The rapid growth of online games enables firms to charge players for virtual goods they sell for use within their online game environments. Determining prices for such virtual goods is inherently challenging due to the absence of explicit supply curve as the marginal cost of producing additional virtual goods is negligible. Utilizing sales data, we study daily revenue of a firm operating a virtual world and selling cards. Explicitly, we analyze the impact of new product releases on revenue using ARIMA with intervention model. We show that during initial days after a new product release, the firm's daily revenue significantly increases. Using a quality measure, based on the Elo rating method, we can determine the relative good prices based on good usage. Applying this method we show that the rating of a product can be a good proxy for units sold. We conclude that our quality-based measure can be adopted for pricing other virtual goods.

Virtual purchases are the main source of revenue for developers of F2P games being a market with expected 17.4 billions of dollars volume in 2019. Despite the broad scope of research of virtual purchases, it is still unclear how the player evaluate non-functional goods. Based on analysis of discussions of virtual decorative items this work what experiences nonfunctional items grants players with and how those experiences discussions reflect in the item’s price.  With the use of Structural Topic Modeling framework this work demonstrates the dimensions of players’ experience in their association with price change on the case of Reddit.com subreddit /r/Dota2. Analysis reveals three main categories of discussions: dimensions of hedonic value, dimensions of social value, expectations mismatch. This work contributes to studies of virtual purchases by decomposing each category into experience dimensions and by revealing the relationship between extracted experience dimensions and items price.

This research has taken place to investigate the drivers of what makes people want to purchase virtual goods. While more and more people are expected to buy virtual goods in the digital era, a better understanding of their demand could be key to success in the digital industry in the future. The research question of this study asks what the areas of purchase intention are toward virtual goods which is what this study set out to determine. To create a basis for the study theoretical framework was developed and consisted of three main parts: subjective norms, attitude, and functional values. These topics created a foundation by which the questions were produced to determine the purchase intentions of virtual goods. Unstructured interviews were then conducted using open-ended questions to get respondents honest thoughts and opinions regarding their purchase intention of virtual goods. Theoretical saturation was reached at five respondents in which data was collected. This data was then coded with a method influenced by grounded theory. The data was analyzed thematically into codes and then sorted into categories which include society, product value, and functional value which were found to be the most fitting categories for the data received from the interviews. The conclusion determined that the purchase intention of virtual goods was driven by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norms, attitude toward purchase, perceived enjoyment, perceived value, trust and security, and functional value after the analysis produced a model that can be used for future research.

Problems, relating to the imposition of direct taxes on e-commerce, calculation and collection thereof in e-commerce are discussed in the final Master's thesis with reference to the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, by comparing them with the model of the double taxation avoidance agreement of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development as well as the remarks of the experts of this Organization. Criteria, according to which the e-commerce taxation jurisdiction is applicable, are given herein. Collection of direct taxes of e-commerce in performance of e-commerce activities via server as well as permanent registered office is analyzed.

Microtransactions are part of a business model used almost extensively in the video-gaming industry where developers offer virtual goods or features via micropayments. The concept is relatively new and still unknown to many but deeply rooted in modern video-game developers’ business strategies. Microtransactions are found in smartphone applications, online games played on computer or gaming consoles, and while the concept might be unfamiliar to many, the odds are most have encountered it.   Most published games will feature in-game purchases where users have to option to purchase features, items or content for a small amount of money. A microtransaction in its most simplistic form is ad-removal, here developers offer the user a way to get rid of ads by charging a small amount, like $.99. While one microtransaction may seem insignificant, multiple impulsive purchases can quickly add up to considerable sums. This has resulted in the use of microtransactions becoming the most profitable business strategy for game developers.   This study seeks to describe what stimulates a person to complete a purchase by using the components of hedonic motivation from the HMSAM theory leading to the research question: Which hedonic motivations induce use of microtransaction systems and does it vary by age? To research the phenomena a quantitative questionnaire was formed based on hedonic motivations, including three motivations added by the author, gathering responses from 398 video-game players having completed a microtransaction purchase.   After analyzing the results, some components protruded more than others while the consensus suggested that the influence of hedonic motivation was comparatively low. The argument for this outcome may be that players see in-game items as objects of real-world value, making the microtransaction system within a game a utilitarian-motivation system. The general attitude towards microtransactions appeared to be poor which contradicts some elements of previous research while supporting others.   This thesis will contribute to the field of informatics by complementing the traditional technology acceptance model (TAM) with hedonic motivations, as proposed by Lowry et al. in 2013. The author of this study argue it is a modernized way of researching intentions to use asort of system.

