
  15. ^ Preston Byers. "Valve sent a cease and desist order to OPSkins". Dot Esports. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  16. ^ China bars use of virtual money for trading in real goods PRC Ministry of Commerce, Monday, June 29, 2009 2100 GMT
  17. ^ QQ: China's New Coin of the Realm? wsj.com, March 30, 2007
  18. ^ Unlike reality, virtual retail sales are hot, especially for avatars USA Today, 23 Dec 2009
  19. ^ "Changyou Selects PlaySpan's UltimatePay for its Online Game Properties". playspan.com. PlaySpan, Inc. 2010-03-18. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  20. ^ "Facebook Blog, February 7, 2007". Blog.facebook.com. 2007-02-07. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  21. ^ The world’s most lucrative social network? China’s Tencent beats $1 billion revenue mark venturebeat.com, March 19, 2009
  22. ^ ABC News March 15, 2010
  23. ^ "KongZhong Corp (KONG.O): FULL DESCRIPTION". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 2009-11-15. Retrieved 2012-05-28.
  24. ^ About Company Archived 2009-06-01 at the Wayback Machine Nexon Official Site
  25. ^ Playdom Fuels Its Virtual Goods Business Archived 2010-12-29 at the Wayback Machine Press Release, playdom.com, September 30, 2009
  26. ^ Playfish sees social games as industry driver Wed Nov 4, 2009 6:02am EST
  27. ^ Second Life Marketplace Featured Items Wed April 26, 2011
  28. ^ Runescape begins first microtransaction experiment Archived 2012-04-05 at the Wayback Machine develop-online.net, April 2, 2012
  29. ^ Virtual Products = Real Cash[dead link‍] cnbc.com, Oct. 09
  30. ^ Trade Me founder invests in gaming tvnz.co.nz, Mar. 11
  31. ^ Redefining MMOs: The massive money of microtransactions massively.com, Sep 11th 2009
  32. ^ The MANN-conomy update: FAQ Valve 2010
  33. ^ Xbox 360: Get the Points Archived 2009-01-23 at the Wayback Machine Microsoft's Xbox Official Site
  34. ^ Zynga's Gaming Gamble forbes.com, 10.29.09, 12:40 PM EDT
  35. ^ Digital tills are ringing to the sound of an unreal Christmas The Guardian, 17 Dec 2009
  36. ^ Simon Coutu, "Here's How You Make $12,000 In Profit a Day Selling Virtual Guns", "Vice", June 30, 2015

Read other articles:

Masjid Al-Imtizaj

Artikel ini sebatang kara, artinya tidak ada artikel lain yang memiliki pranala balik ke halaman ini.Bantulah menambah pranala ke artikel ini dari artikel yang berhubungan atau coba peralatan pencari pranala.Tag ini diberikan pada Oktober 2022. Masjid Al-ImtizajMasjid Al Imtizaj dilihat dari samping Jalan BanceuyAgamaAfiliasiIslamProvinsiJawa BaratLokasiLokasiJalan Banceuy Nomor 8, Kota BandungNegaraIndonesiaArsitekturArsitekDanny SwardhaniGaya arsitekturArsitektur TiongkokDibangun olehHaji A...

 

Moshe Sharett

Moshe Sharet משה שרת Perdana Menteri Israel 2Masa jabatan26 Januari 1954 – 3 November 1955PresidenYitzhak Ben-Zvi PendahuluDavid Ben-GurionPenggantiDavid Ben-GurionMenteri Luar Negeri Israel 1Masa jabatan15 Mei 1948 – 18 Juni 1956Perdana MenteriDavid Ben-GurionSendiriDavid Ben-Gurion PendahuluKantor BaruPenggantiGolda Meir Informasi pribadiLahirMoshe Shertok(1894-10-16)16 Oktober 1894Kherson, Kekaisaran RusiaMeninggal7 Juli 1965(1965-07-07) (umur 70)Ye...

 

Lanthane

Pour l’article homonyme, voir La. Lanthane Échantillon de lanthane. Baryum ← Lanthane → Cérium—    57 La                                                                                                           ...

Hillel Yaffe Medical Center

Hospital in Hadera, IsraelHillel Yaffe Medical CenterInpatient B buildingGeographyLocationHadera, IsraelCoordinates32°27′05″N 34°53′45″E / 32.45139°N 34.89583°E / 32.45139; 34.89583OrganisationTypeDistrict GeneralServicesBeds495HistoryOpened1957LinksWebsitehy.health.gov.ilListsHospitals in Israel The Hillel Yaffe Medical Center (Hebrew: מרכז רפואי הלל יפה) is a major hospital on the western edge of Hadera, Israel. It serves a population of ab...

