By "real" I mean one where players actually buy and sell things to other players on more than a token basis, and the economy is actually an important part of the game.

Off hand, I only know of two that I have played - EVE Online and EQ2. To some extent EQ1 had a fair economy, but with so many items being outdated or obsolete there was not really that much actual selling and buying, even though EQ1 does have a pretty decent market system.

Been a while since I played DAOC, but don't recall it having much of any, and WOW certainly does not except for a few select items, such as raw materials. WOW and LOTRO both are severely hampered by the clumsy auction system also.

Not sure, when i saw this thread i was going to suggest EVE, lol.

SWG used to have a pretty rich and complex economy, but that, along with just about everything else that was good about the game, was destroyed with the NGE, leaving being only the huge gaping mess that made up most of the game from day 1.

AFAIK Eve is the only one. PotBS was supposed to but I think that kind of fell through...

Originally posted by Dhaeman

AFAIK Eve is the only one. PotBS was supposed to but I think that kind of fell through...

Yeah, I think EVE is the only game that has a really robust and complex "true to life" type economy that other MMO's can only dream of, but I was wondering if I had missed any.

I don't care for EVE for other reasons,but there is little doubt that it is one game where the crafting/economy is actually a viable "career path".

Eve's economy is extremely detailed and based off real economic and business models. After that simplistic crafting and auction house systems are all you will find.

EVE, best one out there. I actually had fun playing the "stock market" game on EVE.

Originally posted by rikilii

SWG used to have a pretty rich and complex economy, but that, along with just about everything else that was good about the game, was destroyed with the NGE, leaving being only the huge gaping mess that made up most of the game from day 1.

Let it go. I can't believe that the NGE was such an epic point in your life that you can't just let it go.

if you dont mind 2d cartoony graphics (and also f2p) you can try luminary online. they kinda hit the bullseye on having a real player run economy 

Goonzu online is an economically driven 2.5 d affair that is free to play..I'm not a big fan of f2p but it did provide some fun for a bit :)

I'd say the most "real" economy in a game would be WoW; where else do you see prices of the same products differentiate from place to place (server to server) and massive amounts of inflation and money sink holes.

Eve online has the best economy by far if you ask me.

You do have to actually travel to pick up stuff where its being sold, and people selling can study the market to see where a certain item/comodity will sell the best at.

All these other mmo's just have your standard auction house and such.

Originally posted by protoroc

Originally posted by rikilii

SWG used to have a pretty rich and complex economy, but that, along with just about everything else that was good about the game, was destroyed with the NGE, leaving being only the huge gaping mess that made up most of the game from day 1.

Let it go. I can't believe that the NGE was such an epic point in your life that you can't just let it go.

I couldn't give a crap...I was just answering the question, and making sure the OP didn't mistake my answer for a recommendation to play this game.

Agree with some previous posters, SWG had nice economy after release, but it's no longer, right now EVE is the best.

Originally posted by Midnitte

I'd say the most "real" economy in a game would be WoW; where else do you see prices of the same products differentiate from place to place (server to server) and massive amounts of inflation and money sink holes.

WOW is close to a real econemy in a MMO? Just excuse me for a sec . *walks out the room*  ROFLMAO, LOL, LAWL!  *walks back in to the room*   Go take a trip to Eve online. Now that's a an economy no other MMO comes close to.

Originally posted by IAmMMO

Originally posted by Midnitte

I'd say the most "real" economy in a game would be WoW; where else do you see prices of the same products differentiate from place to place (server to server) and massive amounts of inflation and money sink holes.

 

WOW is close to a real econemy in a MMO? Just excuse me for a sec . *walks out the room*  ROFLMAO, LOL, LAWL!  *walks back in to the room*   Go take a trip to Eve online. Now that's a an economy no other MMO comes close to.

This is the truth EvE's economy is awesome...

Eve.

Destructible ships generate constant demand for ships/components and hence ores.

