People paid for digital music before it was portable. It just wasn't crazy because… it was paying for music, which has long been done… just like paying for a paper greeting card, or paying for a movie, or paying for Adobe Photoshop… all seem normal because they've been around a while, when actually these things really aren't that different. That's the root of my rant, although the “just a few hoursof work by an artist and a programmer” quote is also pretty ridiculous.

In many cases, virtual goods are just a different way to self-meter how to pay for an interactive experience you like. It's not the good itself that has value, but the experience.

People don't have a problem with someone paying a subscription, but get all snarky when someone buys a virtual sword or hat. You could argue that the main difference is that the virtual good method enables personalized pricing / spend. In both cases, someone is just paying for a game they really enjoy.

So I hate the knee-jerk, thoughtless, judgmental attitudes. They might be very *human* and normal but that doesn't make them not *stupid*.

I don't put a lot of weight on portability of virtual goods because their value is created within the context of an experience (game or otherwise). A virtual good totally untethered from a great game experience probably has extremely poor compulsion behind it. Until there is a metaverse where portability of identity and look (visual self-expression of self) is relevant, and I don't think that's happening *anytime* soon, portability isn't that relevant.

I have talked to many people who don't understand why anyone would pay for a virtual item and in fact are very judgmental about those that do. Sadly, most of these same people have never used the products that sell virtual goods and have misinformed opinions.

Physical goods have a value proposition that virtual goods/electronic delivery have yet to achieve for the mass market. That's the chasm that needs to be crossed. That is changing and is probably being led by the masses with downloaded music which is now the preferred way to enjoy the music experience.

But the music consumption experience is significantly different and supports the growth and acceptance of digital downloads. Users are able to listen to that downloaded music via various devices on their terms (mobile device, car, home, etc). That convenience makes it ok with downloading it and never touching the physical media. The value proposition has been transferred from owning of a CD to the convenience of portability and not storing physical goods.

When the virtual hat is transportable and available on the users preferred device of the moment, we'll have broader mass market acceptance of virtual goods sales. The silos of virtual worlds and experiences selling unique goods specific to their products with unique virtual currencies will continue to impede the broader market acceptance.

I'm confident this will be solved – just a matter of time.