A Gamer Has Spent $26,500 on Virtual Property
by Mary Zul Enly · in General Discussion · 08/04/2005 (12:55 am) · 29 replies
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 in a RPG which allows
thousands of players to interact
with each other.The virtual island includes
a gigantic abandoned castle and
beautiful beaches which are described as ripe
for developing beachfront property.
According to Game Money Research ,a virtual currency price
research site,this is almost
the biggest transaction in the virtual
world untill now.
"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,"
someone said.
$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 in a RPG which allows
thousands of players to interact
with each other.The virtual island includes
a gigantic abandoned castle and
beautiful beaches which are described as ripe
for developing beachfront property.
According to Game Money Research ,a virtual currency price
research site,this is almost
the biggest transaction in the virtual
world untill now.
"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,"
someone said.
#2
Edit: yeah, it was second life.
08/04/2005 (2:01 am)
If he was a spammer, wouldn't he be spamming something? I don't really see anywhere what game he is talking about. It could be second life, or more likely project-entropia.com. I know some jerk wad spent about that much money for a piece of landEdit: yeah, it was second life.
#3
If this isnt "spam", then it's at a minimum a gurrilla marketing tactic to get people to visit the site he/she/it is advertising.
08/04/2005 (2:25 am)
The way "Mary" words everythign totally smacks of spam... everything is so incredibly vaugue, this is "Mary"'s first post, and what is it? it's a link to a site that's trying to be a "standard for game money conversions"If this isnt "spam", then it's at a minimum a gurrilla marketing tactic to get people to visit the site he/she/it is advertising.
#4
08/04/2005 (4:17 am)
Totally agree with you Jason
#5
08/04/2005 (4:30 am)
The first and only post by this person. Definitely spam me thinks. 
#6
08/04/2005 (5:13 am)
Maybe the point was to get a hold of everyone's attention about how much money you can make with the functions of some MMORPGs ... or maybe it was to laugh at the idea someone spent that sort of money on virtual property so they didnt have to do any of the work themselves, they could just have someone else model/code the thing and buy it from them ... or maybe I am reading too much into this considering I just work up, heh.
#7
The post does appear to be spam, if this person returns we will have reasonable doubt, but anyways...
$26,500 !!!!
For a piece of virtual propery?
That's more than most of the games on this site have spent on DEVELOPMENT!
Fan-friggin-tastic! I'm in the wrong biz, I think I need to be a real-estate agent for SecondLife.
Just curious though, do you think there would be any legal repurcussions?
By that, I mean if player A lives in say Florida, and creates a piece of virtual rea-estate and sells it to someone else who also lives in the same state, and I don't know maybe does this on a continous basis (making virtual estates for resale), do you think this person would eventually have to be licensed AS a real-estate agent, general - contractor or etc?
I know it sounds like a dumb question, but as more of us give up time in a real world for our piece of the virtual pie, it may become a serious issue.
Anyways what do you think?
08/04/2005 (5:20 am)
Ok so let's tear this apart.The post does appear to be spam, if this person returns we will have reasonable doubt, but anyways...
$26,500 !!!!
For a piece of virtual propery?
That's more than most of the games on this site have spent on DEVELOPMENT!
Fan-friggin-tastic! I'm in the wrong biz, I think I need to be a real-estate agent for SecondLife.
Just curious though, do you think there would be any legal repurcussions?
By that, I mean if player A lives in say Florida, and creates a piece of virtual rea-estate and sells it to someone else who also lives in the same state, and I don't know maybe does this on a continous basis (making virtual estates for resale), do you think this person would eventually have to be licensed AS a real-estate agent, general - contractor or etc?
I know it sounds like a dumb question, but as more of us give up time in a real world for our piece of the virtual pie, it may become a serious issue.
Anyways what do you think?
#8
08/04/2005 (5:33 am)
I'd think it was spam if the news of that sale wasn't almost a year old. 
#9
08/04/2005 (5:50 am)
I'm with dreamer... Who cares if it's spam ? That is crazy. 
#10
The guy will make loads of money from it.
Also, the news is from last year :p
08/04/2005 (6:21 am)
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4104731.stm full story.The guy will make loads of money from it.
Also, the news is from last year :p
#11
08/04/2005 (6:54 am)
People dying of starvation and dehydration in cafe's that serve both food and coffee are more frightening. The Biology of Human Starvation is a very interesting two-volume set that sheds an even more horrifying light on these people's suspension of disbelief. 
#12
08/04/2005 (10:01 am)
"deathifier" ??
#13
08/04/2005 (10:11 am)
Project Entropia is still running? I really didn't think they had that large of a user base, and figured they would have shut down a while ago. 
#14
08/04/2005 (10:18 am)
You know what strikes me as sad? That there is a site (linked in first post) that actually tracks exchange rates of game currency vs. dollars... like it was a stock market commodity or something...
#15
that's a huge part of games like second life.
i believe you can even make actual money by speculating on virtual money
without ever playing the game, and possibly without even having an account!
just like the stock market.
yeah, here: www.gamingopenmarket.com.
08/04/2005 (10:42 am)
@rodney-that's a huge part of games like second life.
i believe you can even make actual money by speculating on virtual money
without ever playing the game, and possibly without even having an account!
just like the stock market.
yeah, here: www.gamingopenmarket.com.
#16
good purchase i say, he is making back the $$ in notime ;}
and yeah you CAN make money in that Universe.
08/04/2005 (11:27 am)
David Storey "Dethifier" purchased a piece of land called treasure island, in a "Virtual Universe" , so not technically a "game".good purchase i say, he is making back the $$ in notime ;}
and yeah you CAN make money in that Universe.
#17
08/04/2005 (9:41 pm)
That's amazing... It kind of makes me want to play.. but it makes me want to make a game like that, and charge a percentage of all transactions that take place :)
#18
08/04/2005 (10:50 pm)
This isn't actuallys "new"s, this happened back in December. Not sure why it's being reposted.
#19
It may be irrelevant but not really spam.
08/04/2005 (11:52 pm)
This isn't really "spam", the site linked to isn't trying to sell anything.It may be irrelevant but not really spam.
#20
There are a few websites that will buy your World of Warcraft in-game currency for real US dollars. (And also sell you some if you want). How sad is that?
This means the owners of world of warcraft almost have a money printing machine. Think about it, there is no central bank regulating inflation etc. The owners can just give themself some virtual money and sell it for real dollars. That is one helluva game!
I want a money printing press too!!!!!!!!!!!!
Think of that, "hmmm, need to make this month's payment on the Porsche. I know, I'll just edit the database of my character and give him more gold pieces and then just sell for US dollars"
I'm pretty sure governments around the world will soon move to either (a) outlaw it (b) tax it
08/05/2005 (12:26 am)
I think it is crazy that people are paying real money for numbers in a database that don't actually track anything. At least the stockmarket is a capital raising mechanism for real businesses that translated into real jobs for people.There are a few websites that will buy your World of Warcraft in-game currency for real US dollars. (And also sell you some if you want). How sad is that?
This means the owners of world of warcraft almost have a money printing machine. Think about it, there is no central bank regulating inflation etc. The owners can just give themself some virtual money and sell it for real dollars. That is one helluva game!
I want a money printing press too!!!!!!!!!!!!
Think of that, "hmmm, need to make this month's payment on the Porsche. I know, I'll just edit the database of my character and give him more gold pieces and then just sell for US dollars"
I'm pretty sure governments around the world will soon move to either (a) outlaw it (b) tax it
Torque Owner Jason Swearingen