Sony Online Entertainment is launching an online marketplace where fans of its multiplayer games can buy and sell virtual artifacts, a practice it previously discouraged.
The Station Exchange site is apparently in response to the growing underground market for such items. The site will first offer subscribers to Sony’s EverQuest III the option to buy, sell, or trade the right to use specific characters, items, and online funds they have earned playing the video game.
Until now, Sony has been among the most aggressive game makers in restricting sales of such articles, even insisting that all material related to its EverQuest series belongs to the company. For instance, Sony has blocked numerous EverQuest-related auctions on eBay and Yahoo, and convinced both of those sites to ban sales of such items. In addition, Sony has sued othersites specializing in the barter of the online commodities.
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The company says it is creating Station Exchange to discourage underground trading of game articles and to protect its customers from fraud. As the trade of game related items has increased, so has the reported number of incidents of people ripped off in misleading or illegitimate transactions, Sony says.
Rather than relying on the good faith of individuals, players will be guaranteed to receive anything they win at auction on Station Exchange.
“The unsanctioned secondary market for online games is rapidly growing, and more and more of our players are taking part in it,” John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment, said in a statement. “Not only are we answering the demands of a sizable portion of our subscriber base, but we are also set on establishing the standard for online game sales.”
Links:
stationexchange.station.sony.com
Station Access Collection (Matrix Online, Everquest Evolution,Star Wars Galaxies Starter Kit, Everquest II, PlanetSide Aftershock)
EverQuest Player’s Handbook (EverQuest Role-Playing Game)
