虛擬經濟

網路遊戲經濟(或稱虛擬經濟)是指一存在於虛擬世界的突現經濟 。通常以交易網路遊戲中的虛擬物品為主。 人們參與這些虛擬經濟的主要目的是消遣和娛樂，並非必要需求。意思是指虛擬經濟沒有包含一些被視為沒有娛樂價值的現實經濟元素（例如玩家無需購買食物以維持生命或生存必要的物品）。然而，一些人亦會為獲取「現實」的經濟利益而活動於虛擬經濟的。

概述

虛擬經濟可在MUD和MMORPG 看到。現時最龐大的虛構經濟位於MMORPG。一些人生模擬遊戲亦可以找到，而且可能是最常與現實接觸的虛擬經濟。例如：第二人生保護內裹認購者創造的財產的知識產權權利，和對以真實金錢兌換Linden幣的行為（遊戲中的法定貨幣）採取自由放任政策。虛擬經濟也可見於一些網頁遊戲，如以「現實金錢」換取遊戲內的道具和權利。

虛擬財產是指任何由負責個體操控或分配的資料。包括虛擬物品如紙娃娃系統或所屬用戶帳號。以下的特徵經常出現於虛擬物品上。不過即使缺乏這些特徵的，不代表絕對不是虛擬財產，區分時有一點彈性。

1. 競爭： 物品具有極高的稀缺性。
2. 持續性： 擁有物即使長期擱置亦不會消失。用戶期望可持續擁有財產。
3. 互動連線： 財產可以對或被其他人和其他財產造成影響。財產的價值因應使用者的用途和創作而改變。
4. 二級市場： 虛擬財產可被創造、交換、售賣、購買。當中可以涉及現實資產（通常是金錢）。
5. 用戶加工： 用戶可通過自己加工鼓吹虛擬財產的價值。

基於這些因素的存在，促成了接近現代市場經濟的體系。因此，一些經濟學理論亦可被活用於其中。

在這個虛構世界當中，假想的市場經濟令遊戲物品根據供給和需求得以標價，而非由開發人員或代理商定價。這些突現經濟被大部分玩家視為遊戲的資產，提供另一個現實予玩家。在典型的虛擬經濟中，物品通常以遊戲世界中的貨幣作售賣。此種遊戲貨幣現今經常被以現實金錢兌換作買賣。部分人更組織了有系統的交易網，讓玩家可以現實金錢換取虛擬財產。

業界

Blizzards於2004年推出的魔獸世界在國際獲得了巨大的成功，帶領了MMORPG及其二級市場的主流意識，因此當時出現了大量的同類產業。在Google搜尋WoW Gold會得到大量的符合結果網頁，截至2006年6月 (2006-06)提供Gold的換購服務。虛擬經濟中的現實謀利產業成長至金錢流動以億位計算的商業活動。 無盡的任務玩家Brock Pierce及Alan Debonneville成立了Internet Gaming Entertainment Ltd (IGE)，除了提供商品外，同時設有專業的客戶服務。 IGE擁有一已受訓工作人員專門處理財政的事務、客戶問答、技術支援，以確保玩家給予滿意的評價。它還利用了虛擬世界國際可達性，在香港設立了分店，所屬的工作人員都有一定的技術知識，負責紙娃娃系統、回收商品、分配商品。 這種富商機的市場打通了虛擬世界與現實世界的邊境。

過百個公司在這新興市場取得了成功。部分公司提供多樣虛擬物品， 另一部分則提供多樣虛擬服務。 虛擬世界為他們謀取了極多收益，一些像43歲的 Wonder Bread送貨人John Dugger的人，曾為虛擬世界消費US$750，使他數星期的薪金都不翼而飛了。 他購買的虛擬資產包括位於寧靜海岸山坡（虛構）的九間房子、三間商店、天井、上級石製牆壁。Dugger反映一些玩家可以為電腦的數據而花費大量的金錢。

雖然虛擬市場的成長速度驚人，但它到底能為商界帶來多少程度的機會，則仍未清楚。原因是虛擬商品缺乏分配需求的地點。例如2008年一次對第二人生作出的分析顯示，當中的衡量經濟不平等達至現實經濟之中最差水平。吉尼指數：90.2，戴爾指數：91%。 可是，以現賽的經濟標準量度虛擬經濟可能是不合適的，當中的經濟發展取決於玩家的投放時間和心力。

虛擬犯罪

主条目：Virtual crime

Monetary issues can give a virtual world problems similar to those in the real world. In South Korea, where the number of computer game players is massive, some have reported the emergence of gangs and mafia, where powerful players would threaten beginners to give money for their "protection", and actually steal and rob.