 

イスラームにおける結婚

イスラームにおける結婚（イスラームにおけるけっこん）とは、二者の間で行われる法的な契約である。新郎新婦は自身の自由な意思で結婚に同意する。口頭または紙面での規則に従った拘束的な契約は、イスラームの結婚で不可欠だと考えられており、新郎と新婦の権利と責任の概要を示している[1]。イスラームにおける離婚は様々な形をとることができ、個�...

 

Daftar Gubernur Sumatera Selatan

Gubernur Sumatera SelatanPetahanaAgus FatoniPenjabatsejak 2 Oktober 2023KediamanGriya Agung, Palembang, Sumatera SelatanMasa jabatan5 tahun; maksimal dua periodeDibentuk1945; 79 tahun lalu (1945)Pejabat pertamaAdnan Kapau Gani Berikut adalah daftar Gubernur Sumatera Selatan dari masa ke masa: No. Foto Gubernur Mulai jabatan Akhir jabatan Prd. Ket. Wakil Gubernur 1 Adnan Kapau Gani 1945 1946 [ket. 1] 2 Mohamad Isa 1946 1948   1948 1952 [ket. 2] 3 Winarno Danuatmo...

The European (newspaper)

This article is about the newspaper published from 1990 to 1998. For other uses, see European. The EuropeanFront page of the first issueTypeWeekly newspaperFormatBroadsheetOwner(s)Robert Maxwell (1990–91)Barclay Brothers (1992–98)Launched11 May 1990 (1990-05-11)Political alignmentPro-EuropeanismPan-European identityLanguageEnglishCeased publication14 December 1998 (1998-12-14)CityLondonCountryUnited KingdomOCLC number25062933 Media of the United KingdomList o...

 

Gyaru

Gyaru di Shibuya, tengah: ciri khas rias wajah gyaru; kanan: tipe age-jou (age嬢, rambutnya digelung ke atas). Pakaian mode musim panas 2007. Gyaru di Harajuku, rias wajah natural. Gyaru (ギャルcode: ja is deprecated ) adalah kata serapan dalam bahasa Jepang untuk gal, slang untuk girl (gadis, anak perempuan) dalam bahasa Inggris. Istilah gyaru dipakai untuk gadis-gadis muda berusia 10 hingga 20 tahun yang fashionable, mengenakan busana model mutakhir, rambut dicat warna coklat keemasan, ...

 

Ina Gregory

Artikel ini sebatang kara, artinya tidak ada artikel lain yang memiliki pranala balik ke halaman ini.Bantulah menambah pranala ke artikel ini dari artikel yang berhubungan atau coba peralatan pencari pranala.Tag ini diberikan pada November 2022. Ina GregoryIna Gregory karya E. Phillips FoxLahirGeorgina Alice Gregory18 October 1874Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaMeninggal5 Juni 1964PendidikanNational Gallery SchoolDikenal atasLukisan, PotretGerakan politikImpresionisme Georgina Alice Gregory (18...

Pusat Perhubungan Angkatan Darat

Pusat Komunikasi dan Elektronika Angkatan DaratLambang PuskomlekadDibentuk23 November 1945[1]Negara IndonesiaCabangKorps Komunikasi dan Elektronika (CKE)Tipe unitKomunikasi & ElektronikaPeranSatuan Bantuan TempurBagian dariTNI Angkatan DaratPelindungTentara Nasional IndonesiaMotoCighra Apta NirbhayaBaret H I J A U MaskotMerpati PerangUlang tahun23 November[1]Situs webpushubad.tni-ad.mil.idTokohKepalaMayor Jenderal TNI Iroth Sonny EdhieWakil KepalaBrigadir Jendera...

 

Daniel Ewing

Daniel EwingDaniel EwingPekerjaanAktorTinggi6 ft 0 in (183 cm) Daniel Ewing, (lahir 3 Juni 1985) adalah aktor asal Australia. Filmografi Tahun Judul Peran Catatan 2011 Home and Away Heath Braxton Episode #5235 – 2009 Power Rangers R.P.M. Dillon Next to Rose McIver, Milo Cawthorne dan Eka Darville 2009 Rescue: Special Ops Jack Gardener Episode # 1.09 2008 Blue Water High Guest Role 2008 Revolution Brandon 2007 Home and Away Reuben Humphries Episodes #1.4458, #1.4459, #1.4460 ...

