Sparter Launches Player Driven MMO Currency Exchange

Online marketplace provider Sparter has announced the public beta release of Gamer2Gamer, the company's global service designed to facilitate independent player driven online trading of virtual currencies across games like World of Warcraft, EVE and EverQuest II. Sparter officials note that among the chief benefits offered by this service are saving players money by cutting out any sort of middleman from their transactions, while simultaneously protecting the rights of the game publishers. According to Sparter, the platform is designed to serve developers and publishers as well as players, and the company is currently working with potential partners for ways to provide exchange functionality in-game or at the partner's website. Sparter requires that its users acknowledge the intellectual property rights of the developer and publisher. "It is imperative that we protect the rights of content originators," said Boris Putanec, chief technology officer of Sparter. "By working together, everyone in the eco-system will benefit." In addition, the company has also introduced measures to help promote a safe and efficient trading environment, including features such as escrowing of buyer funds, reliability ratings based on actual transactional data, and price charts that show market trends. Users can also see the wholesale prices for several external business-to-consumer sites. According to Sparter, the Gamer2Gamer platform allows players to purchase and sell virtual currencies “in an open, transparent and secure environment.” Games currently supported by the service include World of Warcraft, Dofus, EVE Online, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Lineage II, The Lord of the Rings Online, MapleStory, Silkroad Online, and Star Wars Galaxies. Players can access the Gamer2Gamer platform from Sparter's official website, within which users can select one of the supported games and browse through a list of currently available currencies up for trade. Commented Dan Kelly, chief executive officer of Sparter, "We believe the industry needs a workable model that better serves the interests of gamers, developers and publishers." He added: "Our platform makes it possible for gamers to trade directly with each other, saving money in the process and lowering the cost of buying and playing games. Keeping that purchasing power in the pockets of gamers is good for the industry."