More on why we play

I recently posted my thoughts on why we play, with some people looking mainly for the entertainment coming from the game, while others are looking more for the achievement in the game. Of course that isn't a black and white picture. I am mainly after entertainment, but achieving something can be entertaining too. And somebody who is mainly after achievement might occasionally relax and do something in the game just for fun.

But while I was thinking more about achievers and entertainment-consumers, it occurred to me that there is a strong correlation between somebodies attitude towards raids, and his attitude towards RMT (Real Money Trade, the buying of virtual gold for dollars). A hardcore raider is more likely to detest RMT, while most casual players either don't care, or (more or less secretly) participate as buyers.

The reason for that is simple. The more you think that virtual items in a game are a reward for some achievement, the less you like somebody getting these items without the achievement. Cheating in any form, RMT included, is threatening the achievers purpose in (virtual) life. If somebody just spent a lot of time and effort to achieve a certain level of equipment, somebody else getting to the same level of equipment much faster and without the effort makes the achievement look less valuable. For the entertainment-consumer, RMT is much less threatening. Spending more money for better entertainment, for example for a bigger TV, is a widely accepted idea. You might be jealous of somebody else's big plasma screen, but it doesn't invalidate your choice of life style.