EVE Online works this way as well. The game developers, CCP, sell an in-game item through their account management page called "PLEX" or simple a "30 Day
P
ilot
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icense
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tension. It can be redeemed in-game for an additional 30 days of game-time or traded to other players on the free market. Similar to converting to Runecoins, it can also be converted into a non-tradeable currency, called "Aurum", which is bound to your account and can only be used to purchase special cosmetic outfits.
The biggest difference is that EVE Online membership already costs about double that of Runescape membership (~$15/month), and PLEX sold through account management is always priced higher than that; the effect is that PLEX is a much larger real-world monetary burden. Normally, the rate is about ~$17.50/PLEX, although the developers put sales on different packages in order to tweak the amount of in-game currency being drawn out of the game. Even with a special offer for a larger package, prices on PLEX might be $149.99 for 10 PLEX, instead of the regular $174.95! For this reason, the rate of purchase of "Bonds" in Runescape will probably be much higher. The in-game value for PLEX is determined by the free market, just as Bonds are, and usually are worth about 300 mil isk ("isk" is the currency in EVE Online). This would probably be comparable to the buying power of somewhere between 5-15 mil gp in Runescape (although it's a really tough comparison).
So how does this affect the community and game
? The high price of PLEX makes players purchase them with real money less often, giving players a chance to pad their in-game wallet only once in a while (unlike Bonds). While it legitimizes RWT in a way, many players can now fund multiple accounts through gameplay; the developers more than make up for lost membership fees through PLEX sales. While inflation is decreased, the pay-to-win structure is unfair and hurts the player community.
28-Sep-2013 07:13:43
