Judging virtual goods by their cover

Virtual Goods

What are they? Why would you want a “virtual” good? Wouldn’t you want a tangible good? These were the questions popping up in my head as my social media professor announced we’d have to write a blog post about virtual goods.

Definition

Virtual goods enhance consumers’ online gaming experience. For example: Virtual goods may be used to purchase a tractor on FarmVille. Zynga, a leading social network game development company, owns many popular online games like FarmVille and CityVille. All Zynga games must be played through a social networking service (SNS) like Facebook. Redeemed for gaming currency on an SNS, gift cards may be purchased in various stores including Walmart. In addition to gift cards, Facebook and some of its games accept direct payments online.

Number Don’t Lie

According to an article on The Social Customer’s website, in 2010 over 320 million consumers had played a Zynga game at least once. To put this in perspective, there were over 600 million Facebook users that same year.

Not only are these social networking games increasing in popularity, but they are increasing revenues of companies like Zynga. As can be seen in Erik Qualman’s “Social Media Revolution” video, social gamers will have spent over $6 billion by 2013. There is without a doubt a market for virtual goods. As of right now, I am not included in that market.

I Don’t Get It

I have always wondered why I’d see words like “credits” and “payments” on Facebook while using the site. I understand why now, yet I still don’t see the point. Why would you spend money to buy special items, rewards, badges, et cetera on social networking games? Isn’t the whole point of playing a game to improve your skills and earn things? What’s the whole point of playing a game if you’re just going to buy your way to the top? Seems like a waste of money to me.

Not the Gaming Type

Maybe I am a little biased on the whole situation because I am not a “gamer.” I do not go online to play games, and I definitely do not use Facebook to play games. I spend too much time on there as it is! If I enjoyed playing online games maybe I’d have a completely different take on virtual goods. Who knows?

Trial Run

Before judging virtual goods even more, I will conduct a trial run. Over the next week I will redeem my 15-dollar Zynga gift card and test a few different games. Not sure which ones yet, but I’ll choose a few to get a better virtual goods experience. Any game suggestions are certainly welcomed!

After my virtual goods trial run, look for my blog post next week. It will evaluate my experience and prior judgements after using virtual goods, helping me develop a more concise opinion on them.