A Brief History of Virtual Economy

Authors

  • Mohamed Nazir James Cook University
  • Carrie Siu Man Lui

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4101/jvwr.v9i1.7179

Keywords:

virtual world, virtual economy, virtual goods, virtual property, Second Life, Entropia Universe world of Warcraft

Abstract

The virtual world economy is a multibillion-dollar industry. There is significant evidence for the growth of virtual economies within a variety of virtual worlds. There is an increasing demand from users to buy, sell, and invest in virtual items and services, including virtual properties. However, there is also evidence suggesting that many companies struggle to succeed in the virtual economy platform. In order to facilitate and drive success in virtual business strategies, it is necessary to have a framework for classifying elements of virtual economies. This paper proposes a classification framework of virtual economy elements based upon the characteristics of products and services, the transaction and marketplace, as well as the currency and exchange systems present in these economic environments. In addition, this research highlights the opportunities and challenges presented to both users and companies within the virtual economy platform.

Downloads

Published

2016-04-10

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2016): Assembled 2016 Part 1

Section

Peer Reviewed Research Papers

License

The JVWR is an academic journal. As such, it is dedicated to the open exchange of information. For this reason, JVWR is freely available to individuals and institutions. Copies of this journal or articles in this journal may be distributed for research or educational purposes only free of charge and without permission. However, the JVWR does not grant permission for use of any content in advertisements or advertising supplements or in any manner that would imply an endorsement of any product or service. All uses beyond research or educational purposes require the written permission of the JVWR. Authors who publish in the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research will release their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivative Works 3.0 United States (cc-by-nd) license. This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. The publisher perpetually authorizes participants in the LOCKSS system to archive and restore our publication through the LOCKSS System for the benefit of all LOCKSS System participants. Specifically participating libraries may: