Sony Online Entertainment — the arm of Sony that makes games like EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies — is changing its policy on the auction of in-game artefacts; instead of seeking to eliminate it, Sony will be sponsoring it instead, guaranteeing the payment and transfer of goods — and taking a cut of the payment. This kind of thing was the premise of my story Anda's Game, published on Salon in 2004.
"Sony has finally dropped the other shoe," said Dan Hunter, a professor at the Wharton School of Business and an expert in virtual economies. "Finally, we understand what their reluctance (has been). It's not that the gameplay has been affected by (virtual goods trafficking), but rather, their objection has been that they can't monetize it."
SOE claims the auction site is primarily about offering players a safe and secure marketplace for buying and selling virtual goods. But the company readily acknowledges the new system could bring in hefty new revenues.
"When 40 percent of our customer service man-hours are dealing with fraud, it's in our interest to deal with it," said John Smedley, SOE's president. "We don't want to hide the fact that we're going to make money."
Smedley said that because many SOE players are opposed to users bu
