Rumble in the economical jungle
by Smartcat · 09/12/2007 (1:59 am) · 4 comments
--------Exclusive Interview with Mr. Power Kong,CEO of SwagVault Internet Gaming Service Co. Ltd.
Lots of things affect the stock market and the value of monetary currencies. For example, politics, current events, the rise and fall of various companies, or how much gold a mob of elves are able to get from a murloc all effect ... Wait a minute, half-fish, half-man murlocs? Elves? Seriously?
You'd better believe it.
What started as a little ripple has slowly become a great disturbance within the already turbulent waters of the economic market. There's now another fish in the lake, and so far it appears that this lake isn't big enough for two.
Who is this new intruder that obeys only the rules of environments that don't even exist physically? Welcome the new age of the digital economy.
The digital economy, also known in the gaming world as Real Money Trading (RMT), involves the trading and selling of virtual items, items that exist only in virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft, for real life currencies or other physical items of value.
That's right, selling virtual items for physical dollars. This is a practice that organizations such as Swagvault Internet Gaming Services Co. Ltd focus their entire companies around. Swagvault collects and sells items collected within virtual markets, such as items, in-game currencies or even gaming characters of high rank, in the physical markets.
Mr. Power Kong, CEO of Swagvault, explained that his company simply offers services to players who wish to enjoy the game further, but do not have the time to invest in the games.
Here are some basic questions in this interview about Swagvault answered by Mr. Power Kong
Q：What does your organization, www.swagvault.com, offer people? What can consumers find on the site?
Kong：SwagVault provides value-added services to MMORPG players in North America and Europe. Many online game players are not able to maximize their online gaming experience due to real life constraints such as time, place, and their proficiency playing the game. Our mission is to help players reduce and overcome those difficulties and enjoy a better gaming experience.
Specifically, gamers who visit www.SwagVault.com will find in-game currency, items, leveling service, game guides and etcetera. Our objective is to make SwagVault.com the industry's leading one-stop shop for players' gaming needs.
Q：How does your organization acquire its product?
Kong：First, I would like to emphasize that even though the some of the services we provide to game players are called "virtual assets", they cannot be called merchandise as a matter of fact. When a customer buys something on SwagVault.com, what the customer receives ultimately is improved enjoyment of the game, instead of the "virtual asset" itself.
The services we offer to our customers are fulfilled by professional online game players. Most of them live in China and some are in other developing countries. They log in the North America and Europe game servers and farm the in-game items or level up in-game characters manually, just like any other player. While performing these services, the conduct of the professional online game players is under strict regulation so as not to disrupt the gaming experience of other players.
Q： What do you think about farming within games to sell for money outside the game?
Kong：Modern MMORPG games all have complex internal social and economic structures that are designed to mimic the real world in many ways. Within these virtual systems, each in-game item has similar utilization properties as their real world counter parts. As a result, whether intentional or not, online players translate some of their real world mentalities into the virtual world when they are playing the games. Therefore, it is natural for players to make real world purchases to improve their virtual world enjoyment.
Due to the demands of real life, some players cannot spend as much time in-game as others. They become frustrated with their gaming experience when their in-game characters fall behind in capability and status as those of other players. In order to regain their enjoyment of the game, some players will choose to purchase in-game currency or items with real world money. Doing so breaks the constraint of not having enough spare time and allows the players to enjoy the game at their chosen pace. Many of these players would have otherwise cancelled their game subscription and stopped playing altogether.
This demand created the so-called Real Money Trade market, which in effect provides ways to makeup for the shortage of a player's time with real cash. As long as online games exist, such demand will accompany them forever. As popularity of MMORPG games grow, the RMT industry has been booming, with an increasing percentage of players participating.
Given that the RMT market is still relatively new, the industry as a whole still has work to do. Once the RMT market becomes mature and stable with well-established rules and regulations, as well as the mutual trust and self-discipline, virtual currency transactions will reach a natural balance with in-game economy systems. In my opinion, RMT will not negatively impact the balance of in-game economy systems. On the contrary, it is helpful in enhancing player confidence and gaming experience, and conducive to maximizing the revenue of game developers and publishers during the prime of the game's lifecycle.
Q：Is there a lot of competition within the digital goods industry? (in other words, are there a lot of credible sites out there trying to sell game products for physical dollars?)
