The economics of video games

[brellium]

via Greg Mankiw:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/09/28/the-economics-of-video-games/

Inflation can be a headache for any central banker. But it takes a certain type of economist to know what to do when a belligerent spaceship fleet attacks an interstellar trading post, causing mineral prices to surge across the galaxy.

An interesting read, probably not much more than we already know.

[Goreschach]

Needs more talk of running over hookers to get your money back.

[Phred]

I would have liked to read a bit by Anet's  economist explaining why the marked is full of items sold for a loss.

[Ingmar]

The same reason it is in every game. Items spammed out by leveling crafters have no demand, and thus no value.

In a real economy, if nobody wants an item, it generally doesn't get made. In an MMO the value of the item is the skillup point/xp/whatever, not the actual product.

[Phred]

No it's different in this game. People don't seem to catch on that they are paying to list stuff on the AH. In other games crafters can basically do math. Listing an item for 1c over vendor screams I suck at basic math and am a complete moron. I love buying drops for 1c over the vendor price knowing I cost the seller 15% over vendor price.

What I don't understand is why anet protected people from their own stupidity by making you set buy out orders above vendor price but will still let you sell at a loss. Slight bit of hypocrisy there.

[Goumindong]

In EVE people routinely list items for below the market price of the production materials because "its free because i mind it myself"

[Xanthippe]

Is there an option to sell to a vendor rather than to auction at a loss on Anet or in Eve?

[ajax34i]

Yes in Guild Wars 2 (Arenanet) and while you can't sell items to vendors in EVE, you can melt the items to minerals and sell those (and people sell items for less than mineral value routinely).

[Zetor]

Incidentally, the best way to make money from crafting in GW2 is to ... drop all your crafting skills and sell the raw materials. 

[ajax34i]

That's true in most (imo) MMO's.