World of Warcraft: From Game to World-wide Phenomenon

“World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. World of Warcraft is a “Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game” which allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.” – worldofwarcraft.com

The above quote only begins to describe the online phenomenon that is Warcraft. World of Warcraft was created by the Irvine, California based Blizzard Entertainment. The company is expected to draw in over 1 billion dollars of revenue from it’s more than 7 million subscribers, making it by far the most prolific subscription online game. Although made in America, WOW has gone global in a way that hasn’t been seen since Pac-Man in the early 1980’s. China has over 3 million subscribers while the US has around 2 million, possibly due to the company using Coca Cola to boost sales in Asia.

If you’ve never heard of the game it’s probably because the most successful and fanatical players do not tend to leave their computers often. Why? The answer is gold! The goal of the game is to accumulate virtual gold acquired from performing various tasks such as killing monsters, selling good like swords or clothing and selling virtual real estate. One recent trend that has turned out to be quite profitable is selling virtual gold on auction sites for cold hard currency (real life dollars). Players who are more dedicated and play for, let’s say, 40 hours a week will accumulate much more gold than a player who only plays 20 hours a week. If the 20 hour a week player wishes to bolster his status to compete with the 40 hour a week player, he can purchase virtual gold online from a site like Ebay, and in turn acquire bigger and better weapons and real estate.

When Warcrafters began realizing the intense demand for virtual gold, some shifted their philosophies from straight gaming to making a profit from their skills. Some of the best known gamers have been known to make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year selling gold and have turned the commodity into a legitimate business. One southern California man is rumored to have set up shop in Mexico, hiring locals to do nothing but play Warcraft while he attends his day job. Another gaming super star set up a series of computers in his home, each running a robot that simulates someone playing the game. When Warcraft moderators caught on, he simply re-programmed the robots to send a message to his cell phone when a moderator entered the room so that he could  run to the computer and chat with them, proving to be a “real” player. Last but not least there’s a woman who runs a virtual real estate business, selling virtual land that she buys and develops.

Not surprisingly, corporations are now approaching gamers to advertise their products in the World of Warcraft. The clothing company American Apparel has a contract to create a virtual clothing shop within the game for players to dress their characters. Some players are even creating their own brands and selling their virtual products to other players. Welcome to the world of virtual capitalism.

Friends, this is not just a game. It’s a multi-million dollar industry that has drones of gamers drooling in hopes of cashing in on the many revenue producing trends developed by Warcraft junkies.