A technical note for game analysts
Isaac Knowles on Nov 12, 2012Twice now I have reviewed and subsequently rejected papers that attempt to analyze the price of games in terms of real currency and the price of virtual items in terms of virtual currency. I've had to do so on the basis of a fairly serious oversight...
Death and Taxes
Isaac Knowles on Oct 3, 2012Two things you can't escape, even in a fantasy world. But more on death some other time. For now, let's talk markets and taxes. Guild Wars 2 is a month out of the gate and presents players with a trading system that represents a major shift from...
The effect of social networks on RMT
Isaac Knowles on Aug 29, 2012Back in January 2012, this paper was published in the journal Information Systems Frontiers. The authors explore several hypotheses of real-life demand for virtual goods, one of which I thought was worth a blog entry, all of which are worth...
Virtual Economies: Is less information better?
Isaac Knowles on Jun 26, 2012In the first of his promised weekly reports, Yanis Varoufakis, Valve’s new economist-in-residence, released his first analysis of a Valve game economy on Friday. In his inaugural post, Mr. Varoufakis analyzes the persistent...
Sanctioned RMT in WoW - Blizzard's new vanity pets
Isaac Knowles on Oct 10, 2011This just in from Blizzard: Players will soon be able to purchase a Bind on Equip companion pet for $10. In the FAQ, the company specifically states that [W]e’re ok with it if some players choose to use the Guardian Cub as a safe and secure...