virtual goods is a way for people who play the game to pay for it in a very elegant freemium model. you are mixing two issues up. affiliate marketing is about

virtual goods is a way for people who play the game to pay for it in a very elegant freemium model. you are mixing two issues up. affiliate marketing is about helping publishers/creators of content make more money for the work they do virtual goods is about helping game developers get paid for building games people like to play without having to charge upfront