Ante raised in price of virtual world goods.
Virtual World goods are a multi-billion dollar a year business. We knew people were willing to fork over small amounts of money for virtual islands, couches, dresses and shoes. Now a world record has been broken for the sale of the most expensive virtual item to-date–the Planet Calypso Virtual Space Station. The item, which was purchased via MindArk’s Entropia Universe sold for 1 Million PED (Entropian Dollars) for an amount equivalent to 330,000 US Dollars.
The purchase of this item should be a wake-up call for those interested in virtual worlds, virtual economies and virtual commerce. In addition, law enforcement officials should also take notice of the amount of virtual currencies moved annually. According to many studies, the annual sales of virtual world goods is in the billions of dollars annually, (1, 2, 3). Anecdotal evidence is already showing great interest by organized crime in virtual world goods. The extremely limited regulation and vast secondary market space make virtual world currencies ripe for financing all forms of criminal activity.
To what extent should they be investigated? How should law enfrocement respond and prepare for the coming virtual goods crime wave?
The world record for “most expensive virtual item sold” has been raised, as a man has purchased real estate in Entropia Universe for a staggering $330,000 in real-world money.
Despite not being a household name like World of Warcraft or Second Life, Entropia Universe is one of the most interesting virtual worlds out there simply because it fully embraces the concept of RMT – that is, real-money transactions: Paying real cash for virtual stuff. The in-game currency, or PED, has an exchange rate of 10:1 with the USD, and the game actually has a license from the Swedish government to act as a real bank.
In 2006, Entropia personality Jon Jacobs mortgaged his house to buy an online asteroid in the world for $100,000, then a record for the most expensive in-game purchase ever. Jacobs proceeded to set up an exclusive in-game club called “Club Xanadu”, and would go on to be a real-life businessman in a virtual space to recoup his money.
Now, an Entropia player named Buzz “Erik” Lightyear (or should that be Erik “Buzz Lightyear” Insertlastname?) has shattered Jacobs’ record, winning an auction for the prized Crystal Palace Space Station for $330,000 – that’s more money than a lot of real houses would go for. It isn’t quite a dumb buy, though – Lightyear will receive a cut of the profits of all transactions that occur on the station, as well as income from players who decide to hunt rare creatures in the station’s proving grounds.
It’s pricey, and seems kind of silly, but hey – it’s certainly a better investment than one of those gold Wiis.
(Via Slashdot)
World Record for Most Expensive Virtual Object Is Smashed
Player pays $330,000 USD for Planet Calypso Virtual Space Station
GOTEBORG, Sweden, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ — First Planet Company, developer and publisher of the largest real cash economy MMORPG, announced today the results of the public auction of the Crystal Palace Space Station. The winning bidder acquired the property for a record-breaking $330,000.00 USD. The previous record was confirmed in the Guinness World Records book in 2008. It featured another piece of property in the Planet Calypso game bought for $100,000 USD as “The Most Expensive Virtual Object.”
“This is a stunning investment opportunity, and I have complete faith I will recover what I spent relatively quickly,” said Erik Novak, the winner of the Crystal Palace auction. “To say Planet Calypso has changed my life would be an understatement. I have even found the love of my life in the game, and now we live together in real life. I feel very confident about purchasing the Crystal Palace Space Station as I have already invested years of time, dedication, work, hope and love. All of those things have already paid off more than I could have ever imagined. With the new game engine, new features and almost ten years of experience Planet Calypso is one of the few safe investments in this economy.”
This auction was for Crystal Palace, an extremely popular hunting destination that is in orbit around Planet Calypso. It will now be privately operated by Erik Novak, the person behind the “Buzz Erik Lightyear” avatar. This is the third major property opportunity offered on Planet Calypso. The first auction, for Treasure Island, took place in 2004 and sold for $26,500 USD. Australian gamer, David “Deathifier” Storey recouped his full investment within 12 months and has continued to make a profit. The second, and much larger, auction took place in 2005 when American gamer Jon “NEVERDIE” Jacobs bought a Virtual Space Resort for an unheard of $100,000 USD. Due to his virtual nightclub and the profits obtained from mining/hunting rights and property sales on the resort, Mr. Jacob’s fortune was valued at $1.5 million USD in 2006. Operating profitably from day one the Club NEVERDIE Resort brought in over $50,000 USD in mining/hunting rights alone in its first five months.
First Planet Company is the developer and publisher of Planet Calypso, the largest real cash economy MMORPG in the world. Players have the ability to participate in a unique virtual economy where they only pay for the game when they play. Its unique real cash economy uses a virtual currency which has a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. This allows players to deposit and withdraw real money during their adventures on Calypso. It is also the first MMORPG to use CryTek’s stunning CryENGINE 2 for amazing graphics and physics.
Planet Calypso is a free download available at the game’s website, www.planetcalypso.com.
About First Planet Company
First Planet Company AB is a subsidiary of the MindArk Group. First Planet Company AB develops and markets Planet Calypso, a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) based on the Entropia Platform, and is part of the Entropia Universe. Set in a distant future, the planet Calypso is home to an expanding human colony struggling with the natural and economic elements involved in establishing their new civilization.
