Cash Shop, P2W, F2P ... etc.
Just thought I would post this fairly interesting article on this "phenomenon",
http://gamasutra.com/view/feature/17...etization_.php
Some interesting quotes include,
Quote:
Nonetheless, social network games are designed to foster a certain amount of "hey, look what I did", to create peer competition. Thus the sale of game objectives will act as a more mild supremacy good unless peer pressure is intense inside a friend network, in which case you get the "SUV effect" boosting sales.
Quote:
The most important concept in this paper is that it's not just how you sell your product, but what part of your product you sell. A great part of the attraction of virtual worlds is that participants see them as a Grand Meritocracy, as opposed to the real world, which can often seem arbitrary and unfair. As Jane McGonigal points out, there is no unemployment in virtual space. Everyone has opportunities. Absolute care must be taken in the design of your virtual world to maintain this perception -- whether you consider it real or illusion is irrelevant.
Selling the game objectives in your world makes your game unfair and just reminds your customers of the inequities of the world they are trying to escape from. They literally won't buy this. Sell them opportunity, in the form of content, and they will buy up that opportunity with an enthusiasm that will shock you.
also how it can be abused,
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/Ramin...ion_Tricks.php