Buying Gold

How many MMO players purchase virtual currency? And how much real money do they usually spend on virtual currency?

In a recent survey (N = 1923), 22% of respondents said that they had purchased virtual currency (referred to here in shorthand as RMT - real money transfer). There was a mild correlation with age (r = .11) and no gender differences. In other words, male and female players were equally likely to purchase virtual currency. A multiple regression revealed that none of the motivations were substantial predictors of RMT likelihood (r-squared = .04) - although within the weak model, the Relationship motivation was the best predictor.

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Overall, those players who have purchased virtual currency have spent on average 135 USD altogether. Again, there was a mild correlation with age (r = .17) but there wasn't a significant gender difference.