Other similar problems arise in other virtual economies. In the game The Sims Online, a 17-year old boy going by the in-game name "Evangeline" was discovered to have built a cyber-brothel, where customers would pay sim-money for minutes of cybersex. Maxis canceled each of his accounts, but had he deposited his fortune in the Gaming Open Market he would have been able to keep a part of it.

A 2007 virtual heist has led to calls from some community members in Second Life to bring in external regulation of these markets: "In late July, a perpetrator with privileged information hacked into a stock exchange's computers, made false deposits, then ran off with what appears to be the equivalent of US$10,000, disappearing into thin air. Despite the seemingly small haul, this heist left investors feeling outraged and vulnerable."

In EVE Online however, theft and scamming other players is perfectly allowed within the game's framework as long as no real world trading is committed. Players are allowed to loot all items from fallen victims in battle, but there is a disincentive in the form of NPC police intervention in higher-security space. Virtual possessions valued in the tens of thousands of USD have been destroyed or plundered through corporate espionage and piracy. This has resulted in widespread retributive warfare and crime between various player corporations.

黑市

很多MMORPG如RuneScape、魔獸世界、Guild Wars、戰錘Online、指環王Online：安格瑪之影 、最终幻想XI嚴格地禁止以真實金錢換取遊戲幣、道具、任何遊戲有關物品。RuneScape移除了不平衡貿易和PK系統。最终幻想XI及戰錘Online設有排除任何此類交易的團隊。

隱定性

一個虛擬世界要維持隱定的經濟，就要平衡資源數量和貨幣數量。普遍來說，遊戲保持許多新貨幣資源予玩家賺取。然而，缺乏資源或沒有防止貨幣供給過多的系統時，貨幣的購買力會大幅下降（通貨膨脹）。慣例上，結果會引起眾商品的價格持續上升。只要有基於玩家的基礎、貨幣來源、商品數量的平衡，虛擬經濟就能維持隱定的市場。

於現實世界中，玩家的行動可能會破壞市場經濟的隱定性。打錢使貨幣的增加速度高於平常，惡化通貨膨脹。 在極端的例子中，一些駭客入侵遊戲系統，藉以創造大量貨幣。這會引發惡性通貨膨脹。

現實世界中，整個制度維持著理想的通貨膨脹速度。維持經濟隱定性對MMORPG是一困難和繁複的作業。

資本

在這些虛擬經濟中，遊戲資源（如道具）的對不同的玩家有不同的作用，給予他們更強的能力。這些能力使他們能夠獲取更有價值、更珍貴的物品。據此，遊戲資源不僅可用作交易用途，有時可作為資本使用。

當玩家變得更強大時，會獲取更多的人力資本。遊戲中的公會或團體通常會聘請厲害的玩家，為他們獲利。

其他虛擬經濟

虛擬經濟亦出現於臨場動態角色扮演遊戲及交換卡片遊戲。一些遊戲的貨幣已被大量發放，如無盡的任務和魔獸世界。DKP是由一隊玩MMORPG的團體使用的半正式分數評估系統。玩家在這些遊戲面對難度高的挑戰時，只可以聚集其他大量的玩家合力通關。DKP不是官方貨幣，由遊戲公會分配玩家的獎勵。

爭議

参见：Gold farming

A game's synthetic economy often results in interaction with a "real" economy; characters, spells, and items may be sold on online auction websites like eBay for real money. While many game developers, such as Blizzard (creator of World of Warcraft), prohibit the practice, it is common that goods and services within virtual economies will be sold on online auction sites and traded for real currencies.

According to standard conceptions of economic value (see the subjective theory of value), the goods and services of virtual economies do have a demonstrable value. Since players of these games are willing to substitute real economic resources of time and money (monthly fees) in exchange for these resources, by definition they have demonstrated utility to the user.

Some virtual world developers officially sell virtual items and currency for real-world money. For example, the MMOG There has therebucks that sell for US dollars. If the currency in Second Life, the Linden Dollars, can be easily acquired with real money, the reverse is done through a market place owned by Linden Lab, but is not guaranteed, as the TOS of linden Lab explicitly says that Linden dollars are not redeemable. Rates would fluctuate based on supply and demand, but over the last few years they have remained fairly stable at around 265 Linden Dollars (L$) to the US Dollar, due to "money creation" by Linden Lab. The currency in Entropia Universe, Project Entropia Dollars (PED), could be bought and redeemed for real-world money at a rate of 10 PED for U.S.$ 1. On December 14, 2004, an island in Project Entropia sold for U.S. $26,500 (£13,700). One gamer also purchased a virtual space station for U.S. $100,000 (£56,200) and plans to use it as a virtual nightclub.

