An alternate explanation for females being less likely to sell their accounts is that since they tend to be older and probably have a more stable supply of money, a quick $100 isn't nearly as appealing as it is to the primarily college-aged male population.

Because the age distribution of the female participants is so different from that of the male participants, the conclusions about social nature of gaming and the personal value of game account probably reflect age rather than gender.

One thing that these charts do not address is why 34% of players would not sell their account. Myself being a 21 year old male EQ player, I voted that I would not sell my account for anything. One reason for this is because of my good reputation. Also I feel that once I eventually stop playing for what ever reason, my characters are basically dieing, and therefore should not live on in any way. This is not to say that I would have any problem with selling some of my best equipment for some cash.

As a female player of the 18th season, I would never sell my EQ account (though, the quick money it theoretically could bring would be nice). Let me tell you why. I've poured time into this game. I've formed relationships with other players. I worked long days and months creating and maintaning a mildly successful guild. My character isn't particually uber, and my items aren't the best. But she has meaning to me. She, in a way, has become part of me, and I have put part of me into her. My account means too much to me to sell it to someone who could easily destory all the hard work that I've put into it.

It should be possible even with the relatively small sample size to correct for age, then for sex, and determine if it is a function of age, sex, or both.

Assuming that women will not sell their account due to the social relationship it brings them presupposes that personal relationships are more important to women than men, this is not true. I think the woman who commented above more accuratly portrayed why accounts would not be sold, identity. These characters can become part of one's identity and for women, this identity of power and agency is less attainable in real life than it is for men.
Ideally I think statistics of this type need to be presented with data from an open ended response to why a player would or would not sell thier account. To know we need to ask.

I am a 28 year old, male, UO player. I've been playing for almost five years now. I wouldn't sell my accounts, too much time and effort went into my characters for one. But the most important reasons are the memories I've made while playing. I've made some good friends, UO allows my brother and I to "get together" now that I've moved away, I even met my wife while playing UO. I'll probably have my accounts until they shut the servers down.

It would be fun if someone could provide some demographics of the players who chose to buy an account. However I guess that the data are hard to find, and that many people will deliberately lie in the surveys:

Why do they do they buy accounts?

What are their goals in the game?

For how long have they played the game?

How many hours do they play a week?

Do they expect that this number will increase after the buy?

What is their real life income?

Do they play alone or with friends?

Everyone needs to sell their accounts... death to MMORPGs. They are way too addictive. They take up WAY too much time and are too time consumming for the fun you get out of them. They are too much like RL and they kill your life... :-) Once you start you can't stop, They are more addictive then cigarates. If you are over 20 and play MMORPGs I feel sorry for you. You probably have no life. MMORPGs kill your life once you start them, so SELL SELL SELL.. sell your damn accounts. These games are too addictive. :-)

He's right, I can't stop. I'm going to have to sell or delete...I'm not getting anything done. Each year I played more and more, now 2.5 years into DAoC and I play 6+ hours a day(mostly sleep time). Heck, I found this forum by doing a google search for, "how to quit daoc" lol. MMRPGs should be banned from gaming, they destroy your life.

Why do they do they buy accounts?
*I didn't buy my Account, but I traded my account to get something new
What are their goals in the game?
*have Fun
For how long have they played the game?
*just over 2 years
How many hours do they play a week?
*20hours
Do they expect that this number will increase after the buy?
*no
What is their real life income?
*non existant
Do they play alone or with friends?
*with 2friends, we talk on the phone while we play

Noah S 13years old

What isn't presented here is the fact that some people over age 20 play the game in an attempt to get away from the stressors of everyday life. I know myself started playing everquest in my early 30's while recovering from knee surgery. When able to return to work i still played the game, but had set hours set for doing so. At the time I worked as a Casemanager for the Department of Social Services in the Fostercare/Preventive services office. I would get home from work and play to occupy time after work, but more to get away from any work stressors. Working with "kids" at risk and their families can be quite stressful and draining, on many levels. So the premise that " If you are over 20 and play MMORPGs I feel sorry for you. You probably have no life. " is very inaccurate and shortsighted at best.

