GameShark | PC | News | Xfire Debate Club

Log on to Xfire Tuesday, August 21 at 3:00pm EDT to take part in the latest round of the Xfire Debate Club, this week investigating the controversial issue of in-game economics. Whether you love or hate gold farming, power leveling, pyramid schemes, or the market for items, characters and credit online, the virtual economies of popular online games have quickly challenged our sense of value in real life. Joe Blancato, writer and editor at The Escapist, moderates this month's debate on how virtual economies have changed gaming, and how companies can balance profit, punishment, and playability. An expert and diverse panel of guests - ranging from Dmitri Williams, University researcher and contributor to the Terra Nova virtual worlds blog, to Rory Starks, the lead artist of the upcoming MMO and social experiment, Arden - will deliberate on this controversial subject and its effect on the playability of online games.

Learn more at www.xfire.com/debate .

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