- Gold farming
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Gold farming is playing a massively multiplayer online game to acquire in-game currency which is then sold to other players.[1][2] People in China and in other developing nations have held full-time employment as gold farmers.[3]
While most game operators expressly ban the practice of selling in-game currency for real-world cash,[1] gold farming is lucrative because it takes advantage of economic inequality and the fact that much time is needed to earn in-game currency.[4] Rich, developed country players, wishing to save many hours of playing time, may be willing to pay what amounts to substantial sums to the developing country gold farmers.[5]
Contents
History
What began as a cottage industry in the late-nineties with players using eBay and PayPal to sell each other items and gold from Ultima Online[6] and Lineage,[7] the sale of in-game currency has become increasingly more commercialized with the growing popularity of massively multiplayer online games.[8]
Today's gold farming may have its origins in the MMORPG Lineage, where it was known as "adena-farming" as "adena" is the currency of Lineage.[citation needed] 2001 reports describe Korean cybercafes being converted into gold farming operations to serve domestic demand.[7] This model seems to have been outsourced to China to initially serve Korean and Western players, with full-time gold farmers working long hours in cybercafes.[5] This type of operation experienced swift growth circa 2004.[7] In 2011, The Guardian reported that prisoners in Chinese labor camps were forced to engage in gold farming for the benefit of prison authorities.[9]
Academic studies of gold farming reveal that the social networks of gold farmers are similar to those of drug dealers.[10]
Figures
While reliable figures for gold farming are hard to come by,[11] there are some estimates of the market for in-game currency.
In 2005 The New York Times stated that there were over 100,000 professional, full-time gold farmers in China alone.[5] And in 2006 sales of such virtual goods were thought to amount to somewhere between 200[12] and 900 million USD.[4]
Another estimate, drawn from 2005/2006 data, valued the market at not less than USD200 million per year[13] and suggested that over 150,000 people were employed as gold farmers with average monthly earnings of USD145.[13] This same report estimated that 80% of all gold farmers were from China[11] a fact which has led to prejudice towards Chinese players.[14] 2008 figures from the Chinese State valued the Chinese trade in virtual currency at over several billion yuan, or nearly USD300 million.[15]
Rules and enforcement
In virtually all online games gold farming is specifically prohibited by the game's EULA or terms of service and is grounds for a ban.[16]
Law, regulation and taxation
Awakening to the idea that virtual goods can have real value, some governments have taken action in this area.
Australia
In 2006 a spokesperson for the Australian Government stated normal earned income rules also apply to income from the sale of virtual goods.[17]
China
The Chinese State banned using virtual currency to buy real-world items in 2009 but not the reverse.[18]
Japan
In response to increases in gold farming, in 2006 the Japanese Government urged the industry to self-regulate as well as vowing to investigate this species of fraud.[19]
Korea
A Korean high court's 2010 ruling means that exchanging virtual currency for real money is legal in the country although subject to taxation.[20]
US
A US Congressional committee investigated taxation of virtual assets and incomes in 2006,[21] and the IRS has, in its National Taxpayer Advocate's 2008 Annual Report to Congress, expressed concern that virtual worlds are a growing source of tax noncompliance.[22]
Lawsuits
Zynga, the makers of FarmVille, successfully sued to stop online sales of its in-game currency.[23]
Jagex, the makers of RuneScape, have engaged in actions against several gold farmers and bot programmers including lawsuits.[24]
In the media
Neal Stephenson's 2011 novel Reamde has a plot centered on T'Rain, an online game that encourages gold farming.
Cory Doctorow's 2010 novel For The Win[25] is based around gold farming and the fictional growth of unionisation among workers in developing country economies.
Alan Harris's radio play The Gold Farmer was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of The Wire series on February 6, 2010.[26] It features a man who plays an online role-playing game and whose next door neighbour is a gold farmer.