Additionally, to think that "MMRPGs should be banned from gaming, they destroy your life." shows perhaps that some people do get far too addicted, and they need to look at their lives and the reasons they got so addicted. I met my wife through Everquest, and now we have been married for going on 3 years and have a wonderful 1 year old son. Games can both be good and bad, depending on what you put into them and what you want to get out of them. I've made some great friendships through Everquest, and have met couples who play the game together as do my wife and I. There are many other people who have made real life relationships and even marriages though MMORPG's, so they are not all evil as some claim. I will grant that there are bad outcomes for some people, and some relationships have been ruined, but like everything in life...both good and bad happen.

I agree, MMRPG's can be both good and bad. I am 19 and have been playing Everquest for about 4 years. I have put tons of time into my character, however, whenver something came up like going out with friends or work or anything else I always stopped. To add to that, I smoke as well and I will tell you straight up, MMRPG's are not as addictive as cigarettes are. I have seen Everquest and many other games destroy people's social lives and I for one was unwilling to let that happen. I have since quit Everquest and find myself doing other things like reading, fishing etc, but those are all things that I did when I was still playing the game so there really was no change. I'd like to address the stress relief part of it. Some people choose to watch television on their off time from work, school or whatever you do, others choose to be gamers, there is nothing wrong with it and if nothing else it can teach you to type faster like it did for me haha. As far as selling accounts, I already did sell my account and got some quick cash, which as a college student was very valuable. It all just depends on how you look at things, everyone's case is going to be different. Thats just my two cents.

I'll be very honest with you all. I was an alchoholic for 2 years when I started playing MMORPG's. It was Dark Age of Camelot and I was 23 years old. About 3 months after I started, I quit drinking. I didn't have time to drink. I would agree that for me its an addiction, but at least its not an addiction that is killing me. In fact I think its an addiction that is adding years to my life by helping relieve stress.

Lots of people say that if you play MMORPG's that you don't have a life. I think that is totally untrue. Who really has the life that they want? Not me. Not in the society I live in. Not in the city I live in. You cant even walk down the street here without worrying about getting shot in the face for wearing the wrong color. The only kind of life I've known since I was a kid has kept me locked behind doors in safety. When I do go out to have fun, it is usually somewhere far away, like a theme park (disney land, magic mountain, knotts berry farm) But thats not often. I'm usually too busy working and there is not enough time between work hours to do those things. What there has always been time for is sitting at home listening to music, drinking with friends, having a good time. Now the best thing I found to fill lighten up the time between working shifts is MMORPG's.

People who honestly feel that MMORPG's take away your life should not play them. They should quit, and they should keep their opinions about MMORPG's to themselves because people like me don't really want to hear it.

As for what games I've played. I played dark age of camelot for 2 years. Then I sold my account wich was a very hard thing to do and I still have some regret for doing it. I started playing final fantasy 11. I played that for one year. Now I am playing everquest 2 and loving it. I have not decided if I want to sell my final fantasy account. But this is how I see it. You play an MMORPG for a year or 2 and invest alot of time for it. But new games come out and sometimes you feel its time to move on to something more interesting. What do you have to show for the hours you spent playing your previous MMORPG? That is what helps you decide the price to sell you account at. If you are completely done with the game you might sell cheap. If you aren't completely interested in losing your account, you might sell for a higher price since you don't care how long it takes to sell. When I sold my dark age of camelot account I got enough money to build a new computer to run newer games.

Well thats all I have to say for now. I'm logging into EQ2.

"Posted by: Name on November 5, 2003 06:06 PM
He's right, I can't stop. I'm going to have to sell or delete...I'm not getting anything done. Each year I played more and more, now 2.5 years into DAoC and I play 6+ hours a day(mostly sleep time). Heck, I found this forum by doing a google search for, "how to quit daoc" lol. MMRPGs should be banned from gaming, they destroy your life."

