To be fair, virtual currency does not have to obfuscate the cost. The obfuscation is not really intrinsic to the concept of virtual currency itself. It comes from the practice of offering “discounts” on virtual currency “bundles”, e.g. $10 for 1200 CC, but $50 for 7800 CC. This is deliberate obfuscation, but it’s not something you must have when using a virtual currency.

I’m not pointing this out to be pedantic, by the way. I’m trying to make sure everyone is aware that the companies that do this choose to do it. It’s not that their hands are tied. It’s that they want to make it harder to reason about pricing.

Virtual currency without obfuscation is actually nice. It makes a few good things easier, like refunding a virtual purchase, or setting lower regional prices.

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