Les mondes virtuels multi-joueurs sont des jeux à trois dimensions. Leurs utilisateurs s’adonnent depuis plusieurs années à plusieurs activités en se transférant des objets virtuels créés ou achetés dans les mondes virtuels dont ils revendiquent la propriété. Ces objets appelés «biens virtuels» n’ont d’existence qu’en ligne et peuvent prendre n’importe quelle forme (avatars, vaisseaux spatiaux, etc.). Bien que le marché des transactions de biens virtuels représente un important impact économique, social et juridique sur l’ensemble de la consommation, ces «biens» ne sont pourtant pas juridiquement reconnus, ni protégés par la loi ou par la jurisprudence en Amérique du Nord et en Europe, seuls les contrats de licence rédigés par les développeurs régissent leurs utilisations. Or, les conflits dans ce domaine peuvent devenir très complexes, car les rencontres virtuelles donnent lieu à une grande variété d’activités et sont créatrices de liens de droit entre des internautes qui peuvent se trouver physiquement à l’autre bout de la planète pour se rencontrer virtuellement dans l’environnement du cyberespace. Ainsi, les effets dommageables de ces activités vont se manifester en dehors du réseau. Puisque dans ces cas, l’espace virtuel et l'espace matériel sont interconnectés, on se pose la question suivante : quelle est la loi applicable aux transferts de "biens virtuels"? Pour traiter d’une question litigieuse en droit international privé, il faut passer par l’étape préalable de la qualification juridique de l’objet du litige, ici les biens virtuels, afin d’être en mesure de le rattacher à un régime juridique et à la règle de conflit applicable selon ce régime. Les biens virtuels, immatériels par essence, n’existent pas réellement. Techniquement parlant ce sont des représentations graphiques de codes sources enregistrés dans le logiciel du monde virtuel. Ainsi, l’existence juridique de l’objet virtuel en tant que «bien» est controversée en droit civil, car elle dépend de la conception stricte (traditionnelle) ou élargie (moderne) que l’on adopte du droit de propriété. En admettant que les biens virtuels soient reconnus en droit des biens, les règles de conflits de lois applicables à cette matière portent beaucoup d’importance sur la situation matérielle du bien pour la localisation du rapport de droits, ce qui rend très difficile la recherche de solution des conflits de lois dans notre matière. Ainsi, l’application du principe de l’autonomie tend à s’élargir aux questions de droits réels, mais cette solution n’est pas satisfaisante pour les tiers. Dès lors, il convient de se rallier à la doctrine contemporaine qui critique la référence générale à la règle de rattachement localisatrice dans des situations nouvelles et spécifiques empreintes de difficultés de localisation afin d’appliquer préférablement le régime de propriété intellectuelle, adoptée spécifiquement pour les biens immatériels. L’application de la loi sur les droits d’auteur est plus adaptée aux biens virtuels en tant qu’oeuvre de l’esprit, parce que les droits ne se trouvent pas limités par l’inexistence de cet objet et parce que les règles de conflits propres au droit d’auteur d’origine conventionnelle permettent une protection internationale du droit d’auteur. / Multi-player virtual worlds are three-dimensional games. Over the past few years, players have been engaging in various activities involving the transfer of virtual objects that they have themselves created or purchased in these virtual worlds and over which they claim ownership. The objects, called “virtual goods”, exist only in the online world and may take any number of forms (e.g. avatars, space ships, etc.). Although the market for virtual property has important economic, social and legal impacts on consumption, these “goods” are neither recognized by the law, nor protected by North American or European legislation or jurisprudence; only the licensing contracts drafted by the developers regulate their uses. However, conflicts that arise in this domain may grow very complex since virtual interactions give rise to a great variety of activities and create legal relationships between the cybernauts who meet in the virtual environment of cyberspace although they may bephysically located on either ends of the planet. Thus, the adverse effects of these activities may manifest themselves outside of the cyber environment. Since the virtual world and the physical world are interconnected in these cases, we have to ask the following question : what law should apply to the transfer of the “virtual goods”In order to answer contentious questions that arise under private international law, one must first go through the initial step of juridically qualifying the objects in question, here the virtual goods, in order to be able to assign them to a specific legal regime and to the specific conflict of laws rules that apply under that regime. Virtual goods – inherently immaterial – do not really exist:they are graphic representations of source code embedded in the software of the virtual world. Thus, the legal characterization of the virtual objects as “property” is controversial under civil law because it depends on whether one adopts a strict (traditional) concept of property law or a more expansive (modern) concept. Even if virtual goods were to be recognized under property law, since the conflict of laws rules applicable to property law place a lot of importance on the physical location of the property in order to determine the legal attachment, this renders the search for a solution to the conflict of laws in this area very difficult. Application of the principleof contractual autonomy therefore provides greater scope in determining property rights, butthis solution may not be satisfactory to third parties. Thus, it is useful to turn to the contemporary doctrine that criticizes the general application of the rule of physical attachment to particular and novel contexts that present difficulties in determining the location of the property and instead applies the intellectual property regime which is specifically designed to deal with incorporeal goods. Copyright law is better suited to virtual goods as creations of the mind since its application is not hampered by the non-existence of the goods and because the conflict of laws rules applicable to traditional copyright lawprovide international protection for copyrights.

