Report: In-Game Currency is Most Popular Virtual Item to Sell

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2009 - 11:16am.

Santa Clara, Calif. - Nearly one-third (31%) of those who purchased virtual goods over the past year also sold virtual goods, with in-game virtual currency being the most frequently sold item from player to player, according to a report from market research firm VGMarket and PlaySpan, an operator of virtual goods marketplaces.

The report found that two-thirds of all sellers of virtual items on social networks, online games and virtual worlds sold in-game currency over the past year, earning a median of $22.

Fifty percent of sellers on social network games made a sale over the past year, yearning a median of $50, while 25% of sellers on free-to-play games made a sale, earning a media of $98.

The report also found that 89% of all sellers were male, with a median age of 21, and household income of $30,000.

"For individuals looking to derive income from secondary markets, this study serves as a useful guide," said VGMarket president Michael Gluck.

"It's not only the type of item and genre that are deserving of consideration, but the demographic characteristics of sellers and annual dollar amount they are able to generate can provide publishers valuable information about what makes most sense in terms of selecting a business model."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10384337-62.html

http://snipurl.com/svkhg (TechCrunch)

http://www.vgmarket.com

http://www.playspan.com

Published in DMW Daily, October 28, 2009

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Comments

Interesting and a bit sad

Submitted by Sofiasofia (not verified) on October 28, 2009 - 10:12pm.

Interesting and a bit sad that there is still a big gender difference in this type of field.

People will sell not only

Submitted by Cabrio (not verified) on October 29, 2009 - 3:53am.

People will sell not only their in-game currency but their own gaming accounts. If it's an older account and has a lot of potential they can receive a pretty nice amount of money. Although selling your account is most of the time forbidden.