As funny as it may sound the way i found this website was by doing a google search for "How to quit daoc" aswell. Hoped to find a guide to making quitting easier and more successful. Yes i decided to quit and invest my time in RL. Im never gonna consider comming back till im like a stright A student and in a deep relationship with a girl that will rock my world.
I prefer keeping anon but my day consisted of school, food, daoc, shower, and homework if i had time. I am one of the best wizards on one of the biggest population servers, and thats my greatest asset after 3 years.
I decided not to sell my account, because to me it has greater value then the highest money numbers i can get. I will not get into any other video games. Unfourtatnly it hasnt been too easy to quit, I still troll the VNboards (game forums), log into ventrilo, free shards and etc...
Hoping to slowly get over it and be entitled to a girl by next weekend :)

Coming from a table-top background, I believe the high-ranking "Won't Sell" comes from the the sheer fact that characters tend to become friends and companions over time. I have old AD&D character sheets still stuffed in my old books, and if someone came and offered me money I'd sell the books but still keep the sheets. The characters were me, my soul and life-blood, and every up and down they went through I went through as well. it would be like selling your dog that you raised from a puppy.

Im 17, and play runescape. i agree that i would not sell my "main" account for anything as i have poured too much time and effort into maintinaing it. the game (silly as it seems) has indeed become part of me

I have to say, one of the most difficult things I have ever done was sell my SWG acct, but the game became unplayable and I could not, in good conscience, continue to support SOE. I played for two and a half years, I have kept every screenshot I ever took, and I am still in contact with many of the friends I made there. Whenever I think about my SWG character, I feel sadness and a profound sense of loss, like someone has died. Weird, huh...

i would sell my swg account for .. $500 US.

i have 2 level 90 characters with 11 respec choices each and a level XX which i dont want to grind more so that way the person that buy the account can learn to play and do many missions to level him up.
plus many millions and pieces loots soe gifts etc i have in 6 houses around the galaxy and all things i earned in 3 years and plus the account has like 8 months payed so u dont need to worry abount paying this year ohh if u wanna buy it send me a mail to morongotongo@hotmail

Sorosub: Please refrain from advertising here. There are two reasons I can think of.
One; This is not eBay.
Two; No one would see it anyway.

I consider my account to be a part of my "ingame personality" and the reputation ive built with my accounts is something i dont want to pass on to others. Also, if i sell an account with good rep in a game, someone take it over and destroy the rep and i use the same name in another game, i might start off with a undeserved bad rep in that game. The game i currently play most active is Project Entropia and there youll have the option to sell your skills and equipment so that the skills can be applied to another avatar, which would be a much more appealing option to me. However, if youd like to buy the equipment and skills i have there.. were definetly NOT talking hundreds of dollars, but several thousand dollars, based on the market values of the items and skills i have in my possesion. Project Entropias economy is tied directly to the USD and you can withdraw or deposit as you wish...

I would not sell my account for any reason at all. I have been playing MMOs for four years, from earth and beyond, to eve online, to SWG, to world of warcraft. none of my accounts will ever get sold. Sure, the prospect of doing so for fast cash at the spur of the moment is that tempting, but its just not worth the cost. When an account goes, with my name, such as "AceofproZ", someone might ruin that reputation, one ive worked hard to build over the years. It could turn the tide of my future online gaming, or even potentially disrupt it deeply in the future. It is dangerous, in my honest opinion, to thus sell accounts.

i have only tried to sell one account and that was for guil wars. i eventually ended up getting ripped off and my account stolen.

hiya acey boy lol

I've been playing mmorpg for about 9 years. My first game was UO and from there I played EnB from final beta to death, AO, EVE, SWG, WoW. Currently gearing up to go back to SWG.

In all those games I have used the same name, Bentwolf. And in all those games I will not or will I ever consider selling my accounts. I have worked hard at making a reputation with Bentwolf and don't want someone else destroying that as AceofproZ has mentioned.

I also agree with ninn that I have built many relationships with Bentwolf. He is a part of me. Also with the relationships part, I've known many people who only know me as Bentwolf.

So will I...........I'm not gonna even finish the question; the answer will always be no.

Odd as it may seem i think selling is a good idea in some instances.

Ive played MMO's for years, started on Daoc, and then progressed through SWG, CoH, GW, EVE, WoW, Matrix, EQ2 but to mention a few. As you can see im a mmo whore! Thing for me is that when i get stressed, bored or frustrated with a game, i look at my shelf and sub conciouslly know that i can reactivate my sub and go back into the old toons and old tims. This rekindles my enthusiasm to play MMO's. If i sold my accounts this wouldnt happen, and therefor i might go out and do something constructive :p instead i get addicted to the game for a few more months, talk to gamers and here about the next big game coming out.....its a vicious circle!

