The Economics of Video Games

The economic principle I’m exploring is “People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways. ” My research question to help me study the economic principle is “How do video game companies incentivise gamers to buy their games?”

The article/video/etc published in The Washington Post titled “The Economics of Video Games” demonstrates this economic principle because it shows, how much economics is inside of a video game, how much game companies rely on economics for feedback on their games and, Economists are intrigued by the world of video games.

 First, how much economics is inside of a video games is massive. From the article by The Washington Post, ¨But there’s a flip side, too. Just as video game designers are in dire need of economic advice, many academic economists are keen on studying video games¨

 Second, many game companies rely on economics for feedback on their games. From the article by The Washington Post, they said, ¨ Nowadays, many massively multiplayer online video games have become so complex that game companies are turning to economists for help. Without oversight, the games’ economies can go badly awry… ¨ Game companies as well as economists rely on each other to keep a game afloat.

 Third, Economists are intrigued by the world of video games on a wide scale. From the article by The Washington Post, they said, ¨A virtual world, after all, allows economists to study concepts that rarely occur in real life, such as non-fractional-reserve banking, a popular libertarian alternative to the current banking system that cropped up in Eve Online¨. Economists are intrigued on what new things can be learned economically in video games that cannot happen in real life. In my next blog post I will research: The inside of a game design company