Getting the Goods on Virtual Items: A Fresh Look at Transactions in Multi-User Online Environments
Justin A. Kwong · Mitchell Hamline Open Access (Hamline University) · 2011
I.1. Active accounts for virtual worlds have gone from 414 million in early 2009 to just over one billion in the third quarter of 2010 according to KZero, an analytics firm that monitors virtual world usage.KZero Worldswide, Virtual Worlds: Industry & User Data: Universe Chart for Q3 2010, SLIDESHARE, at *7 (Sept.30, 2010), http://www.slideshare.net/nicmitham/kzero-universe-chart-q3-2010.2. See KZero Worldswide, Virtual Worlds: 2011 and Beyond: Key Industry Trends and Market Developments, SLIDESHARE, at *8 (2009), http://www.slideshare.net/nicmitham/virtual-worlds-2010-2098472.3. Companies like McDonalds, Cascadian Farms, and Herman Miller have offered branded virtual items in worlds like FarmVille and Second Life.See, e.g., McDonald's and FarmVille Join Forces for Special Event Promotion in Most Popular Social Game, MARKETWIRE (Oct.7, 2010), http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/mcdonaldsr-farmville-join-forces-special-event-promotion-most-popular-social-game -1331266.htm;