Abstract
This chapter explores the economic meaning of video games and virtual worlds. Section 2 outlines the scope of video game economics and several different types of research included under this umbrella term. Section 3 then explores one of these types in more detail by examining the relationships between action, choice, and economics on the one hand and games and play on the other. Section 4 builds on this insight by exploring the economics of gameplay, especially how the structure of video games implies a series of economic problems that players solve: scarcity, choice and tradeoffs, opportunity cost, specialization and division of labor, trade, and entrepreneurship. Section 5 then discusses virtual worlds and their relation to real-world economies. Section 6 concludes with some thoughts on the purpose, value, and limitations of video game economics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Invisible Hand in Virtual Worlds |
| Subtitle of host publication | The Economic Order of Video Games |
| Place of Publication | Cambridge |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Chapter | 1 |
| Pages | 10-36 |
| Number of pages | 27 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781108884891 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781108839716 |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Feb 2021 |
Keywords
- Praxeology
- ludology
- video games
- virtual worlds
- scarcity
- choice
- tradeoffs
- opportunity costs
- specialization
- division of labor
- trade
- entrepreneurship