Kong：Currently, the RMT industry is still very young. As a result, there are a large number of operators in the market and the competition is cut-throat. However, there are only a handful of credible professional operations.
Laws and regulation around the RMT industry are not yet well defined in China. As a result, many operators show no understand and respect for existing laws and regulations and make risky decisions. In their pursuit of cutting cost and short term profits, some resort to illegal activities such as hazardous working environments, farming with bots, hacking/stealing accounts, or cheating in game. Some of them will simply fold when market conditions worsen, leaving many customer orders unfulfilled.
More general questions:
Q：Do you think people have a right to what they farm/acquire within online gaming communities to do with as they choose? (either play with or sell?)
Kong：Of course the online game players have the right. SwagVault will strictly adhere to any recognized ethics criteria and related laws.
As far as we are concerned, we believe that the virtual currency, items, and even the game characters are not gifts that the game operators give away, but are rather created by online game players with their precious time and efforts. Playing online game is in some ways just another creative process. Without game players playing in a MMORPG with their in-game characters, items, and currency, the game is empty, cold, and not fun at all. Accordingly, players undoubtedly have the right to dispose anything they create in the game.
As to some online game operators claiming that they hold all rights to the virtual items, we think that this is the operators' only choice because the legal framework surrounding these ideas are not yet well defined. Therefore, even though the inclusion of these terms in the EULA of games and forcing players to click "I Agree" strikes us as rather unfair, we fully understand why the game operators are taking these measures.
Q：Do you think that online property should be treated similarly to physical property? ( i.e. take a situation where a digital sword that is worth $40 USD is stolen or damaged by someone, should that person be forced to replace the damaged material/loss? - this is a real life example of where in some countries you can take people to court over it).
Kong：Virtual assets should be treated in a manner similar to physical property. So if a virtual asset is damaged, its owner should be compensated for it. Unfortunately, the related laws are far from being precise on this matter and there is still a lot of room to improve them. We have been hoping that the laws and regulations concerning RMT to be defined sooner rather than later. Only then can we and the online game operators work together to create a stable and safe market in which game players can maximize their enjoyment of the games.
Q：How do you think the legal systems should handle the merging digital and physical economies? Should people be allowed to own their virtual property and sell it if they wish, even if the original company may wish to control it?
Kong：This is such a complex issue that is difficult to cover in a few words. But in the end, I believe it is the operators who have the copyright of online game program while the players possess the rights of what they create during the gaming process. They do not contradict to each other.
With regards to how to deal with abnormal or even illegal conducts in game, the general principles of law in real life should be applicable. It also will also require the mutual understanding and cooperation between online game operators and virtual asset transactors. Only by taking these measures can the essential interests of players be better protected. Until we have the constructive cooperation of game operators, we cannot carry out these concepts unilaterally. In depth communication and discussion is needed before we can get to the solution.
Let me express a way of thinking: virtual asset transactions are products of economy markets in virtual social systems. Due to the complexity of these virtual systems, purely applying the method of planned economy to manipulate this market is not the best solution. Doing so may cause more damages than cure problems. The RMT is thriving in some of today's most popular online game, such as World of Warcraft, Lineage, and Mir. The RMT industry did not destroy those games' economy systems; on the contrary, it brought more players to the games and made them more popular.
In reality, we share many common goals with online game operators. For example, we all hope that more people play these wonderful games and continue to enjoy their time doing so. We hope every one has a great experience playing these games, whether its 2 hours a week or 20. We are all strongly opposed to farming by bots and bug exploits, and advocate cracking down on account hacking and stealing. With regards to property rights and legal issues, we share in the game operators' concerns because we have just as much, if not more, exposure to underlying risks. The industry of online gaming is a huge opportunity for creating and delivering value to game players all over the world. Now it's time for us to cooperate and protect it together!
In summary, the RMT market is still imperfect since the industry is still very young and many aspects of the business need improvement. However, without clearly defined laws and regulations, rectifying the market will be a very difficult mission. Exacerbating this situation is the game operators' undifferentiated crack down on RMT - all this accomplishes is make it even more difficult for the self-disciplined operators to survive, while the fly-by-night speculators run rampant.
Lots of things affect the stock market and the value of monetary currencies. For example, politics, current events, the rise and fall of various companies, or how much gold a mob of elves are able to get from a murloc all effect ... Wait a minute, half-fish, half-man murlocs? Elves? Seriously?
