To quote Julian Dibbell on his reaction to the May 14 LA Times article Game Makers to Try Pay-as-You-Go Model (registration required)...
Exhibit I:
Sony will start selling add-ons — such as weapons for an adventure character or a souped-up car for a racing game — next year, said Andrew House, executive vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America...
The inspiration for the Sony initiative, said House, came from participants in online subscription games who sell virtual goodies they've earned in the game on EBay Inc.'s auction site...
Exhibit II:
In private meetings at the games expo, Electronic Arts Inc. hinted that it, too, would offer downloadable add-ons for some of its most popular games...
Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities said the strategy was mentioned by EA's chief financial officer, Warren Jenson, when talking about the "NCAA Football" game. "He said that if you were playing as Notre Dame against USC, maybe for a buck you could wear the green jerseys."
Is the paradigm shift upon us? What are the ramifications once the Ebay Virtual World (magic-circle flouting) fringe has gone mainstream. Consider a few first-order possibilities:
- EULAs viz "Ebay" will become more nuanced?
- EULA enforcement will become more certain (explicit damages)?
- ?
