Online Gaming

Another capitalist phenomena...

Online games..whoever thought of it first?

But now it's being used for a very lucrative purpose. Take for example games like o2jam, Pirate King Online, Ran Online and i'm sure you've heard of Ragnarok Online. These are just a measure of the online games that are sprouting like moss on damp grounds. The concept of gaming is slowly being drowned, strangled and washed away. Well, that is at least the old concept, when i was still like 12 or 13 years old. Now i'm 21 and the change in the gaming concept has shifted towards a more dynamic and delightful view - for the investors and stock holders.

Now, you need to PAY to PLAY. Wow, and i thought gaming from home would be free of charge (well that's besides the electricity and internet bills of course). When the Internet first came up, everyone wanted it to be a free service when surfing and using public utilities. Why? Because you're already paying for your Internet bill, so why should i pay more for things i can access? Good enough reason? Turns out, it's just not enough for our fellow game creators.

Fine, everyone is bent and set out to make money. Hmm...what was the gaming experience? Oh...i forgot MMORPGs(mass-multiplayer-online-role-playing-games) were filled with human beings. So we're not exactly playing with the computer AI or our friends via LAN connection anymore. Hmm...

All online game first emerge as a free-to-play beta version. This is when players are invited to test out the games, and this supposedly is the time frame to fix bugs and problems that may occur. It is also to test the market value of your game and to determine how big a server you will need to occupy that bandwidth and capacity of players. Then comes the official launching of the online game, which is normally still free. But then, when more and more players start to come, they start to charge.

Companies have come up with a very smart way to start charging players. Instead of placing a monthly fee where you need to top-up your account in order to play for the month, they make something called an "item mall" where you have to buy points to purchase these exclusive items. These items are always essential things that players will need to use to maximize their gaming experience. So, you don't make them pay for playing, but you make them pay more for the things they really WANT.

It's like selling candy. You give them candy and get them addicted. Then you make an even better candy and get them to pay for it. They become hooked like addicts and somehow need this lucrative and yummy candy to survive.

The best part is, most of these online gamers are from the age range of 11-16 years old. Wow, small little kids that are being preyed upon. Now who said they stopped advertising for kids? This is more than advertisements - it's wholesale investments for 15 year olds.