The assumption here sounds like it would take an enormous amount of marketing to take on WoW. I'm not sure that is quite quantifiable. I think the better argument is that the network effect of a game like WoW is an unsurmountable barrier that positions the platform much like eBay.
eBay, however, isn't the only Internet auction player. There are others, but they are all very minor players. I don't think these players are thinking they need billions of dollars to overcome eBay, they just need to make a better platform for buying and selling. Google overtook Yahoo, Altavista, Lycos, Excite, and all the rest well before they had the billions of capital. Of course, there isn't as much of a network effect with search engines, so a better example may be Facebook.
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eBay, however, isn't the only Internet auction player. There are others, but they are all very minor players. I don't think these players are thinking they need billions of dollars to overcome eBay, they just need to make a better platform for buying and selling. Google overtook Yahoo, Altavista, Lycos, Excite, and all the rest well before they had the billions of capital. Of course, there isn't as much of a network effect with search engines, so a better example may be Facebook.