Many Korean virtual worlds (such as Flyff) and other worlds outside that country (such as Archlord and Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands) operate entirely by selling items to players for real money. Such items generally cannot be transferred and are often used only as a means to represent a Premium subscription via a method which is easily integrated into the game engine.

These intersections with real economies remain controversial. Markets that capitalize in gaming are not widely accepted by the gaming industry. Reasons for this controversy are varied. Firstly, the developers of the games often consider themselves as trying to present a fantasy experience, so the involvement of real world transactions takes away from it. Further, in most games, it would be unacceptable to offer another player real currency in order to have them play a certain way (eg, in a game of Monopoly between friends, offering another player a real dollar in exchange for a property on the board); and for this to be necessary or valuable may indicate a Kingmaker scenario within the game. However, such rules of etiquette need not apply, and in practice they often don't, to massive game worlds with thousands of players who know one another only through the game system.

Further and more involved issues revolve around the issue of how (or if) real-money trading subjects the virtual economy to laws relating to the real economy. Some argue that to allow in-game items to have monetary values makes these games, essentially, gambling venues, which would be subject to legal regulation as such. Another issue is the impact of taxation that may apply if in-game items are seen as having real value. If (for example) a magic sword is considered to have real-world value, a player who kills a powerful monster to earn such a sword could find himself being charged tax on the value of the sword, as would be normal for a "prize winning". This would make it impossible for any player of the game not to participate in real-money trading.

A third issue is the involvement of the world's developer or maintenance staff in such transactions. Since a developer may change the virtual world any time, ban a player, delete items, or even simply take the world down never to return, the issue of their responsibility in the case where real money investments are lost through items being lost or becoming inaccessible is significant. Richard Bartle argued that this aspect negates the whole idea of ownership in virtual worlds, and thus in the absence of real ownership no real trade may occur. Some developers have acted deliberately to delete items that have been traded for money, as in Final Fantasy XI, where a task force was set up to delete characters involved in selling in-game currency for real-world money.

File:LindeX Market Data.png

LindeX Market Data

However, Second Life has shown a legal example which may indicate that the developer can be in part held responsible for such losses. Second Life at one stage, offered and advertised the ability to "own virtual land", which was purchased for real money. In 2007, Marc Bragg, an attorney, was banned from Second Life; in response he sued the developers for thereby depriving him of his land, which he – based on the developers' own statements – "owned". The lawsuit ended with a settlement in which Bragg was re-admitted to Second Life. The details of the final settlement were not released, but the word "own" was removed from all advertising as a result. (It should be noted that Bragg purchased his land directly from the developers, and thus they were not an uninvolved third party in his transactions.)

相關條目

• 電子貨幣
• 模擬現實
• 虛擬現實

外部連結

• Virtual Economy Research Network bibliography – a comprehensive bibliography of publications related to virtual economy英語
• Castronova, Edward. "Virtual Worlds: A First-Hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian Frontier," CESifo Working Paper No. 618, December 2001.英語
• Castronova, Edward. "On Virtual Economies," CESifo Working Paper Series No. 752, July 2002.英語
• Castronova, Edward. "The Price of 'Man' and 'Woman': A Hedonic Pricing Model of Avatar Attributes in a Synthethic World," CESifo Working Paper Series No. 957, June 2003.英語
• Dr. Richard A. Bartle, Pitfalls of Virtual Property – A philosophical case against the concept of "virtual property" ownership. 英語
• Virtual Economies The Economist, Jan 2005, (subscription)英語
• Zonk (Slashdot). "Virtual Island Sells For $26,500". 14 December 2004.英語
• Fairfield, Joshua, "Virtual Property". Boston University Law Review, Vol. 85, 2005英語
• Internet Gambling Regulation Present and Future – Mark Methenitis' Essay for Texas Tech University School of Law detailing internet gambling and economies within MMORPG's and the problems that will be faced in the future.英語
• Economic Theory and MMOGs – Powerpoint presentation by Sam Lewis, a designer working with SOE, on the interaction between economic theory and MMO design.英語
• World of Warcraft Gold Study, detailing effects of real money trade on the European and American realms. Includes realm by realm statistics.英語
• Virtual Goods: the next big business model by Susan Wu英語
• Lastowka, Greg and Hunter, Dan. "The Laws of the Virtual Worlds," California Law Review英語
• Yoon, Ung-Gi. "Real Money Trading in MMORPG items from a Legal and Policy Perspective", South Korean Judge's thought on RMT in virtual world 英語