Virtual island owner recoups $26.5k purchase price
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Nov 10th 2005 at 11:00AM }
Last December, a Project Entropia player, Deathifier, purchased an in-game virtual island for $26,500. According to the game's developers the 23-year-old Deathifier has already made his money back by selling land and taxing players for hunting and mining privileges—Project Entropia features a real cash economy.
Just recently, Jon Jacobs, another Project Entropia player, purchased a virtual space station for $100k. Jacobs plans to turn the orbiting station into a space resort that features dinosaur hunting—now there's an idea! Jacobs estimates he'll make about $20,000 a month running the resort and taking a cut of each dinosaur hide sold.
[via Gaming Steve]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
everett @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
Um it's not april fools and this isn't theonion.com so I'm confused..
Jason @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
Wow everett, you took the words right outta my mouth!
Jason @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
One question I have: what happens to these huge investments if the company goes bust? I guess it's an accepted risk. I sure wouldn't want to be their lawyer.
Jack @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
So I'm confused is this actual money, or some kinda cyber internet money? If it is true wow, that is some investment. But personally I dont see the trend in buying virtual land for that doesnt even really even exist.
Trauts @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
I remember reading about that a long time ago... I just can't imagine it though...
jc @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
That game/world looks like a cross between a michael jackson video and a PS1 game. I can't believe that people will pay so much for that... what was it that P.T. Barnum said? Man, would he have a fieldday in the era.
Spiza @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
It means that Project Entropia is a large multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The normal way such games operate is by purchasing the client software in a store and then pay a subscription fee every 30 days, while the internal game economy is just that - a game economy.
Project Entropia does the opposite! The client software is free to download over the Internet and there are no subscription fee associated whatsoever. The real cash economy means that the internal Project Entropia economy is linked to the real world economy, by using a currency called the Project Entropia Dollar (PED), which have a fixed exchange rate to the US Dollar (10 PED equals 1 USD).
You as a player use PED to acquire virtual land and equipment in Project Entropia to invest in your avatars (Player representation in the virtual universe) growth and abilities. A unique aspect of Project Entropia is that a player may elect to transfer PED back into real life currency, thereby enabling them to earn real money while playing an online computer game.
roachclip @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
Wow
That sounds just wrong. Part of me wants to be jealous. Well no not really, I have a life.
vectorelement @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
Seems like people have money to waste.
Truth @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
This is an awsome game. Go to www.project-entropia.com to view all of the aspects of the game. You can hunt animals, buy businesses, trade rocks, and upgrade your character, you can even develope special powers.
BenR @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
Spot the astroturfer :-) ^^
You can't do any of those things, you can just pretend to. The ridiculousness of paying money for an image of something in a 3d graphics engine astounds me. I guess it's just a case of a "greater fool" economy.
Dakara @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
You pay to buy video games. Let the younglings be. =)
Truth @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
The game not only was a great idea but also it can teach you alot about the economy and how to spend your money wisely. This game is only for hardcore gamers that take RPG's seriously.
Apoklypse @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
If you knew anything about spending money WISELY, you wouldn't spend it on "virtual property".
Plus I find it hilarious that someone could take a Role Playing GAME seriously.
It is so contradictary and contrary to what games are intended to do. If you want to play a role, you play an RPG, if you want to take that role seriously, you need to get a life- seriously.
I also want to make note that I love games, there are my most time-consuming hobby. But they are just that, a hobby. I will never go poor over them, or be found dead from playing them for 72 hours straight in a Korean internet cafe.
Truth @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
This game is just like World of Warcraft except there is real money invovled. It could be an investment. I wouldn't mind playing games and making money at the same time. Shit Jacob estimates he will make $20,000 a month on taxing animal skins and resorts. Now thats what I call money.
Troopa @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
I think it's awesome that people can make a lot of real money from virtual real estate. What a neat idea.
vadermaggot @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
Stupid is as stupid does boss.... the people buying the land seem to be smart, the ones paying to hunt and buy dino skins are the stupid ones. won't even look this one up on the net
pumkin @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
"If you knew anything about spending money WISELY, you wouldn't spend it on "virtual property"."
That's just silly. Game companies spend millions of dollars on virtual, intellectual properties every day. Do you think the head honchos come up with the ideas for your top money-making franchises? No, they pay somebody to come up with them...ie. they're paying for ideas.
Spending money in the Project-Entropia world is no different from spending money in the real world. You use virtual money every day. Your credit card, online money transfers, direct deposit, automatic bill pay. None of that involves actual, concrete physical cash. It's all digital and virtual! People spend money on ebooks, phone sex, mp3 files... That is all virtual as well. You are getting nothing but bits and bytes transferred over a metal wire.
Guslav @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
this is the future. didn't i read somewhere that the total value of all transactions based on everquest is almost the size of jamaica's GDP?
BenR @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
Guslav, the figures in that study about Everquest were wrong (too large), but it's still a very large market. Amazing how many stupid people there are in the world.
Presumably there is no net generation of wealth in project entropia as there is in a real economy.
dawggpie @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
so what happens if his character is killed in the game? Does he have a virtual life insurance policy that will pay him out in real life? What happens if he dies in real life?... seriously. The guy is investing $100k of real money. It should goto someone in his will.
This is very different from the real world. In the real world you're buying something physical when it comes to real estate. Even if you're buying something no physical like stock u're still buying something backed up by a physical company with actual people making actual products.
emehrkay @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
You can't do any of those things, you can just pretend to. The ridiculousness of paying money for an image of something in a 3d graphics engine astounds me. I guess it's just a case of a "greater fool" economy.
funniest thing ive read all day
Dash @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
Who would ever pay for something VIRTUAL on the internet?
Duh. Ever hear of DOMAIN NAMES?
Apoklypse @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
"Virtual Property" in terms of Project Entropia is inherently linked to this "Virtual World". If the servers or hacked, or the company that makes it goes kaput... it either ceases to exist, or is worth nothing.
Intellectual Propery is not VIRTUAL, it is VERY real, and it is something that belongs to someone because THEY came up with it (and I hope for their sakes copyrighted). It has nothing to do with virtual land in a MMORPG, do you even understand this conversation?
Land in Project Entropia STILL belongs to the makers of the game- you might pay for it, but more or less if they have covered their asses legally they have some sort of emminent domain over the "virtual property" in the event they need to shut the server down. My house I own as property, and it is always available to me, short of natural disaster- which is alot less frequent in Philly than downed internet connectivity.
MP3s, ebooks, and pron? All not proprietary to the world of Project Entropia. All hold a value in the outside world, can be burned to a CD and sold in physical format. Outside of Project Entropia? Your land is worth nothing and doesn't exist. But this CD of ABBA MP3s is worth something just about anywhere people listen to terrible music.
A domain name on the other hand is just a domain name- SERVER space is available to anyone as rental with an FTP/internet connection, or as ownership in the physical form of your own server. The domain name just gives it a simple address. That makes you part of the Domain Name System and it is a service that you pay for that is very real to the outside world. Hence the fact that it is on annual subscription plans as well.
Anyone who is arguing in favor of virtual property, let me buy your building, and I will charge you rent. You use that money to buy virtual property. I will make money of people who need a place to sleep and live. You might make money off people who's existence is so sad they need to pay for a place to hunt virtual animals. I'll be eating steak that night, they will be chewing on their fingers.
josh @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM
people that are arguing that this guy was using hi smoney unwisely are pretty silly - he has already made his money back, after all. if he has turned a profit, how can it be an unwise investment?