You'd better believe it.
What started as a little ripple has slowly become a great disturbance within the already turbulent waters of the economic market. There's now another fish in the lake, and so far it appears that this lake isn't big enough for two.
Who is this new intruder that obeys only the rules of environments that don't even exist physically? Welcome the new age of the digital economy.
The digital economy, also known in the gaming world as Real Money Trading (RMT), involves the trading and selling of virtual items, items that exist only in virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft, for real life currencies or other physical items of value.
That's right, selling virtual items for physical dollars. This is a practice that organizations such as Swagvault Internet Gaming Services Co. Ltd focus their entire companies around. Swagvault collects and sells items collected within virtual markets, such as items, in-game currencies or even gaming characters of high rank, in the physical markets.
Mr. Power Kong, CEO of Swagvault, explained that his company simply offers services to players who wish to enjoy the game further, but do not have the time to invest in the games.
Here are some basic questions in this interview about Swagvault answered by Mr. Power Kong
Q：What does your organization, www.swagvault.com, offer people? What can consumers find on the site?
Kong：SwagVault provides value-added services to MMORPG players in North America and Europe. Many online game players are not able to maximize their online gaming experience due to real life constraints such as time, place, and their proficiency playing the game. Our mission is to help players reduce and overcome those difficulties and enjoy a better gaming experience.
Specifically, gamers who visit www.SwagVault.com will find in-game currency, items, leveling service, game guides and etcetera. Our objective is to make SwagVault.com the industry's leading one-stop shop for players' gaming needs.
Q：How does your organization acquire its product?
Kong：First, I would like to emphasize that even though the some of the services we provide to game players are called "virtual assets", they cannot be called merchandise as a matter of fact. When a customer buys something on SwagVault.com, what the customer receives ultimately is improved enjoyment of the game, instead of the "virtual asset" itself.
The services we offer to our customers are fulfilled by professional online game players. Most of them live in China and some are in other developing countries. They log in the North America and Europe game servers and farm the in-game items or level up in-game characters manually, just like any other player. While performing these services, the conduct of the professional online game players is under strict regulation so as not to disrupt the gaming experience of other players.
Q： What do you think about farming within games to sell for money outside the game?
Kong：Modern MMORPG games all have complex internal social and economic structures that are designed to mimic the real world in many ways. Within these virtual systems, each in-game item has similar utilization properties as their real world counter parts. As a result, whether intentional or not, online players translate some of their real world mentalities into the virtual world when they are playing the games. Therefore, it is natural for players to make real world purchases to improve their virtual world enjoyment.
Due to the demands of real life, some players cannot spend as much time in-game as others. They become frustrated with their gaming experience when their in-game characters fall behind in capability and status as those of other players. In order to regain their enjoyment of the game, some players will choose to purchase in-game currency or items with real world money. Doing so breaks the constraint of not having enough spare time and allows the players to enjoy the game at their chosen pace. Many of these players would have otherwise cancelled their game subscription and stopped playing altogether.
This demand created the so-called Real Money Trade market, which in effect provides ways to makeup for the shortage of a player's time with real cash. As long as online games exist, such demand will accompany them forever. As popularity of MMORPG games grow, the RMT industry has been booming, with an increasing percentage of players participating.
Given that the RMT market is still relatively new, the industry as a whole still has work to do. Once the RMT market becomes mature and stable with well-established rules and regulations, as well as the mutual trust and self-discipline, virtual currency transactions will reach a natural balance with in-game economy systems. In my opinion, RMT will not negatively impact the balance of in-game economy systems. On the contrary, it is helpful in enhancing player confidence and gaming experience, and conducive to maximizing the revenue of game developers and publishers during the prime of the game's lifecycle.
Q：Is there a lot of competition within the digital goods industry? (in other words, are there a lot of credible sites out there trying to sell game products for physical dollars?)
Kong：Currently, the RMT industry is still very young. As a result, there are a large number of operators in the market and the competition is cut-throat. However, there are only a handful of credible professional operations.
Laws and regulation around the RMT industry are not yet well defined in China. As a result, many operators show no understand and respect for existing laws and regulations and make risky decisions. In their pursuit of cutting cost and short term profits, some resort to illegal activities such as hazardous working environments, farming with bots, hacking/stealing accounts, or cheating in game. Some of them will simply fold when market conditions worsen, leaving many customer orders unfulfilled.
