What can Games teach us about money Part 2
In my post: What can Games teach us about money Part 1 , I introduced some basic elements about money skills and how we can learn these skills from games such as Monopoly and Farmville. This post is a continuation of the same topic and is approached by digging deeper into other games such as World of Warcraft which of – course – is rich of many financial definitions.
What’s the economy inside games such as World of WarCraft (WoW) like. The virtual currencies that they use inside these games is the attention of many gold (a virtual currency term) hunters. Please read my old post Trading Virtual Money for an in-depth coverage of the opportunities of Game currencies. The gaming industry (including game currencies) is milking real money- with huge quantities. Many economists studied the economical signals such as the GDP of these games. In my other posts I wrote about how these games can teach you about money. Its not just that but such skill or craft can be lent to those who want to have virtual money easily (players). I have seen many financial tools being used in MMORPG games such as World of Warcraft which helps you to manage many business aspects inside the game. In wow there is an auction house , trades and crafts which generate goods-that can be sold and you have to deal with expenses and incomes during play time. All these aspects are very similar to real business life. Many skilful players are selling their expertise outside the game in the internet by offering guides on how to make virtual money . The trade tools (addons) being made by players who understand wow money system well are getting popular and a must for any player who wants to profit from the virtual market. For example, there are charts in particular addons, these addons resembles technical analysis charts that are used in IRL (in real world) investing by sophisticated investors. In the case wow, you need these tools to understand the market (auction house). The auction house is very similar to popular auctions in real world and how they operate such as eBay. Like eBay, understanding the market and utilizing the necessary tools is vital in obtaining results.
What does this topic has to do with my blog niche “entrepreneurial tools” you may ask . It does a lot by learning how to understand the multitude of business operations that are being operated in the wow economy , you can learn a lot of concepts that you can apply in real life. You can learn about item pricing and by using some tools you can spot under, fair or over priced goods. You can also learn about bidding and item listing expiry. You can also learn negotiation with other players when they post their items in the trade channel ( a chatting channel). You also learn that you can make money not just by specializing in a trade, but by becoming a trader and profiting from prices arbitrage ( a very important concept in economy). You will also learn the best times to list items and when not to by understanding the market trends and this is also a very important lesson for real world trading. You can also exercise your entrepreneurship skills in wow by being creative in offering new services or unique items for other players. There are many players who learnt from wow lessons and started to play in the real economy. Like Rich dad said : playing (money) games benefits you in real money, which I totally agree with.Being good at it gives you the inspiration to ask your self , if I’m good at virtual money why not apply my skills in real world. It can not be as simple as that but it could be a good start.
