Cash card taps into virtual funds
by Jennie Lees 
{ May 2nd 2006 at 7:57PM }
The MMORPG Project Entropia is known for its economic experiments, with pieces of virtual land being bought for high real-world
prices. This latest news breaks the barrier between real and virtual money even further, however; a new cash card
will let owners withdraw from their ingame balances using real ATMs.Some MMOs entirely shun the idea of converting money earned online to real money, but Project Entropia is taking this to the other extreme. The game's economy is built around real-money transfer, so a move like this simply adds a logical ending to the cashflow pipeline, with developer MindArk sitting in the middle profiting from the whole process.
[Thanks, pandlcg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
vidGuy @ May 2nd 2006 8:27PM
Gamers that play online MMORPGs invest a lot of time and money into the development of a virtual world and characters. I think it's perfectly normal and considerate for them to be able to reap rewards from their efforts.
If I paid USD$5 to acquire a sword, then turn around to sell it in the virtual world for the equivalent of USD$10, why shouldn't I, as a player, be able to cash in on my sale? With a fixed exchange rate, this should be fairly easy.
M$ shouldn't be the only one benefitting from micropayments ;)
Tim @ May 2nd 2006 8:55PM
I hate people that just post "1st" because they're losers. I hate people that use "M$" because they're weird and have no good reason to do it.
Anyway, I think we should just stick with ebaying accounts or something. Gaming can be a sort of addiction, and it would be a shame to see man and woman whores out on the streets because they wasted all their money on a PE land deal that went south. Leave that to cocaine and the stock market. We dont need more of this crap.
radjago @ May 2nd 2006 9:12PM
Does anyone think this might be used for money laundering?
You know, like in Superman III.
Todd Rabanus @ May 3rd 2006 1:35AM
#1 vidGuy your "M$" reference seems to be geared towards microsoft but they have nothing to do with the game. so.... what's up with that?
Smack042 @ May 3rd 2006 3:06AM
#2 Nail...meet Head. BANG! Please people, self confidence is worth the effort. Dont live your lives in front of the computer.
Coyote @ May 3rd 2006 9:12AM
Wow looks like as soon as somebody drags a $ into a post the Bill Gates fanclub shows up in force :P
Smack042 - I believe he was jabbing at M$'s micropayments for the 360 like paying $2.50 for a saddle in oblivion that will never gain you any real world benefits (or in game for that matter...)
And I for one agree with the 1st poster. People should get something back from their grinding and tedious actions in most of the MMO's today (because that sure isnt fun anymore).
Simon @ May 3rd 2006 9:11PM
I think that it is cool, but games are not full proof what about hackers look at gold miners in Ever quest would you really want our bank account attached to your WoW character. If there is an opportunity to make lots of money easily some internal developer or hacker is going to take it. In addition I feel sadness for people who experience more life on line than in the real world, interacting with people on a direct level is much more rewarding than clicking and typing all day.