

Hawkins: Virtual Goods Market To Hit $100 Billion This Decade - seregine
http://www.edge-online.com/news/hawkins-virtual-goods-market-to-hit-100-billion-this-decade

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anigbrowl
I am both fascinated and confused by the virtual goods market. I got heavily
into Eve Online for a while, where considerable argument goes on about whether
purchase of goods with real money (via fungible time credits) undermines or
complements the skill element of what is basically a resource management game.

Many other purchases on social rather than highly competitive game platforms,
like Second Life and its derivatives, seem to be pure status displays. I know
there's a real-world precedent for such in things like Potlatch and other
religious ceremonies involving material sacrifice, but I am not sure whether
this behavior is adaptive in either economic or social terms. It's been the
subject of considerable speculation among academic economists and
sociologists, albeit without any firm conclusions that I'm aware of.

$100 billion...wow.

