Is Trade in Real Money really bad?
In the online game industry, dealing with RMT (Real Money Trade), which buys and sells in-game items with actual money, has become an issue for the past few years. RMT is the act of trading in-game items in cash. Many online games are banned by convention, but it is legally acceptable and there is no sign that RMT will disappear. In some cases, such as “Second Life”, the official recognition of RMT activated the game and grew the in-game economy, and positive discussions about RMT began to rise.
RMT is an act in which a user sells an account of a character with high ability by raising the level or a rare item that is difficult to obtain to other users in cash. Since around 2000, when online games began to flourish, they have been played in Japan as well. Initially, personal transactions were the mainstream, in which users with time raised their levels or acquired items and sold them to other users at auctions.
Legislation at this point is “meaningless”
The treatment of RMT will eventually lead to legal issues on the Internet, Shin says. Who owns the saved data that the user has raised-whether it should be protected by the copyright of the game maker, or whether the user who “grows” the data can claim ownership or property rights. “If you recognize the property rights of the user, you will not be able to end the game, so the game company will not recognize the property rights” (Mr. Shin)
Another issue is how to handle the money earned from RMT, such as whether it is not subject to income tax and what will happen to tariffs when it is traded across national borders. In North America, there has been a heated debate about taxing profits generated online, such as Second Life, and Congress has begun to consider it. In South Korea, “because a group of yakuza operated the RMT site underground to make a profit and received criticism” (Mr. Shin), a bill banning RMT and BOT was passed.
RMT has begun to be recognized
Some games have officially introduced RMT. On February 8th, Sony Online Entertainment “EverQuest II” officially approved RMT between users on a specific server. Initially, it was predicted that the official server would be rough, but in reality, the play styles of the official server and the non-authorized server did not change.
Second Life has officially authorized users to buy and sell digital items, which has led to a boom, check best forex trading platform Singapore. “Millionaire born in Second Life used to do RMT as a violation in other games. If the violation is Second Life, it contributes to the game. The value changes 180 degrees” (Mr. Shin).