by Tim Peters

Created on: March 17, 2009

Shigeru Miyamoto had a number of inspirations for one of his greatest contributions to video games, The Legend of Zelda. The Nikkei index probably wasn't one of them. Yet The Legend of Zelda and its successors have much to teach about economic theories. These three examples from the original game are relatively trivial events, yet with a little change in perspective, they become powerful examples of the economic principles that have shaped our lives.

LESSON 1 - PAY ME FOR THE DOOR REPAIR CHARGE.

Wealth can change hands rapidly and unexpectedly in a free market, or even in The Legend of Zelda. Bombing a passageway into the wrong Old Man's cave will cost Link 20 of your hard-earned rupees (the currency of Hyrule). While gamers all over the world have called this Miyamoto's way of irritating players trying to find all the game's secrets, Adam Smith would have called it a perfect example of his Invisible Hand theory of economics.

The Invisible Hand theory essentially states that a free market is balanced by everyone's collective greed. In this case, the Old Man's need to repair his cave keeps Link from becoming so wealthy that the money he acquires after earning his maximum 255 rupees are wasted. Thanks to this minor inconvenience to Link, the value of the rupee becomes stronger and less resources are wasted. Veteran gamers might call this a money sink, but economists know better.

LESSON 2 - IT'S A SECRET TO EVERYBODY.

In contrast to the selfish Old Man, there are the Moblins who secretly give Link rupees. This is a classic example of Marxian economics at work, specifically commodity fetishism. It's not entirely clear why these Moblins want to give Link rupees when most others just want to fill him full of arrows. Maybe they're disenfranchised by Ganon's leadership. Maybe they don't want Link to find out they like playing with little baby Octorok dolls.

Whatever the case, each Moblin's goal is to obtain some sort of peace of mind by shelling out their rupees to Link. But because the value of the Moblins' secret can only be represented in rupees, there's no way to determine exactly who's getting the better deal. Did Link get the better deal, or did the Moblin? When commodity fetishism occurs, the true value of a commodity really is a secret to everybody.

LESSON 3 - LET'S PLAY MONEY-MAKING GAME.

Some Old Men offer Link a tantalizing choice: For just 10 rupees, they can make money by choosing one of three things. Sounds like an offer you can't refuse, right? Take another

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