I wonder how much it is worth considering new players/short term players at all in a study like this. Unlike the real world, where gold is *almost* zero-sum, in wow, gold just exists and people get it. In other words, the amount of gold that can exist is tied to the number of players who play, while the potential real world economy doesn't get larger simply because a person is born. Given this, and that a person can (a) opt out of the WoW economy at anytime and (b) could theoretically play most of wow without participating in the inter-player economy, does it make sense to count those players at all?

If, for example, I were to play (like i did when i first played on my brothers account) for a few months at a time and never play the ah or interact with other players, do I really count as part of the economy? or am i like Jeremiah Johnson, just living in the woods on my own? I would guess (totally a guess...) that there are plenty of people who play WoW for long periods as a one-player game.

Those people, and folks who are new/playing for shorter periods, and do not participate in the economy are essentially children. When analyzing the distribution of wealth in a nation, you dont count each child's $200 savings account as their own, you count it as part of the parent's wealth.

Just some thoughts, feel free to debate, I'd be interested in what other folks think.