The Video Game World is More Complex Than You Think

"The Decline and Fall of an Ultra Rich Online Gaming Empire"
Julian Dibbell
11/24/08
Wired

The article talks about a man named Brock Pierce, who started up a company called Internet Gaming Entertainment (or IGE). What made IGE different from other companies, is that it dealt in the selling of things that don't technically exist: video game items. The premise was Pierce and his company would stock up on valuable and rare items that gamers sought after in massively-multiplayer online games, and then sell them to the public for actual money. IGE makes a profit, and the gamer gets his or her rare item. This is a highly controversial business in the gaming world (known as gold farming), and has lead to game makers banning and prosecuting those who do it. The story details the rise of Pierce's IGE, and the eventual fall in the face of community backlash.

ANALYSIS:

I think this is an interesting article for anyone who games as a hobby, especially those that are directly affected by gold farming, MMOs. It gives a fairly good insight into how those who started these businesses think, and the polarizing affect of their actions. However, while the narrative was well written, I feel that the author put himself in the article a bit too much, relying on his experiences, rather than letting Pierce and his story take center stage.