5 ms·

"SecondLife has 1 million active users" and "$700 million a year in virtual goods transacted" sound a bit strange together. Users spend $700 a year in SL?

by stesch 14y ago

picklefish 14y ago
"$700 million transacted" double(triple, etc) counts most of the money. I trade you $1 you trade someone else that $1, that's $2 transacted.
- bermanoid 14y ago
  Regardless, though, that means that the per user transaction rate is $700 per year on average - the incomes of people in a country also reflect multiple spends of the same dollar, which is why velocity of money is so critical to an economy and why free flowing credit is so important to make sure people and businesses keep spending even in the face of short term flow stop ups. That's an incredible amount of spending per user, if true. Especially sine all of that money could be converted to real world cash with relatively little friction, unlike most in-game currencies.
  - Trezoid 14y ago
    Certain groups pay significantly more then that. My university, for example, maintains an island for a particular unit (which I'm currently taking, spending quite a lot of time in SL) and that costs them upwards of low 5 figures a year, and I know absolutely that it's not the only place like it in existence, nor is it the biggest.
  - gmkoliver 14y ago
    In niche MMOs it's not unusual for users to spend over 20 real dollars/month on micro transactions. I don't know what an average multiplier in terms of in-game transactions would be but 3x doesn't seem out of the question.
CJefferson 14y ago
I suspect that the vast majority of that is internal transactions, rather than real dollars entering or exiting the system.
rsanchez1 14y ago
Well, it can get really expensive if you really get into it. Owning land in SL is not cheap, and I've heard of some people who spend thousands every year owning land for a nightclub or retail space. I do wonder what the top tier of spenders actually spend per year on SL, though.

"SecondLife has 1 million active users" and "$700 million a year in virtual goods transacted" sound a bit strange together. Users spend $700 a year in SL?

by stesch 14y ago

"SecondLife has 1 million active users" and "$700 million a year in virtual goods transacted" sound a bit strange together. Users spend $700 a year in SL?

picklefish 14y ago

"$700 million transacted" double(triple, etc) counts most of the money. I trade you $1 you trade someone else that $1, that's $2 transacted.

bermanoid 14y ago
Regardless, though, that means that the per user transaction rate is $700 per year on average - the incomes of people in a country also reflect multiple spends of the same dollar, which is why velocity of money is so critical to an economy and why free flowing credit is so important to make sure people and businesses keep spending even in the face of short term flow stop ups. That's an incredible amount of spending per user, if true. Especially sine all of that money could be converted to real world cash with relatively little friction, unlike most in-game currencies.
- Trezoid 14y ago
  Certain groups pay significantly more then that. My university, for example, maintains an island for a particular unit (which I'm currently taking, spending quite a lot of time in SL) and that costs them upwards of low 5 figures a year, and I know absolutely that it's not the only place like it in existence, nor is it the biggest.
- gmkoliver 14y ago
  In niche MMOs it's not unusual for users to spend over 20 real dollars/month on micro transactions. I don't know what an average multiplier in terms of in-game transactions would be but 3x doesn't seem out of the question.

CJefferson 14y ago

I suspect that the vast majority of that is internal transactions, rather than real dollars entering or exiting the system.

rsanchez1 14y ago

Well, it can get really expensive if you really get into it. Owning land in SL is not cheap, and I've heard of some people who spend thousands every year owning land for a nightclub or retail space. I do wonder what the top tier of spenders actually spend per year on SL, though.