"gamer Buys $26,500 Virtual Land" (from Bbc News)

[harshnisar 0]

First off all i have never heard of the game and second, is the man gone mad! This much dollars he would have got his own game and yes if he has so much money then he should give it to me. And about the matrix think really funny . LOL

[|]4NI3L 0]

OMG!!! This guy is a moron xD why would someone would pay all this for something that only exists in a game. And ive never heard of Project Entropia

[Ka Jolo 0]

Why would someone pay so much real money for something that "exists only in a game"? Why do people pay so much for such things as domain names, web hosts, etc. that exist only on the Internet?

 

Last year I made over US$1,000 in Second Life (http://secondlife.com/). It's a "game" that's not a game--it has no storyline, no plot, etc. It's simply a huge "sandbox" sort of application. It is free to play. People can buy second life "land," build virtual constructions on their land, design clothes for their avatar, script objects to do stuff, etc. It is important to note that Second Life currency is legally freely convertible; Linden Labs will buy or sell their currency, they allow third parties to exchange the currency, and they allow people to sell Second Life items on eBay, etc. They literally grant intellectual property rights to the creators of in-world content.

 

So...some people are good at graphic design; they design "textures" which they upload to the game, and then use and sell those textures to others for use in modifying the appearance of avatars, clothing, items, buildings, terrain, etc. Some people are good programmers; they program bots or movements or sounds to animate avatars, objects, etc. In the past there were casinos where people could gamble (banned when real life taxing authorities got involved) and brothels where one could view and participate in cyber-you-know-what. There have been banks and stock exchanges, malls, marinas, airports...all kinds of stuff.

 

Now, realize that any stable in-world presence is tied to a location--to "a piece of land." Think of that land as a website--only instead of putting up a two-dimensional web page, you can put up a three-dimensional build. Instead of a flash player, imagine a TV that plays flash files. Instead of a political web page with position papers, imagine a platform with a podium and "personal" appearances by the candidate. Avatars can communicate with one another by text or speech. The amount of resources a user has available for his "build" depends on the number of square meters of land he owns; a small plot of land allows a certain number of objects, while a large plot of land allows more. In a sense, Second Life "land" represents real-life server resources. Hopefully, you can see how "players" would desire this virtual land.

 

Linden Labs constantly is creating new land, and releasing it by auction in large tracts. The auction winners pay real cash for their land, and can then do whatever they wish with it. Some use it for themselves, but it is more common to sub-divide the tracts into smaller lots for re-sale to others; those buyers may use the land for a few months, then re-sale it in turn.

 

Last year Linden Labs fell behind in releasing new land; as they waited for more servers to be delivered and installed, the supply of new land dwindled. At the same time, Second Life was getting a lot of media attention and new players were signing up in record numbers; the demand for new land spiked. I, along with many others, took advantage of this situation by buying land from people who wanted to sell fast and re-selling it--at very nice margins--to others who wanted to buy fast. One Second Life land baron was at one time worth over US$1,000,000 in assets; she now employs a staff to help in managing her Second Life real-estate business.

 

(Since then supply and demand have reached a balance that has really narrowed profit margins in real estate.)

 

Bottom line: consider that what exists "only in a game" may actually have a real-life incarnation in terms of computer hardware, internet bandwidth, and support, and that people may have any number of reasons to pay for those resources.

 

Jolo

[exemption 0]

I play Entropia, I have made a few hundred dollars from it. Selling land and what not.

[dhruv 0]

This is very interesting. I haven't heard of this game, yet "thousands" of people are playing it. It seems interesting, but it sounds riduculous that someone would buy a virtual piece of land on the game. If this player knows he's going to make real profit then ok he should and rightly has done so to buy it, but what if he fails, what if the game servers crash or the company decided to stop hosting the game , then what happens to his money? I think it's silly but people want to do what they want to do.

[KansukeKojima 0]

That seems a little odd to me... I mean... wow. There is so much stuff you could buy with $26 500... why would you waste it on something virtual? I mean, what if the people who run the game decided to close it down? Then you paid a ridiculous amount of money for no reason.

[minimcmonkey 0]

I heard about that. Ive never heard of that game in particular, But a friend told me about a game he plays, i forget the name. But he had spent a lot of money buying land on this game - claiming that in some way he could use it to make money. He also said that a friend (who he met on the internet) had earnt about $700,000 playing the game - CRAZY - yet apparently legal!I think you would have to have no life - whatsoever - or be stupidly rich - to buy that. How does it really get you ANYWHERE IN LIFE??

[jopak134 0]

project enthropia is a mmorpg but has a something like that of second like. 26k is not the highest look for it in the "guiness book of records" its also about that game.for me i'm usually the seller in those kind of games so it's better for me if someone will pay for virtual items.those items can be to brag about or something that they really appreciate. most people in my generation think of these games not just for playing but like a second life( just like an advertisement lol). i for one bought an item but not that high of a price. but still feel akward of buying something that i cannot touch.

[daftpunk 0]

hahahahah what a idiot what twat would buy that much for nothing!he should have bought a new computer or something!i wonder if he is regreting it or else he is happy ?

[rpgsearcherz 5]

That is quite a bit of money but there are people who enjoy spending on their hobbies.To me it is really nothing different than spending 20k on fixing up a car you are just going to show off anyways. The only real difference is that this was spent for something that will be shown off online, not in real life.I used to have issues with people that do stuff like that, but the online gaming industry makes millions every day off people who buy in-game gold, items, powerleveling, etc. so I've gotten over those feelings.

[Evolix 1]

He must have been an extreme nerd. How can you actually pay so much, I mean, come on, it's just a game. No need to pay so much just for a bunch of pixels put together. I can't believe my eyes, man. I wonder what the seller will do with all that money. I wonder why he payed so much aswell, he could have just bidded for about ?50 or so. Games are not worth $26,500.

[TheDisturbedOne 1]

I know this is old, but this guy should have used that $26,000 to buy a life. What a loser!!

[scout 0]

I don't suppose you guys read books every once in a while. This reminds me a little of Snow Crash. In that book, there was a virtual land that developed into a real global economic power. The early investors were rewarded well. Of course it's just a book, and that doesn't really have anything to do with the plot, good book.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

I don't suppose you guys read books every once in a while. This reminds me a little of Snow Crash. In that book, there was a virtual land that developed into a real global economic power. The early investors were rewarded well. Of course it's just a book, and that doesn't really have anything to do with the plot, good book.

Actually this somewhat does relate to the game world in RL. There was someone on Second Life who bought property and has made millions now just renting out spaces in his little world he bought.

 

It's kind of amazing how such a small, somewhat worthless idea can turn into something big. I personally never would have thought the online virtual world would be booming like it is right now. That's just...Beyond me.

[daftpunk 0]

Actually this somewhat does relate to the game world in RL. There was someone on Second Life who bought property and has made millions now just renting out spaces in his little world he bought.
It's kind of amazing how such a small, somewhat worthless idea can turn into something big. I personally never would have thought the online virtual world would be booming like it is right now. That's just...Beyond me.

amazing and that second life has people hooked but if you are makeing millions then wow, but that guy must have worked really hard to get that! Well done to him/her