Gamer buys $26,500 virtual land

**xdir** · 17th December 2004

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4104731.stm

Gamer buys $26,500 virtual land

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Would you pay money for this virtual vista?

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A 22-year-old gamer has spent $26,500 (�13,700) on an island that exists only in a computer role-playing game (RPG).

The Australian gamer, known only by his gaming moniker Deathifier, bought the island in an online auction.

The land exists within the game Project Entropia, an RPG which allows thousands of players to interact with each other.

Entropia allows gamers to buy and sell virtual items using real cash, while fans of other titles often use auction site eBay to sell their virtual wares.

Earlier this year economists calculated that these massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) have a gross economic impact equivalent to the GDP of the African nation of Namibia.

Investment prospects

"This is a historic moment in gaming history, and this sale only goes to prove that massive multi-player online gaming has reached a new plateau," said Marco Behrmann, director of community relations at Mindark, the game's developer.

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</TD><TD class=sibtbg>ISLAND PACKAGE

A unique castle (furniture not included)
Hunting
Mining rights
Taxation rights on hunting and mining activities
Income from the sale of land lots

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The virtual island includes a gigantic abandoned castle and beautiful beaches which are described as ripe for developing beachfront property.

Deathifier will make money from his investment as he is able to tax other gamers who come to his virtual land to hunt or mine for gold.

He has also begun to sell plots to people who wish to build virtual homes.

"This type of investment will definitely become a trend in online gaming," said Deathifier.

The Entopia economy lets gamers exchange real currency into PED (Project Entropia Dollars) and back again into real money.

Ten PEDs are the equivalent to one US dollar and typical items sold include iron ingots ($5) and shogun armour ($1.70)

Gamers can theoretically earn money by accumulating PEDs through the acquisition of goods, buildings, and land in the Entropia universe.

MMORPGs have become enormously popular in the last 10 years with hundreds of thousands of gamers living out alternate lives in fantasy worlds. Almost 200,000 people are registered players on Project Entropia.

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**whatnow** · 17th December 2004

madness! it's property development gone wrong i'm sure.

If it makes the happy then it's cool with me, but personally I kinda think anyone is bonkers if they are prepared to spend that much money on something of this nature...but then again I only know the basics of MMORPGs.. is it just the sims but on a huge scale?

I used to also seel ultima online money being sold on ebay, it was 1million's worth of whatever currancy they use, but they sold for loads...it made me wonder how ligitamite it all was, it sounds dodgy and wierd to me.

does anyone on here play these games, is it even a game? what do you 'do'?

**MaxP** · 21st December 2004

yep there loads of us that play these types of games...

Big eveonline verterain and also heavly in the new EverQuest 2.
its allways a mixed bag when selling online stuffs for real cash..but it happens all the time.

mate of mine left uni last year and refused point blank to get a job....
instead he plays EveO all day long and sells isk on ebay (in game curreny) to cover his bills each week. true he shares a house so dosnt have the sorts of bills up proper people do...
but he gets to play his PC all day long.

i have an EveO characture that im about to drop...
over 18 motnsh of hard work...shed loads of skill points...
plus this char currently has a place in the final of the colussus caladari race.
do i just del the char or put it on ebay to recoup all of that hard work ?

**whatnow** · 21st December 2004

I still dont really get it...you make a warrior or something?

**firstpirate** · 21st December 2004

crazy aint it - to much money i reckon with nothing to spend it on

Imagine playing this game then stepping on his land - he then decides to prosecute u in the real world because the law is changing to protect people with virtual assets.
Sounds daft yeh! but then who would expect someone to pay thousands for something in virtual land

**gunner** · 21st December 2004

I have been playing Star Wars Galaxies for the past 18 months and put allot of man hours into the game (ditching it in favor of Wow). The pinnicle of the game for most is to become a Dark Jedi or Jedi Guardian - and it is no uncommon to see these characters being sold on e-bay for $1000+.

**MaxP** · 21st December 2004

Originally Posted by shangrula

I still dont really get it...you make a warrior or something?

well yes....or no.

totaly depends upon the style of the game..
but they all follow the same premise...
you start with very little and have to grind you way up.....

some people (ie the effing lazy unemployed scum/students)
will have 20 hours a day to progress in the game super fast...
the rest of us with jobs will not be able to progress so fast...

unemployed scum will be happy to sell you some of there progress in game (in the form of ingame money/items) in exchange for your hard earned RL cash.

i know it all sounds a bit bizzare...but when you have 1/4 of a million people playing one game, there are always people that what to sell in game stuffs and people who want to buy.

its pretty much unique to the mmorpg style of gaming.....

**CzarJunkie** · 21st December 2004

Give it a few hundred years and humans will also be part of the virtual world too, so virtual commodities like this aren't too much of a surprise, as soon as parts of the human brain can be replicated by machines I've no doubt there will be a whole virtual community that will be more than willing to leave their carbon based bodies behind in favour of silicon.