Virtual consumption: Using player types to explore virtual consumer behavior

Abstract

As virtual economies begin to interact more with real world economies, it is important to consider the in-game activities that players engage in, which create and transfer game currency. Specifically, we examine products and services that players offer to each other within MMORPGs. We use Bartle's taxonomy of player types to illustrate the different behavioral approaches players have in consuming these products and services. We introduce the term virtual consumption to describe these in-game exchanges and highlight the need for further research into this phenomenon. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2007.