Consumables?

I have been pondering the SL economy and it is really really interesting!

However, there seems to be one flaw which makes it, I think, set to eventually deteriorate and that is:

There are absolutely no consumables in the game of any kind.

The only monthly activity that requires spending is paying for land and premium accounts. And that doesn't remove $L's from the system.

In fact nothing removes $L's from the system and SecondLife corporate puts more in the system every day!


Contrast that with "Project Entropia" which taxes everything the players do and pays no stipend. Not fun, but at least it creates an economy where money is valuable. (Of course their user interface is the worst thing I've ever used!)


The problem with an economy with no consumables is that there are no repeat customers because buying one is all you ever need! Everything in game is an "Everlasting Gobstopper" type product!

Am I wrong? Hopefully I am because I'm fascinated by this game and its economy thus far.

I think it's more about wants than needs here, Bogart. I make a house, I sell that house. The person lives in that house. Eventually, that person gets tired of it and wants a NEW house! So the person buys a new house! Wheeee! Instant gratification. And thus, more people sell more houses.

coco

i'm not sure how you are defining consumables.

- if you are defining consumables as money supply "sinks", we do have some of those. Whether you call it a tax or a sink, same difference, but there are things that pull currency out of the economy, such as the L$10 fee to load textures, or the new classifieds system.

but on a separate note, from a business theory perspective, it is an interesting aspect to SL's economy that nothing deteriorates (unless somehow scripted to de-rez at some point). There is NO wear and tear. Even in the software market, where the 1's and 0's obviously do not wear out, there is a churn of underlying hardware which often forces upgrades.

As cocoa pointed out, it means we have no necessity-based replacement market (heck, there is no "necessity" anything!), and so everything from the first purchase to the last is grounded on consumer whim and desire.

The only situation where this could change is when Linden Lab makes a fundamental change to the infrastructure that breaks things... this does happen from time to time and is a necessity in order to continue advancing the technical state of SL.

Actually, and someone here will correct me if I am wrong on this, there are a few ways that L$ may get "consumed" and not replaced. Advertising fees for listing in the directory, Classified ads, Resident ratings, and land auctions of Governor Linden's land. Those are all paid to Linden Labs in L$, so they may get "consumed" at that point.

However, considering the fact that they do pay stipends and provide incentives, may end up putting that money back into the economy. Only a Linden would know for sure.

Consumables are rare, on occasion. Oz Spade once made a representation of Snow Crash (yes, from the book) that had a simulated, pretty kewl effect, and altho it wouldn't damage your avatar, it'd certainly be worn out after the first go and you'd have to ask Oz for another "hit".

I've seen some scripting tricks with "limited supply" schtuff that needs to be refilled and recharged too.

Would be nice to see more... after all, in a world where we can have permanent dyes, it's nice to know temporary ones have a lot of yet-unused value.

Ah yes, I remember the $25 "rating fee" and didn't know of the others. So I guess there are some minor "money sinks" but they definitely are not close to the stipends given.

I would enjoy a game where there was deteriation at a lifelike rate. After all that's more lifelike

Don't speak to me about permanent dyes, Torley! My older daughter - the one of the gorgeous head-turning long blonde hair - just went and dyed it black! *bawls* Dye is a very sensitive subject for me today.

coco

P.S. We had that sort of deterioration in TSO, Bogart, where things broke (on purpose) after a while. But it just irritated me.

I've always thought that, whatever SL try and do to create a "real" economy, the fact that people don't need to have a home (ie: pay rent/buy a house), "eat" or keep warm/cool to remain inworld will always prevent a truly real economy.
Another factor is the nature (or rather, otherwise) of land: - The M and PG rating, and whether there is a telehub, are arbitrary factors which can be changed by the Lindens. So to is their ability to "protect" or "unprotect" land. So too is the ability for anyone who ones land to build anything, regardless. So, in rl if one were to buy a plot of land next to the ocean, then one would pay a higher price on the assumption that a dirty great factory wouldn't be built within the foreseeable future. Sure, that particular stretch of water could be "sold" to a developer, but the chances of them draining the ocean to create buildable land are hugely small! Similarly, buying M land at a higher price is meaningless if the price drops because the sim is switched to PG.
Of course, events happen in rl which are totally unexpected and which can drastically alter the value of land (eg: earthquakes, floods, factory closures in prosperous neighbourhoods, land reclamation, etc...) So I suppose the SL factors I mention go some way to replicating those rl events......
DOH! I just wrote my way out of my original argument!!

Hey, it's only a g**e!!!

The consumable is entertainment.

After a while, the same old thing just isn't entertaining any more.

People buy new things.

Many simply enjoy the shopping experience. Or getting presents.

I think Desmond's on to something here. The SL economy can't be compared to the entire RL economy, but maybe it is possible to find more narrow analogies. Maybe the SL economy is more like the RL entertainment economy?

So is having to urinate and die.

Would you like your avatar to urinate and die?

I agree, also SL grows with improvements in artistic techniques, whether it be better clothing avatars hair cars or even scripted toys, people are always finding something new to make or get better at making what they already make.

Allen Parks showed me some fun firecracks that get "used up" after you pop 'em. I launched them in a sandbox, poor Resis must've thot I was greefing the works.

I've seen it already lol