MMOG coins were first introduced from the popular game EverQuest (EQ) with its “platinum” currency, also known as “plat”. Since the early pioneers of selling plates on Ebay, many have disputed and disapproved of those who once bought plates online. I remember many players harassing others with nasty names like “rookie” and “ebayer”. It’s been over 5 years that everyone has been discussing whether the MMOG money trading secondary market would ever be accepted.
Since the introduction of EverQuest Platinum, there were probably over 70% of players who didn’t even consider buying plates and discriminated against those who did. To this day, the numbers have been dramatically reduced. About 40% of players now buy currency, 30% still don’t like the idea, and 30% of other players probably don’t care much and may buy some in the near future.
Although online gaming currency is still a new trend for the online gaming community, it is becoming popular at a fast pace. By the end of 2010, I think even the publishers themselves will support the founding of the secondary market. Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has now started their own EverQuest 2 gold auction system and plans to start a new MMORPG where they intend to sell coins and items themselves. With your support, I’m sure the secondary market will be accepted for a period of time.
The secondary market is just as successful as the primary. With the release of World of Warcraft (WoW), there are now over 4.5 million subscribers. The vast majority of those players are probably new to the world of MMORPGs. A huge increase in subscribers means a lot more potential for the secondary market. So far, WoW gold has been the biggest seller of the year and maybe a few more years from now.
With the high demand, many players have even started a career collecting money, items, and other virtual assets and selling them to players or shops who can buy them at wholesale prices and resell them to individuals.
The secondary market may one day be even bigger than the primary. Many players today probably spend more on currency, items, and equipment than their subscription fee. The publishers themselves cannot even deny the fact that there is a lot of money to be made on the secondary market and I am sure that for a long period of time they will sell their virtual assets themselves. As for whether or not players will support it, I think it’s only a matter of time before it’s accepted, of course there will always be some who don’t like the idea.