Banking in RPGs
A solid argument exists for having a real banking system in online games. Even Goliaths like WoW have a “Bank” which is essentially no more than a safety-deposit box.
You can read the whole entry at EyesLikeOurs (Sent to me by Jon), but I would like to make a further point. In addition to adding value directly to the players by establishing a true banking system, There are economical manipulations one could do to control the rampant inflation that plagues MMOGs due to the cursed face of Gold Farmers. Certainly it’s not a quick fix, but it could help in management. I believe the concept of providing loans would also be useful in resolving the issue (As many will prefer to go into debt to get cash now, rather than give their very real currency to Gold Farmers).
The idea of gold farming really interests me as it is fundamentally a real life career within a virtual world. This concept shows how games are evolving into something much more than just play things. It reminds me of the guy who bought out a plot of land within a game (I think it was Everquest 2) and charged others to play on it. This was a few years ago and back then it was virtually unheard of! In my mind, gold farming is the proof that MMORPG’s can become more of an alternative to real life.