 

Cristian Romero (Argentine footballer)

Argentine footballer (born 1998) Cristian Romero Romero with Argentina U20 in 2017Personal informationFull name Cristian Gabriel Romero[1]Date of birth (1998-04-27) 27 April 1998 (age 26)[2]Place of birth Córdoba, ArgentinaHeight 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]Position(s) Centre-backTeam informationCurrent team Tottenham HotspurNumber 17Youth career2014–2016 BelgranoSenior career*Years Team Apps (Gls)2016–2018 Belgrano 16 (0)2018–2019 Genoa 27 (2)2019�...

约翰斯顿环礁

此條目可参照英語維基百科相應條目来扩充。 (2021年5月6日)若您熟悉来源语言和主题，请协助参考外语维基百科扩充条目。请勿直接提交机械翻译，也不要翻译不可靠、低品质内容。依版权协议，译文需在编辑摘要注明来源，或于讨论页顶部标记{{Translated page}}标签。 约翰斯顿环礁Kalama Atoll 美國本土外小島嶼 Johnston Atoll 旗幟颂歌：《星條旗》The Star-Spangled Banner約翰斯頓環礁�...

 

2022年華盛頓州聯邦眾議員選舉

2022年華盛頓州聯邦眾議員選舉 ← 2020 2022年11月8日 2024 → 華盛頓州州聯邦眾議員全部10個議席   多數黨 少數黨   政党 民主党 共和黨 选前席次 7 3 选后席次 8 2 席次差额 ▲ 1 ▼ 1 民選得票 1751582 1261961 得票率 57.88% 41.70% 得票变动 ▼ 1.46% ▲ 2.52% 贏家 選票百分比 縣市結果 民主黨:   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%共和黨: &#...

 

South West Africa campaign

Military campaign South West Africa campaignPart of African theatre of World War IThe South West Africa campaign in 1915Date15 September 1914 – 9 July 1915(9 months, 3 weeks and 3 days)LocationSouth Africa, NamibiaResult Allied victoryTerritorialchanges South West Africa annexed tothe Union of South AfricaBelligerents  United Kingdom  South Africa  Portugal  Portuguese Angola  Germany  South West Africa  South African RepublicOukwanyamaComma...

Électrochimie

ÉlectrochimieSchéma de la synthèse d'hydrogène et d'oxygène par électrolyse de l'eau.Partie de Chimie physiquePratiqué par Électrochimiste (d)Histoire Histoire de l'électrochimiemodifier - modifier le code - modifier Wikidata L’électrochimie est la discipline scientifique qui s’intéresse aux relations entre la chimie et l’électricité. Elle décrit les phénomènes chimiques couplés à des échanges réciproques d’énergie électrique. L'électrochimie comprend toutes tec...

 

Palazzo Marino

Palazzo MarinoLa facciata verso piazza della ScalaLocalizzazioneStato Italia RegioneLombardia LocalitàMilano Indirizzopiazza della Scala Coordinate45°27′59.39″N 9°11′26.47″E45°27′59.39″N, 9°11′26.47″E Informazioni generaliCondizioniIn uso Costruzione1557-1563 (rifatto 1872-1892) Stilemanierista Usosede del Comune di Milano RealizzazioneArchitettoGaleazzo Alessi AppaltatoreTommaso Marino ProprietarioComune di Milano CommittenteTommaso Marino Modifica dati su Wikidata&...

 

2010 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

2010 United States Senate election in New Hampshire ← 2004 November 2, 2010 2016 →   Nominee Kelly Ayotte Paul Hodes Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 273,218 167,545 Percentage 60.09% 36.85% County results Municipality resultsAyotte:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%     ...

خط طول 37° شرق

يفتقر محتوى هذه المقالة إلى الاستشهاد بمصادر. فضلاً، ساهم في تطوير هذه المقالة من خلال إضافة مصادر موثوق بها. أي معلومات غير موثقة يمكن التشكيك بها وإزالتها. (ديسمبر 2018) 37° خط طول 37 شرق خريطة لجميع الإحداثيات من جوجل خريطة لجميع الإحداثيات من بينغ تصدير جميع الإحداثيات من كي...

 

Tournoi de tennis de Shenzhen (ATP 2017)

Tournoi de tennis de Shenzhen (ATP 2017) Édition Shenzhen Open Date Du 25 septembre au 1er octobre 2017 Lieu Shenzhen Longgang Sports Center, Shenzhen 22° 41′ 06″ N, 114° 12′ 20″ E Catégorie ATP 250 Series Surface Dur (ext.) Dotation 666 960 $ Total Financial Commitment 731 680 $ Simple 5 tours (28 joueurs) David Goffin Double 4 tours (16 équipes) Alexander Peya Rajeev Ram Tournoi de tennis de Shenzhen Édition 2016 Édition 2018...