The trading of items for real money among players is prohibited in most games. That could change soon if the German Stock Exchange succeeds …
The gray area of trading
In almost every MMO today, items can be traded. For profit-oriented players and dubious companies, this has long become a source of income. Instead of selling their goods for gold or another in-game currency, they often demand real money. Even in Diablo 2, players farmed certain weapons for days to sell them on eBay.
Many of these trades come with risks: The game developers have no control over the transactions; buyers must accept certain risks. This can range from simple fraud and non-receipt of the virtual goods to the loss of one’s game access. Such trading contradicts the agreements that we all agree to and which we never really read in full.
Legal, safe, Swapster?
The German Stock Exchange has now established a subsidiary called “Swapster” and aims to provide a secure platform for traders and buyers of virtual gaming goods. Currently, they are in talks with over 140 game developers and publishers and have already received initial commitments. The special thing about Swapster is that you will not only use the know-how of the German Stock Exchange but also their infrastructure.
If the project succeeds, the dangers of fraud would be reduced, and a secure platform for virtual trading would be created. Developers would also likely have an interest in such a platform: They have not been involved in the money made with their virtual items until now. With Swapster keeping a share of the transactions, that could change.
Since this semi-legal trading already exists, there seems to be a demand for a legal platform. In other cultures, such as South Korea, the trading of virtual items is already part of the gaming everyday life.
What do you think of Swapster? An enrichment for the world of gaming or rather a step towards “milking players as much as possible”?
