For this weeks discussion post, I will be discussing the economic aspects of a recently released video game. This video game is called “New World”, and not surprisingly is produced by Amazon. New World is a massive multiplayer online game where you can interact with other players. There are skills such as woodworking, cooking, smithing, and jewel-crafting. These skills become relevant when players decide to trade with others. This trading and manufacturing happens within various small towns. Noticeably, as trade happens and players spend more in game money, the towns increase in size and profitability. Players also affect trade tax rates within the game. The low supply of certain rare items drives up the cost withing the trading post. Decisions between the three warring factions have a significant affect on the trade and manufacturing tax rates as well.
As simple and enjoyable as video games seem, the case of New World show the variety within them. Not surprisingly, a game made by the business Amazon focuses so strongly on the economics of trade and the effects that supply and demand have on the price markets. Within the game, markets change and grow exceptionally fast, but they can still be used as a case study to understand how market work in real life. Peoples skills and production fuel towns and trade causes growth. The tax rates will affect which town the player or person will trade in and which towns they take growth to. This can be seen in real life markets. Business choose which country they trade with and even choose as home location based on tax rates and political rules. In classes we’ve used processes like the PESTEL analysis for these very reasons. A business must examine forces such as trade partners, taxes, growth, and laws when doing business, and within this game, you make many of the same choices.