The Future of the Multiplayer Online Game

Games have been around since times immemorial. Since long before humans appeared on the scene. Playing games is an archaic and primal activity. It’s something that the young of many if not all species do. At its core, the game is an exploration of the environment and oneself. The outcome is self-improvement. Improved skills and increased knowledge of the limitations and possibilities inherent in oneself and the environment. Every single game you have ever played in your life is based upon these fundamentals. From hide and seek to football. From Pacman to World of Warcraft. Explore, stumble, and improve are the three phases of a game and beyond them lies the alluring victory.

Everything about the game is not the same as it has always been though. In the information era we currently live in the game has become a business and as any business it needs to turn a profit. To generate profit the game need to provide the player with an awesome experience but it also needs clever monetization. Long gone are the days when gamers would buy unknown games in pretty boxes sitting on crowded shelves in offline stores. These days gamers expect a lot, have a lot to choose between, and don’t want to pay a lot.

Making an awesome game these days costs millions of dollars and turning a profit by pushing physical copies of a game has become virtually impossible for all but a few big brands. That’s why we are seeing a move away from offline to online distribution, from pay to play to free to play, and from publishers to crowdfunding. That’s also why we are seeing a move away from singleplayer to multiplayer games. When it’s free to play it must also be optional to pay – if there is going to be any profit that is – and this is where the multiplayer game wins over the singleplayer game. Few players are going to spend significant amounts of real money on virtual items and services in a game devoid of other players because it is obvious to the player that none of it is real. Add other players and persistence to the game world though, and everything changes. Suddenly it is real to the player and therefore worth spending real money on. And thus the potential for the microtransaction is born. And the microtransaction is the king of monetization.

The popular view of a microtransaction in the western world is a purchase of a useless in-game perk in a fully launched and playable game but this definition does not even begin to describe it. The microtransaction is there all the way from crowdfunding to finished product, from useless perk to pay to win, and from official market place to the grey market place such as RPGStash.com. It permeates every aspect of the persistent online multiplayer game whether it’s free to play or pay to play. And make no mistake, players don’t care much for useless perks whether they live in a western country or South East Asia. The more useful the microtransaction is, the more attractive it is to the player. The most popular microtransactions are always the ones with the biggest impact on gameplay whether we are talking stash tabs, extra experience gain, champions, pets, or better gear. Hardcore gamers and game developers alike tend to cherish ethical useless microtransactions and curse pay to win but their money tells a different story. The truth. And the truth is that players are just as goal driven as the game makers and pay to win is therefore the perfect monetization model.

But what constitutes winning? A game like chess has very clear rules for winning but things become muddy when you look at persistent game worlds like World of Warcraft and League of Legends where the goal is progression rather than closure. In this context where the journey is the true goal, paying to look cooler or to progress faster or to play expansions are all the same. It’s all pay to win or more accurately pay to progress, and it’s potentially very profitable for the game company.

So what does this mean for the future of the online multiplayer game? I think the game worlds will become more dynamic and volatile to prevent the player from getting bored and I also think there will be more black holes in the game worlds for the player to be sucked into such as sex, gambling, debates, political elections, and various legitimate ways of making real money. I don’t believe for a second that gamers play games to escape reality. I believe gamers play games to explore, improve and gain respect and that every hurdle, temptation, and encounter along the way is an opportunity for the game company to monetize.

A service worth paying for

The kind of services we provide at RPGStash.com are appreciated by many gamers as evidenced by our steady growth. However, the very same services are frowned upon by many others who just don’t get it. They think it’s cheating to buy in-game services or at best a waste of money. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The truth is that most online games are more work than play and a player that has a life outside of the game simply does not have time to grind his way to interesting gameplay. That is, unless he pays a company such as ours to help him out.

We believe that games should be fun. They should provide a healthful balance between the known and the unknown, relaxation and tension, friends and foes. They should not be about grinding. That’s what real life is for.

We have put together a little video presentation of our philosophy. Feel free to watch, comment and share.

Raving Reviews For RPGStash

We have just integrated a new independent customer feedback service by the name eKomi into RPGStash. The customer reviews are already building up and everyone seems to love our service. EKomi is a very accessible and transparent service. Within a few days of placing your order with RPGStash you will receive an email from eKomi containing a link to the review form. It just takes a minute to fill it out and a few hours later it will show up on the eKomi website.



EKomi is a welcome addition to our Bizrate reviews. Bizrate is great for both merchant and customer but it is a bit more cumbersome than eKomi and customers are therefore less likely to use it. It also adds more credibility with two independent systems instead of just one.

Speaking of which, we have just spotted a third party website that ranks MMORPG gold sellers, and RPGStash is the top ranking seller on the site.

It's great to see all these reviews and feedbacks. It reassures both us and our customers that we are doing a good job of enhancing their online gaming.

Pay with Paysafecard, Bitcoin and Dineromail at RPGStash

You can finally pay with Paysafecard, Bitcoin and Dineromail here at RPGStash. If you are looking for a secure payment method with rock solid privacy protection, all three of these methods will do the trick.

Paysafecard is the worlds biggest prepaid card for online use. We accept Paysafecard from many countries worldwide including all of Europe. When you pay with Paysafecard your security and privacy are at a level of 100%. All you need to do is buy a paysafecard at a local outlet and then enter the pin code in our checkout. Please observe that we will charge a fee on top of the order amount to cover the payment processing fee. RPGStash will only receive the original order amount. The rest goes to the payment processor.

Bitcoin is an online currency without any form of central processing or control. It’s a cryptocurrency whose payment network is entirely run by the users. Bitcoins can be bought and sold at various online exchange sites and the value is entirely decided by supply and demand. You can pay us with Bitcoin without giving out any personal information. The order will be delivered as soon as payment has been confirmed. This typically takes less than 15 minutes.

Dineromail is a cash payment system local to South America. You place your order at RPGStash and receive an invoice. Then you go to a local Dineromail agent and pay the invoice with cash. We will receive the money instantly and your order will processed right away.

We have even more payment methods lined up and soon to be deployed to rpgstash.com. RPGStash is all about providing our customers with great options, both in term of product selection and payment methods. Enjoy.

The winner of 100 Million Runescape gold

This month we had a hoard of Runescape gold up for grabs and several hundred people entered in the hope of becoming a great deal richer.

1st place – 100m EOC / 3m 2007 gold

The winner of our mighty first prize is lady Leanne ([email protected]). Leanne shows that women is a force to be reckoned with in Runescape. However, there are always two sides to a coin, especially when it’s made of gold. What are the new suitors really after? Leanne or the gold?

2nd place – 50m EOC / 1.5m 2007 gold

In second place we have another lady by the name Cassandra ([email protected]). Whether she is old school or EOC we do not yet know. What we do know is that she has millions of reasons to be happy.

3rd place – 20m EOC / 500K 2007 gold

Last of the winners but still top 3 we have Gary ([email protected]). Gary is the rooster in the hen yard and should count himself lucky.

Big congratulations! Our upcoming sweepstakes opens up next week. Make sure to like us on Facebook to get all our sweepstakes announcement straight into your newsfeed.