30 per cent of MMO players buy gold

Around 30 per cent of MMO players buy virtual goods and services, according to real money trading site WoW Gold Facts.

During an expose into MMO gold-trading by Eurogamer.net, the anonymous site owner, known as "Extreme Gamer", argues that the size of the market means MMO companies should licence the transactions.

"In my opinion, the industry would be better served if publishers would recognise that lots of gamers - I've heard it's 30 per cent of the player base - like the benefits of RMT, and work with credible companies and allow it to happen," Extreme Gamer said.

"I don't see why this is not possible. They could make a condition of involvement in RMT that players give them a complete release of all forms of liability."

Most MMO providers take a strong stance against real money transactions, with the online blackmarket said to have an estimated worth of over USD 2 billion.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ers-buy-gold_1