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MMO Family: Are virtual presents a worthy holiday gift?
When it comes to picking out holiday gifts for younger family members, it's amazing how quickly it can escalate to the equivalent of organizing Operation Overlord. As I wandered around Toys "R" Us yesterday, I watched two mothers trying to make sense of Skylanders and figure out how to coordinate and buy the right packages. (At one point, one was having trouble understanding that the "Giants" weren't really that giant.) Picking out a gift for a kid might sound simple, but to the adults who aren't up to speed on the latest craze, it's not only complicated -- it's a potential nightmare. Virtual presents and currency cards are two gift ideas that are growing in popularity. Young gamers are comfortable with the notion of in-game goods, but while the in-game MMO community has begun to accept it, it's not quite accepted by the mainstream as a valid gift option. I think there's good reason that it should be, though. In this week's MMO Family, let's take a look at why virtual presents still aren't seen as valid gifts and examine why that's worth reconsidering.
Found Footage: Little World Gifts enters the world of virtual gifting
Have you ever wanted to send a loved one a rose, but knew that you wouldn't be able to deliver it yourself? Or maybe you wanted to cheer up a friend in the hospital, but you were on another continent? If the Liverpudlians at Little World Gifts have their way, you'll soon be exchanging virtual gifts with your friends. The six-person UK startup has been working on a self-titled iPhone app that they hope to ship in December. The app lets you purchase virtual gifts from a shop and send them to others who either have the app or are Facebook users. As you can see in the video above, the gifts are high-resolution 3D items that you and your friends can touch and manipulate. Your friends receive push notifications that you've sent them a gift, and can then add them to their collection in their copy of the app, or enjoy them in a separate Facebook app. In case you think virtual goods are a silly idea, Little Worlds Gifts points out that it is estimated that consumers will spend over US$1 billion on virtual goods in 2009 through online games and social networks. Facebook generates almost US$40 million annually through sales of virtual gifts. Little World Gifts hasn't announced a price for the app or the virtual gifts, but TUAW will keep an eye on this virtual boutique for future reference.
Social currency and giving in MMOs
SFGate.com takes on virtual giving in MMOs, with pretty accurate results-- they cover everything from Facebook (is that an MMO?) to Habbo Hotel, and even though they don't take on any more traditional MMOs (I've heard many stories of gift-giving in World of Warcraft), the fact remains that in any game where players can transfer items among one another, there's a possibility of giving virtual gifts for the holidays.Have you ever done it? SFGate says there's meaning associated with these virtual gifts, and I think that's definitely true-- spending your own time to craft or purchase an ingame gift for someone is definitely meaningful, and as more and more people play MMOs, more and more people will understand what it means to put together enough money to buy them an Epic item.But the article also (rightfully, I think) doesn't cross the line and say that a virtual gift would replace a real one. In my estimation, getting a virtual gift is nice, and definitely would be enough for any acquaintances you've met in game, but for real-world friends and family, just a virtual world gift isn't enough. What do you think?[Via 3pointd.com]