It is a heaven for traders.

It's crafting is kind of weak, though. High security mining also tends to be boring.

Entropia Universe

Can't get more real than that. Completely player driven. Using real player owned funds even hehe.

Out of all the MMOs, I'll have to put a vote up for EVE on this one, too.  A couple others are worth mentioning, though. Pirates of the Burning Sea does have a good market/economic system, at least it did when I played (open beta/launch). Pretty much everything had to go through the cycle of producer/manufaturer/consumer.  I've no idea if it has improved or fallen apart since. Puzzle Pirates is also worth a mention. This f2p puzzle MMORPG is completely consumer driven. Everything is a consumable, including clothing and swords. Ships are the only thing semi-permanent, and that's only if you don't sail them into a sinking battle.

Originally posted by Midnitte

I'd say the most "real" economy in a game would be WoW; where else do you see prices of the same products differentiate from place to place (server to server) and massive amounts of inflation and money sink holes.

Ultima Online and its less than 70.000 non-japanese subscribers has all that. Prices of items on different servers are different, so people often buy transfer tokens to go to another server and sell items for a higher price. It also has inflation/ sink holes and the value of gold is always changing.

That doesn't make UO's economy any close to a real economy. WoW's isn't any close to a real economy either, unless your comcept of real economy is really basic and poor.

EVE's economy is a step beyond any other mmo to an incredible degree.

They even have a real economist that has been doing studies on it. They have market reports. Stock markets. You can even look at price histories on anything you buy.There is simply no other game with this big of a realistic market. The depth is astounding.

Some say prices changing on different servers? EVE is ONE server. Prices vary throughout the different regions in space.

For that one who said WoW. That made me throw up in my mouth a little.

Originally posted by Midnitte

I'd say the most "real" economy in a game would be WoW; where else do you see prices of the same products differentiate from place to place (server to server) and massive amounts of inflation and money sink holes.

FAIL

right now EVE is the only MMORPG that has "real" economy

SWG pre-cu had it before the NGE

the common trait of these two systems is that they where not loot based but player created...  they also have/had a system implemented 1) had limited ressources 2)that made your things break, be it destroyed or decayed forcing the need to replace them, thus going back to the player crafter to purchace more, hence competition between the merchants., ergo, the laws of business of offer and demand now apply

(yes i used "thus" " hence" and "ergo" in the same phrase.)

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Originally posted by Laiina
By "real" I mean one where players actually buy and sell things to other players on more than a token basis, and the economy is actually an important part of the game.
Off hand, I only know of two that I have played - EVE Online and EQ2. To some extent EQ1 had a fair economy, but with so many items being outdated or obsolete there was not really that much actual selling and buying, even though EQ1 does have a pretty decent market system.
Been a while since I played DAOC, but don't recall it having much of any, and WOW certainly does not except for a few select items, such as raw materials. WOW and LOTRO both are severely hampered by the clumsy auction system also.

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Final Fantasy XI. The player economy is large, very important, and understanding it is your key to not being perpetually broke. It's not in Eve's class, but it is, IMHO, a real economy.

        I have to agree with the OP that neither LoTRO or WoW have good systems because their auction houses stink......I always hated having a time  limit on items I sold and also having to pay a fee just to list an item......It really discourages the low level player trying to make a little money so that he can buy stuff there also......I also remembe getting pretty good drops but after I paid to list it and then the broker fee it was about the same as selling it to NPC vendor so why bother with selling it?? It seemed with most items there was about a 50 percent chance it wouldnt even sell,,,,,

As I always rant on about, my biggest beef with wow is that it uses Bind on Pickup, which completely destroys any high level economy in the game.  Unless you are twinking a character, there is not one piece of gear that you can ever buy for your characters, thus making wow's economy nothing more than a commodity market.  The guy who thinks wow has a great economy made me laugh...

Like everyone else I say EVE.

A game needs item decay, looting and good crafting to bring a intresting economy.