Commerce Models in Virtual Worlds and Environments

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Author(s): Roderick M. Riensche (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA) and Andrew J. Cowell (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA)
Copyright: 2012
Pages: 13
Source title: Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in Virtual Worlds and Environments
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Harrison Hao Yang (State University of New York at Oswego, USA) and Steve Chi-Yin Yuen (The Univeristy of Southern Mississippi, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-762-3.ch040
ISBN13: 9781609607623
ISBN10: 1609607627
EISBN13: 9781609607630

Keywords: Information Science Reference / Media and Communications / Social Computing / Virtual Communities & Virtual Reality

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Abstract

Operators of popular virtual worlds, online games, and other environments employ a number of models to engage in commerce with users and to facilitate user-to-user commerce. Subscriptions, direct user-to-user transactions, advertising, and sales of premium content are just a few examples. These virtual economies exist alongside and within traditional local and global economies, introducing dynamics related to regulations and currency valuations. Within an active virtual worlds market, content and service providers continually look for more effective ways to derive revenue from their virtual properties, while researchers explore the potential of virtual worlds as experimental environments. For both proprietors and researchers, the implications of commerce models are important considerations when defining business or research strategies.

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Commerce Models in Virtual Worlds and Environments

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