Non-Fungible Token (NFT) har genom sitt framträdande i digitala medier skapat ett större intresse för digital virtuell konst. Möjligheten att kunna ge digitala virtuella tillgångar ett unikt ägandeskap genom NFT-tekniken har förändrat hela marknaden för digital virtuell konst. Utvecklingen av NFTs har skapat ännu en otydlighet i gränsen mellan upplevelsen av fysiskt och digitalt virtuellt ägandeskap vilket har resulterat i utmaningar för utvecklingen av marknader för köp och försäljning av digital virtuell konst. Studien syftar till att undersöka hur digitalt ägandeskap av NFTs upplevs av intressenter för att kunna skapa en bättre förståelse för hur marknadsplatser kan hantera de utmaningar och möjligheter som utvecklingen av det digitala ägandeskapet har resulterat i. För att undersöka upplevelsen av ägandeskapet har en kvalitativ intervjustudie utförts med respondenter som har erfarenhet av antingen köp eller försäljning av NFTs. Studien använder en lins av psykologiskt ägandeskap för att kunna utforska upplevelsen av det digitala ägandeskapet av NFTs. Studiens resultat presenterar en förståelse för hur intressenter upplever ägandeskap av NFTs samt förslag på hur marknadsplatser kan förhålla sig till upplevelsen av ägandeskapet för att kunna utveckla ett demokratiskt och inkluderande ekosystem. / Non-Fungible Token (NFT) has through its appearance in digital media created a greater interest for digital virtual art. The ability to provide digital virtual assets with unique ownership through NFT technology has changed the entire market for digital virtual art. The development of NFTs has created another ambiguity in the boundary between the experience of physical and digital ownership, which has resulted in challenges for the development of markets for buying and selling digital virtual art. The study aims to investigate how digital ownership of NFTs is experienced by stakeholders in order to create a better understanding of how marketplaces can handle the challenges and opportunities that the development of digital ownership has resulted in. To investigate the experience of ownership, a qualitative interview study has been conducted with respondents who have experience in either buying or selling NFTs. The study uses a lens of psychological ownership in order to explore the experience of digital ownership of NFTs. The results of the study present an understanding of how stakeholders experience ownership of NFTs and suggestions on how marketplaces can act in relation to the experience of ownership in order to develop a democratic and inclusive ecosystem.

This master's thesis describes the use of microtransactions in video games and their influence over the game design, player experience, and virtual goods presentation. The goal was to compare the titles that use different monetization methods (paid and free to play games) and different types of microtransactions (functional and cosmetic), and to identify which parts of those games could be influenced by microtransactions and how. The research focuses on five titles - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Anthem, Warframe a Path of Exile. The first part of the thesis summarises the historical evolution of monetization models used in video games and defines the terms microtransaction, micropayment, virtual goods, or loot box. It also contains a typology of microtransactions, describes their implementation methods, and possible consequences tied to their use. The second part focuses on the analysis of the chosen five games. The research used the following methods - analysis of my own gameplay and mutual comparison of each game. Each game was examined over the course of ten hours, in sessions about 45-60 minutes long - the gameplay was accompanied by video recordings of the gameplay, screenshots, and a journal that contained detailed information about each gaming session. The research...

