Currency, Control and In Game Economies
Dubious Quality: Xbox Live Marketplace: I Stop Being Stupid
Bill Harris talks about an XBox theory where Microsoft uses the XBox currency and it’s online marketplace to address hacks of Xbox systems….
It’s not a bad dialogue to have with your older gaming kid. If you collected points in game, and the marketplace for spending your points existed online – in an enviroment controled by the creator of the game itself – why couldn’t they enforce software rules to enforce obedience?
“Thou shall not hack thy system, or thy reputation and wealth is lost. LOST, I Say!”
What a great talking point to discuss how software and systems can be used to encourage or discourage user behavior!
And why talk about that with your kid?
1. Get them to THINK and not simply be passive players being entertained by the game.
2. This is a great little example, but history is full of governments using economics to encourage or discourage behavior. Just look at interest rates over the past few years….
