Below is an interview with the president of IGE. He gets pretty upset at the end as you can see by his use of CAPS. Anyway here it is:

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Tell us a little about your gaming background, what did you do before IGE?

Steve: I'm long in the tooth I'm pleased to say that my gaming experience started when a PR professional who was working with (the now legendary) Nolan Bushnell in the early 80's showed me an awful (but at the time completely cool) game in development called Pong. From that moment, I "got it". I wanted to get into gaming, which led to a stint at Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI), a well known pioneer of war games and fantasy role playing games. This probably explains why my favorite games are PvP MMORPG's. I spent many years with Electronic Arts and then, more recently at Ubisoft. Great companies that make great games.

Over the years both IGE and its business has grown, how many employees are currently working for IGE?

Steve: We have about 150 employees/consultants at the moment.
What separates IGE from other secondary market purveyors?

Steve: We see ourselves as a service provider to the entire online gaming community. That community is broad, including gamers, developers, media and publishers. We are very committed to helping expand the market through innovation, high-quality customer service and ethical and professional business practices.

You have recently stated that the secondary market for virtual items exceeds $880 million annually worldwide and is expanding rapidly. What do you believe is driving this rapid growth?

Steve: There is no question that the secondary market exists because the majority of gamers want the benefits it accords. The secondary market lets you play the way you want to play. That's a powerful thing.

It's been stated that IGE has made numerous efforts to reduce the potential for fraud. What avenues do buyers have to recoup any losses caused by fraud?

Steve: As they say, "prevention is the best medicine", which is sound advice when you are buying and selling virtual items. IGE offers transactional security to its customers. If we buy it, you get the money. If we sell it, you get the item. And we work with payment solution providers like Pay Pal and others to reduce fraudulent purchases or payments with stolen accounts. Bottom line, when fraud occurs, IGE bears the cost.

Several online game developers have taken punitive actions against players, such as banning a player’s account, rather than going after the companies that peddle secondary market goods. Why do you believe that companies who engage in the sale of virtual items and characters have remained immune to legal action?

Steve: First, I would comment that I don't know of a single IGE customer who has been banned as a result of doing business with us. Publishers are well aware that a large number of players, including many leading players, are participating in the secondary market. In addition, the legal issues surrounding intellectual property ownership and permissible uses of virtual objects are completely unsettled. It makes little sense to leave resolution of what are first and foremost business issues up to the courts to resolve. I speak regularly with developers and publishers BOTH to maintain good relations and to seek business solutions to issues that we face.

You just stated that you, “speak regularly with developers and publishers” Tell us a bit, about what those conversations are like. Additionally, which major developers have you made positive inroads with? (SOE, Blizzard, Turbine, Sigil Games?)

PR MOUTHPIECE: THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN’T DISCUSS FURTHER. CONVERSATIONS WITH PUBLISHERS ARE CONFIDENTIAL.

Editors Note: All formatting, including capitalization, is taken verbatim from email discussions with the interviewees.

Secondly, do you believe developers may hurt their own customer base by targeting them rather than the companies who purvey in the secondary market?

Steve: When they try and stifle the secondary market by action against players or companies like IGE, they hurt their game. If I were sitting in a management position at a developer or publisher, I would give my customers what they want. Gamers, by in large, want the benefit of the secondary market. If you don't believe me, check out the size of the market. Millions of gamers are involved. They vote every day with their dollars.

You have stated that IGE does not believe that they are infringing the intellectual property rights of publishers. However, some developers have stated that it is indeed illegal for in game items to be sold for real money. Do you believe these conflicting statements affect the MOG community, and if so, in what ways?

Steve: Certainly it affects the MOG community. We see a large increase in secondary market activity when publishers approve of the activity. Doesn't that mean a lot of gamers want to participate but are afraid to do so?

In your opinion, whose property do the virtual items and characters sold in the secondary markets belong to?

Steve: Having spent thousands of hours in online games, it's pretty clear to me that, at least emotionally, the players feel they "own" their characters, items, guilds, etc. I was fascinated to learn recently that, in a survey of Korean online gamers, about 80% said the items are owned by the player...and the majority of the remaining 20% felt that the items were owned by the avatar, not the player or the developer!

So now that we know what you THINK the players believe, we want to know what you believe. Who owns the virtual items and characters being sold in the secondary market?

PR MOUTHPIECE: BEYOND WHAT STEVE HAS TOLD YOU, HE’S NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO COMMENT FURTHER ON THIS.

Where do you see the secondary market being in three to five years?

Steve: I believe the secondary market will continue to grow and will eventually be larger than the primary market.

Let us take for example you invite your friend and myself to your house to play Monopoly . I land on park place and buy it. Your friend then lands on Boardwalk. I offer your friend 5 real life dollars to sell Boardwalk to me, and he does. I now have an in game advantage. Does this behavior undermine the spirit of the game?

PR MOUTHPIECE: I THINK YOU’RE REACHING A BIT WITH THIS ANALOGY. THE SECONDARY MARKET FOR MOG IS A YOUNG PHENOMENON AND ALWAYS EVOLVING, WHICH LEAVES IT OPEN TO A LOT OF DEBATE AND DISCUSSION. HOWEVER, YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT BLATANT CHEATING, WHICH IS NOT WHAT THE SECONDARY MARKET IS ABOUT, IN A GAME THAT IN NO WAY MIRRORS AN MOG. WE COULD GO ROUND AND ROUND ON THIS BUT I THINK STEVE HAS STATED HIS THOUGHTS PRETTY CLEARLY.

Editors Note: Overall I will say that they were very professional up untill the point the heat got turned up. The only question left unanswered is this. How does IGE respond to the rumors that it has offered developers a percentage of its sales in exchange for cooperation? Why offer to pay for what your already taking? Steve if you'd like to answer this, feel free to email us.

And so concludes my failed attempt to ask the hard questions. I hope you found this read entertaining. Feel free to leave some feedback in this ongoing thread. May the next journalist learn from my mistakes, I wish him good luck.

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http://www.okratas.com/modules.php?op=m ... =0&thold=0

The game doesn't mirror the a MOG, but the transaction is exactly what IGE does =p. All that discussion just seemed like an attempt to transfer the responsibility from himself to the players and developers of the game

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Retired 8/21/06
Don't click this link.

You know...it all goes back to the basic supply and demand market...he is right in that sense. If people will buy virtual goods then people will make money selling virtual goods.

As an adult who makes a good living, I could buy all the gil I want. But I choose not to...because I believe that gil making (in game) is part of the ethic of the game. I also work pretty hard to make "real" money that I refuse to spend on "play" money. I would never pay someone five real dollars for Broadway in a Monopoly game either. And yes, I think that anyone who buys gil is a cheater. The most expensive item on my character is my enfeebling torque and I worked long and hard to get it when it cost 500K (last I checked they were over 800K). My son who is 13 spent 2 weeks irl doing nothing but farming last summer to buy the monster signa for his BRD.

I might not ever be rich in gil in the game...but to me...that's not what the game is about. I'd rather have good equipment I came by honestly than uber equipment I wasted real money to "buy."

True, no challenge in buying the gil and most people know who gilsellers are i've worked hard for all my junk and i'm proud because i earned it, it takes time but you will say yo yourself this is mines I did it and it was worth it.

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Rank 10 Bastok - 75PLD - ZMs Complete - 100+2 Alchemy

Things are always better when you earn it.

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