Sony Commits to Real-Life Currency in Games

No longer sheepish about allowing players to buy their way to success in online games, Sony has announced that two of its new titles will support real-money transactions.

Although many MMO publishers do their best to keep real-life money out of their games to keep the playing field level for gamers of all income levels, the hopelessness of that fight has lead some publishers to simply embrace virtual transactions. Sony Online Entertainment announced on Wednesday that its upcoming titles The Agency and Free Realms will both allow gamers to open their wallets to get ahead in the game – with the publisher’s blessing.

SOE partnered with Live Gamer, a company that already provides a real-money marketplace for EverQuest II, to provide a real-money marketplace for the new games. In The Agency, a first-person shooter, players will be able to acquire the best equipment for their travels through dangerous corners of the globe. In Free Realms, a fantasy-adventure type game, players will be able to customize their avatars and buy virtual goods similar to the way they do in Second Life.

Although Sony isn’t completely washing its hands of the virtual money business, executive seem content to leave it up to another company to handle. “Live Gamer is a proven partner that protects and supports our gamers who participate in RMT,” said John Smedley, president of SOE, in a statement “We trust them to handle this area of the business for us so that we can focus on creating and growing our games.”