I think selling an account gives closure on an "end" for a character. I havent as of yet sold any acocunts, but i think the time is getting nearer where i really must, life is passing me by and for the most part im sat running around in fictional worlds hitting ugly monsters over the head with a pristine imbued cugdel :S

MMORPGS are a substitute for life, a surrogate for real achievement. Perhaps they have a potential positive role for the disabled or the recuperating. But otherwise the likes of WoW are far too addictive even when compared to franchises such as Diablo 2 or Starcraft. The latter were much less immersive and addicting, partly due to the limited graphics and game world and also because these games are not fully fledged MMORPGs. As a gamer and programmer I feel that anyone who tries to justify a heavy addiction on the grounds of an improved 'social life', a sense of achievement or similar, is simply deluding themselves. Every hour immersed in a virtual reality is an hour that could be better spent engaging with the real world in the short time we have on this planet. In my honest opinion, the future is bleak in the sense that MMORPGs will become increasingly life destructive and addicting. As a result of lifestyles of disengagement, of which MMORPGs form a small but very increasingly significant part, people will gradually and inevitably lose their acquired habits of independence and willingly accept the slavery of consumerism and obedience to forces that seek to exploit them. Look around you, and honestly admit it isn't already happening.

While No one can deny the truth,Navarth. I for one admit that it is a 'substitute' for life in my case, Simply because I live on an underveloped island (moving off soon). Being 18 years old, I CRAVE social activities, which is why I even play WoW to begin with.

So i wouldn't say that every hour immersed in a virtual reality is an hour that could be better spent engaging the real world. I personally think it solely depends on one's environment and daily circumstances, And one's idea of living 'life' .

It provides an escape (not necessarily bad) from the pressure and routine of real life. In a way it serves as a stress reliever for a lot of people, for e.g: we have a lawyer in our guild.

While it can have negative effects as you pointed out,and yes it will only grow worse as we head into the future. But if one doesn't have the will to keep him/herself from turning a fun game into something destructive, then it is the players at fault,not the developers of these games.

let me tell you, you may feel like u have attachments to the game. but if you delete the account, i bet you would get over it fairly quickly! because its not tangable! i have been thinking, what happens in 10 years when i look back and see that i have done nothing with my life except play MMORPG's all day and night. i am selling my account! especially since i have looked at my WOW account typed /played and realised that almost 2 months straight of the last 2 years has been playing wow. WHAT COULD I HAVE REALLY ACHIEVED WITH THAT TIME BACK?

considering 90% of the game is travelling, the other 9 percent is repetitively killing (who cares how you kill, it's repetitive at all levels)
and the last 1% is the payoff you get when you can say to others oooh look at my shiney epic item!!! no one really cares! i know this because when people brag to me, i couldnt give 2 hoots.

Give it up! your fooling yourself. good luck all.

Navarth,

While I understand your point of view, I find it interesting that many attempt to explain why others play and then design a 'box' to define those players.

I have yet to see hard evidence of how 20 hours a week is detrimental to all people. It all depends on the individual. One person could play 20 hours a week and still have an active social life, good work ethics and good relationships, where as if another person played 20 hours a week thier life is coming apart at the seams.

Each person playing is an individual. I have as yet to find a person whose lifestyle matches mine, income matches mine, whose friends are identical to mine. So I don't see how anyone can define me as the same as someone else.

As for dealing with real life vs gaming. Well, when online I deal with real life people, talk to them online about real life, and we goof off at the same time. Sure, they have an avatar representing them in the gaming world, but does that render them down to just pixels?

There is nothing like accomplishing a goal ingame when your real life day was awful. There is nothing like spending time with friends from around the globe online, where in real life, the chances of me affording the airline tickets, the time off from work are pretty much no exitent.

For a tiny fee of 15 dollars a month, I get to talk to my friend in Romania, my friend from New Jersey, 2 other friends from Canada, and 2 from Michigan. I speak to them daily, I know about thier lives, thier worries, hopes and dreams. We talk about real life issues, and are there for eachother if real life is really tough for one of us.

The best part of this form of spending time with my friends, is that we are all sitting in our own homes, in our favorite chairs with out having to brave traffic or air travel to visit.

If you don't like online gaming? Good for you, that is your life, your choice. Don't think that because it isn't for you that the rest of the other individuals can't find good things from it.