More general questions:
Q：Do you think people have a right to what they farm/acquire within online gaming communities to do with as they choose? (either play with or sell?)
Kong：Of course the online game players have the right. SwagVault will strictly adhere to any recognized ethics criteria and related laws.
As far as we are concerned, we believe that the virtual currency, items, and even the game characters are not gifts that the game operators give away, but are rather created by online game players with their precious time and efforts. Playing online game is in some ways just another creative process. Without game players playing in a MMORPG with their in-game characters, items, and currency, the game is empty, cold, and not fun at all. Accordingly, players undoubtedly have the right to dispose anything they create in the game.
As to some online game operators claiming that they hold all rights to the virtual items, we think that this is the operators' only choice because the legal framework surrounding these ideas are not yet well defined. Therefore, even though the inclusion of these terms in the EULA of games and forcing players to click "I Agree" strikes us as rather unfair, we fully understand why the game operators are taking these measures.
Q：Do you think that online property should be treated similarly to physical property? ( i.e. take a situation where a digital sword that is worth $40 USD is stolen or damaged by someone, should that person be forced to replace the damaged material/loss? - this is a real life example of where in some countries you can take people to court over it).
Kong：Virtual assets should be treated in a manner similar to physical property. So if a virtual asset is damaged, its owner should be compensated for it. Unfortunately, the related laws are far from being precise on this matter and there is still a lot of room to improve them. We have been hoping that the laws and regulations concerning RMT to be defined sooner rather than later. Only then can we and the online game operators work together to create a stable and safe market in which game players can maximize their enjoyment of the games.
Q：How do you think the legal systems should handle the merging digital and physical economies? Should people be allowed to own their virtual property and sell it if they wish, even if the original company may wish to control it?
Kong：This is such a complex issue that is difficult to cover in a few words. But in the end, I believe it is the operators who have the copyright of online game program while the players possess the rights of what they create during the gaming process. They do not contradict to each other.
With regards to how to deal with abnormal or even illegal conducts in game, the general principles of law in real life should be applicable. It also will also require the mutual understanding and cooperation between online game operators and virtual asset transactors. Only by taking these measures can the essential interests of players be better protected. Until we have the constructive cooperation of game operators, we cannot carry out these concepts unilaterally. In depth communication and discussion is needed before we can get to the solution.
Let me express a way of thinking: virtual asset transactions are products of economy markets in virtual social systems. Due to the complexity of these virtual systems, purely applying the method of planned economy to manipulate this market is not the best solution. Doing so may cause more damages than cure problems. The RMT is thriving in some of today's most popular online game, such as World of Warcraft, Lineage, and Mir. The RMT industry did not destroy those games' economy systems; on the contrary, it brought more players to the games and made them more popular.
In reality, we share many common goals with online game operators. For example, we all hope that more people play these wonderful games and continue to enjoy their time doing so. We hope every one has a great experience playing these games, whether its 2 hours a week or 20. We are all strongly opposed to farming by bots and bug exploits, and advocate cracking down on account hacking and stealing. With regards to property rights and legal issues, we share in the game operators' concerns because we have just as much, if not more, exposure to underlying risks. The industry of online gaming is a huge opportunity for creating and delivering value to game players all over the world. Now it's time for us to cooperate and protect it together!
In summary, the RMT market is still imperfect since the industry is still very young and many aspects of the business need improvement. However, without clearly defined laws and regulations, rectifying the market will be a very difficult mission. Exacerbating this situation is the game operators' undifferentiated crack down on RMT - all this accomplishes is make it even more difficult for the self-disciplined operators to survive, while the fly-by-night speculators run rampant.
Torque 3D Owner Dave Young
Dave Young Games
Now that I have less time to invest in playing one particular game, and more disposable income, the idea of RMT is appealing. And of course it's appealing to me as a game creator. If RMT 'workers' were the above described ideal of quiet, in the background, part of the world, a sort of glorified AI that doesn't encroach on my gameplay experience, it wouldn't be nearly as invasive as I once thought.
Therefore, I can concur that having and enforcing some sort of extended code of behavior/conduct within an organized RMT framework is a strong countermeasure to negatively impacting others' play experiences.
Cool stuff!