Fancy Horse Makes Blizzard $2 Million in Four Hours

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5 pointsorborde3 comments

Doesn't second life allow people to develop their own in-game designs and sell them? Seems like a logical extension for WoW, where one of the principal motivations appears to be a virtual materialism (isn't the real one bad enough?)

Probably only a matter of time before one of the most valuable items is something certified to have been worn by some real-life celebrity's avatar.

Virtual monetisation is an excelent placeabo for consumer vanity.

I honestly believe physical materialism to be a much worse than virtual materialism (even if it is less socially acceptable in the non-virtual mainstream). This is because aside from the energy used to maintain the virtual space, it has no physical waste (such as wrapping, receipt, carrier bag, and the eventually discarded object).

That's an interesting point. I imagine the topic of virtual vs. physical consumption would make for a good thesis from some enterprising econ student. You focus on the externalities of waste. I agree that's important. Of course, the very fact that its socially looked down upon in comparison is relevant, as a lower reputation hurts one's economic prospects. Maybe that's a zero-sum game though.

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