Thèse réalisée en cotutelle avec l'université Paris1-Sorbonne / Les mondes virtuels multi-joueurs sont des jeux à trois dimensions. Leurs utilisateurs s’adonnent depuis plusieurs années à plusieurs activités en se transférant des objets virtuels créés ou achetés dans les mondes virtuels dont ils revendiquent la propriété. Ces objets appelés « biens virtuels » n’ont d’existence qu’en ligne et peuvent prendre n’importe quelle forme (avatars, vaisseaux spatiaux, etc.). Bien que le marché des transactions de biens virtuels représente un important impact économique, social et juridique sur l’ensemble de la consommation, ces « biens » ne sont pourtant pas juridiquement reconnus, ni protégés par la loi ou par la jurisprudence en Amérique du Nord et en Europe, seuls les contrats de licence rédigés par les développeurs régissent leurs utilisations. Or, les conflits dans ce domaine peuvent devenir très complexes, car les rencontres virtuelles donnent lieu à une grande variété d’activités et sont créatrices de liens de droit entre des internautes qui peuvent se trouver physiquement à l’autre bout de la planète pour se rencontrer virtuellement dans l’environnement du cyberespace. Ainsi, les effets dommageables de ces activités vont se manifester en dehors du réseau. Puisque dans ces cas, l’espace virtuel et l'espace matériel sont interconnectés, on se pose la question suivante : quelle est la loi applicable aux transferts de « biens virtuels »? Pour traiter d’une question litigieuse en droit international privé, il faut passer par l’étape préalable de la qualification juridique de l’objet du litige, ici les biens virtuels, afin d’être en mesure de le rattacher à un régime juridique et à la règle de conflit applicable selon ce régime. Les biens virtuels, immatériels par essence, n’existent pas réellement. Techniquement parlant ce sont des représentations graphiques de codes sources enregistrés dans le logiciel du monde virtuel. Ainsi, l’existence juridique de l’objet virtuel en tant que « bien » est controversée en droit civil, car elle dépend de la conception stricte (traditionnelle) ou élargie (moderne) que l’on adopte du droit de propriété. En admettant que les biens virtuels soient reconnus en droit des biens, les règles de conflits de lois applicables à cette matière portent beaucoup d’importance sur la situation matérielle du bien pour la localisation du rapport de droits, ce qui rend très difficile la recherche de solution des conflits de lois dans notre matière. Ainsi, l’application du principe de l’autonomie tend à s’élargir aux questions de droits réels, mais cette solution n’est pas satisfaisante pour les tiers. Dès lors, il convient de se rallier à la doctrine contemporaine qui critique la référence générale à la règle de rattachement localisatrice dans des situations nouvelles et spécifiques empreintes de difficultés de localisation afin d’appliquer préférablement le régime de propriété intellectuelle, adoptée spécifiquement pour les biens immatériels. L’application de la loi sur les droits d’auteur est plus adaptée aux biens virtuels en tant qu’œuvre de l’esprit, parce que les droits ne se trouvent pas limités par l’inexistence de cet objet et parce que les règles de conflits propres au droit d’auteur d’origine conventionnelle permettent une protection internationale du droit d’auteur. / Multi-player virtual worlds are three-dimensional games. Over the past few years, players have been engaging in various activities involving the transfer of virtual objects that they have themselves created or purchased in these virtual worlds and over which they claim ownership. The objects, called “virtual goods”, exist only in the online world and may take any number of forms (e.g. avatars, space ships, etc.). Although the market for virtual property has important economic, social and legal impacts on consumption, these “goods” are neither recognized by the law, nor protected by North American or European legislation or jurisprudence; only the licensing contracts drafted by the developers regulate their uses. However, conflicts that arise in this domain may grow very complex since virtual interactions give rise to a great variety of activities and create legal relationships between the cybernauts who meet in the virtual environment of cyberspace although they may be physically located on either ends of the planet. Thus, the adverse effects of these activities may manifest themselves outside of the cyber environment. Since the virtual world and the physical world are interconnected in these cases, we have to ask the following question: what law should apply to the transfer of the “virtual goods”? In order to answer contentious questions that arise under private international law, one must first go through the initial step of juridically qualifying the objects in question, here the virtual goods, in order to be able to assign them to a specific legal regime and to the specific conflict of laws rules that apply under that regime. Virtual goods – inherently immaterial – do not really exist: they are graphic representations of source code embedded in the software of the virtual world. Thus, the legal characterization of the virtual objects as “property” is controversial under civil law because it depends on whether one adopts a strict (traditional) concept of property law or a more expansive (modern) concept. Even if virtual goods were to be recognized under property law, since the conflict of laws rules applicable to property law place a lot of importance on the physical location of the property in order to determine the legal attachment, this renders the search for a solution to the conflict of laws in this area very difficult. Application of the principle of contractual autonomy therefore provides greater scope in determining property rights, but this solution may not be satisfactory to third parties. Thus, it is useful to turn to the contemporary doctrine that criticizes the general application of the rule of physical attachment to particular and novel contexts that present difficulties in determining the location of the property and instead applies the intellectual property regime which is specifically designed to deal with incorporeal goods. Copyright law is better suited to virtual goods as creations of the mind since its application is not hampered by the non-existence of the goods and because the conflict of laws rules applicable to traditional copyright law provide international protection for copyrights.

In a fast paced and ever evolving industry where video games have become an important partof consumers' everyday life, game development can be tricky. The process of developmentcontains challenges that can either make or break a game. This study aims to shed some lighton the indie game development process, what challenges it has, how an independent video gamedeveloper would approach this process and to give the reader a greater understanding of whatbusiness models are used within the video game industry.To gather data a semi-structured interview was conducted with indie game developers so thatthey could give their perspective on the process of developing games, the challenges andbusiness models within video game industry. The data was then analyzed using the thematicanalysis approach to find themes and relate the results to what literature had to say about thearea.The conclusion of this study show that indie development usually starts with an idea, which isthen created into an early protype for testing purposes as well as to gather feedback whetherthis idea could become a fully-fledged game. The conclusion also shows that one challengewith using the free-to-play business model is the fact that many game companies have startedusing this specific business model, because of this there is more competition amongst gamesutilizing the business model.