|
I'll reiterate a bit what has already been touched on.
Second life is an MMORPG, a unique one to say the least, but an MMORPG nonetheless. MMORPGs have in-game economies running on some sort of virtual currency. People use said currency to purchase rare and difficult to obtain items, and other things in the game. This economy experiences effects similar to real economies including inflation. When there is a working in-game economy(and maybe even in some cases, when there isnt) people in REAL life will transfer REAL cash to this virtual world.
This process is usually done with a simple CASH to virtual currency transaction through a third party vendor(the gold farming companies mentioned). Also people may purchase items to be transferred to their charactars/avatars in-game with real cash either directly from the seller or through a third-party auction system like ebay or playerauctions.com
People have made a killing on this simple concept of transfering real life wealth to virtual wealth in all kinds of different online games. I think its fascinating. Whether it messes with the games economy, fun-factor etc. is debateable. But so far there has been little to no progress in stopping these sorts of transactions.
Ive watched the market grow from a few people buying and selling items in-game/real life back in the early Everquest days to what we see now: massive gaming tycoons who hire hordes of chinese and other forms of cheap labor to acquire their inventory. It's pretty crazy, and people are always shocked and awed when I explain it to them.
I myself have sold some rare items I have acquired while gaming over the years, the highest being $250 for one item.
As for SecondLife I havent played it, but heard alot about it. In regards to your question, definately. As I said before, where there is an in-game economy there will be entrepeneurs buying and selling to REAL life people with cash to spend on their hobby. However the competition is always VERY steep in these markets so you have to really work hard to stay ahead of the game.
EDIT: On a side note; quick story: I once met a guy in college who figured out a bug that would let him duplicate items in Everquest(an older MMORPG). He bought an expensive item, duplicated it, and sold it enough times to buy himself a new car before they fixed the exploit in the next patch.
|
.