A 2006 art project by UBERMORGEN.COM, Chinese Gold, used found video and machinima to document and explore the Chinese gold farming phenomenon.[27]
See also
- Gold farming in the People's Republic of China
- Powerleveling
- Virtual currency
- Virtual good
References
- ^ a b The business end of playing games bbc.com, Wednesday, 25 April 2007, 14:55 GMT
- ^ Current Analysis and Future Research Agenda on "Gold Farming": Real-World Production in Developing Countries for the Virtual Economies of Online Games - Page 2 Richard Heeks, Development Informatics Group IDPM, SED, University of Manchester, UK - 2008
- ^ For Chinese gold farmers, see Davis, Rowenna (March 5, 2009). "Welcome to the new gold mines". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/05/virtual-world-china. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
- For non-Chinese gold farmers, see Gamers load for virtual asset swap vietnamnet.vn, 12:30' 10/07/2006 (GMT+7)
- ^ a b China's full-time computer gamers bbc.com, Friday, 13 October 2006, 19:20 GMT
- ^ a b c Ogre to Slay? Outsource It to Chinese nytimes.com, December 9, 2005
- ^ Current Analysis and Future Research Agenda on "Gold Farming": Real-World Production in Developing Countries for the Virtual Economies of Online Games - Page 4 Richard Heeks, Development Informatics Group IDPM, SED, University of Manchester, UK - 2008
- ^ a b c Current Analysis and Future Research Agenda on "Gold Farming": Real-World Production in Developing Countries for the Virtual Economies of Online Games - Page 5 Richard Heeks, Development Informatics Group IDPM, SED, University of Manchester, UK - 2008
- ^ Gold Trading Exposed: Introduction eurogamer.net, 19 March 2009
- ^ Vincent, Danny (25 May 2011). "China used prisoners in lucrative internet gaming work". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/25/china-prisoners-internet-gaming-scam. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ^ "Gold Farming Research Digs Up Similarities With Drug Dealers". Kotaku Daily. http://kotaku.com/5594424/gold-farming-research-digs-up-similarities-between-drug-dealers. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
- ^ a b Poor earning virtual gaming gold bbc.com, 01:36 GMT, Friday, 22 August 2008
- ^ The high cost of playing Warcraft bbc.com, Monday, 24 September 2007, 07:58 GMT
- ^ a b Current Analysis and Future Research Agenda on "Gold Farming": Real-World Production in Developing Countries for the Virtual Economies of Online Games - Page 10 Richard Heeks, Development Informatics Group IDPM, SED, University of Manchester, UK - 2008
- ^ Chinese WOW players speak out eurogamer.net, 17 January, 2006
- ^ China Limits Use Of Virtual Currency informationweek.com, June 29, 2009
- ^ Gold Trading Exposed: The Developers eurogamer.net, 9 April 2009
- ^ Virtual world: tax man cometh theage.com.au, October 31, 2006
- ^ China bars use of virtual money for trading in real goods PRC Ministry of Commerce, Monday,June 29, 2009 2100 GMT
- ^ Japanese gov't looks into gold farming gamespot.com, Jul 19, 2006 5:48 am AEST
- ^ Play money is real money, says high court moremoney.blogs.money.cnn.com, January 22, 2010
- ^
- US Congress launches probe into virtual economies secondlife.reuters.com, Sun Oct 15, 2006 10:43pm PDT
- IRS taxation of online game virtual assets inevitable news.com.com, December 3, 2006 9:45 AM PST
- ^ IRS Getting Closer to a Virtual Goods Tax insidesocialgames.com, January 20th, 2009
- ^ Zynga Suing Site For Unauthorized Virtual Currency Sales gamasutra.com, April 14, 2010
- ^ [1] Runescape.com, November 9, 2011
- ^ Cory Doctorow’s “For The Win” creativecommons.org, May 11th, 2010
- ^ The Gold Farmer bbc.co.uk
- ^ Space Invaders artists and works Netherlands Media Art Institute
External links
- Current Analysis and Future Research Agenda on "Gold Farming": Real-World Production in Developing Countries for the Virtual Economies of Online Games Richard Heeks, Development Informatics Group IDPM, SED, University of Manchester, UK - 2008
- Gold Farmers - Website of Ge Jin, a PhD student from UCSD who made a video documentary of gold farming in rural and suburban China.
Categories:- Massively multiplayer online role-playing games
- Video game culture
- Video gaming in China
- Virtual economy
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