Cheers

What Lisa said :).

So for those of you who think it is meaningless to play the game to begin with.. well.stick with your opinions and we'll stay with ours. don't try to tell us what's worth our time and what's not.

what game r we talking about here?

While using games as a stress reliever can work out for many people, but a line must be drawn for others as well. When that stress reliever becomes an escape from real-life problems or a coping mechanism for depression is when online gaming of any type takes a toll on people as they become extensively engaged inside the virtual world. Games should be mainly used for entertainment and not mental therapy in any way. Would one who accomplishes more in an online world desire to switch roles in a low-end job with minimal income? Everybody has different strengths and weaknesses, but once we keep it as entertainment, then many problems would be prevented.

What about we be more inactive and sit and stare at a TV all day as a stress reliever? MMORPG's are interactive movies. Anyone check how much each industry is making per year? Movies vs games. It'd be an interesting figure i think.

And has anyone done further surveys about pricing and such? As there is a whole new era of MMORPG's now

I think that all opinions here are true, The Games only get too deep if you let them and you can make some pretty good friends from around the world playing them. I play 2 games AO and WOW and as long as I don't spend too much time on them, I don't really have too many repercussions in RL. The only set back is You don't get to the higher lvls too fast playing that way

Cheers;

Hey Peoples,

I play about 18 hours a day in about 3 different online games (same time).First off compared to me none of you have real addictions to online gaming.
(I would give up life to constantly play an MMORPG 24/7. Better yet I would give up life to create anything to do with COMPUTERS/AI/Virtual Reality. I am slowly wasting away in my chair not giving a crap about the world. At 14 years old i should be blowing stuff up and climbing buildings. But no im wasting my life away in a chair.

Also about selling accounts, personally i would sell any of my online accounts without giving a care about them (maybe a tiny bit for my reputation but nothing that serious)

Anyway if you don't like the MMORPG Scene then don't complain about it, just don't say anything about it. More people would be better off not giving a crap about what other people do so long as they deal with their own stuff.

Interesting site and interesting concept. No personal attacks but however people like haxor prove you right. But i dont agree. I myself am a hardcore gamer though its not on wow which your study included. But i game a good 10+s plus a day. I dont think this is a flaw. Alot of people however dont agree with me. Because its not a job it makes me lowly? No this is my job. Not only do people get paid to game, work with beta and make millions designing games. They get to do something they love. As a 3d designer, programmer and avid gamer. It gives me an edge to play this games and make those of my own. (Though i would rather be known for making a flash video/game) However i at times get addicted like we all do to something. Never good to blow something off, even if its for something you love. lol But going back to Haxor i think he should get help.... That or let me recruit him as a tester. lol

Interesting site and interesting concept. No personal attacks but however people like haxor prove you right. But i dont agree. I myself am a hardcore gamer though its not on wow which your study included. But i game a good 10+s plus a day. I dont think this is a flaw. Alot of people however dont agree with me. Because its not a job it makes me lowly? No this is my job. Not only do people get paid to game, work with beta and make millions designing games. They get to do something they love. As a 3d designer, programmer and avid gamer. It gives me an edge to play this games and make those of my own. (Though i would rather be known for making a flash video/game) However i at times get addicted like we all do to something. Never good to blow something off, even if its for something you love. lol But going back to Haxor i think he should get help.... That or let me recruit him as a tester. lol

Interesting site and interesting concept. No personal attacks but however people like haxor prove you right. But i dont agree. I myself am a hardcore gamer though its not on wow which your study included. But i game a good 10+s plus a day. I dont think this is a flaw. Alot of people however dont agree with me. Because its not a job it makes me lowly? No this is my job. Not only do people get paid to game, work with beta and make millions designing games. They get to do something they love. As a 3d designer, programmer and avid gamer. It gives me an edge to play this games and make those of my own. (Though i would rather be known for making a flash video/game) However i at times get addicted like we all do to something. Never good to blow something off, even if its for something you love. lol But going back to Haxor i think he should get help.... That or let me recruit him as a tester. lol

@Loon: TV or any form of entertainment used as a stress reliever, depending on the person, can become a compulsive activity (addiction some might say). I wasn't bashing MMORPG's, since I do play them occasionally and with control.