Online Gamer Buys $26,500 Worth Of Virtual Land
A 22-year-old has recently bought an island for $26,500, but the catch is, it doesn't exist. This man, known only by his online screen name as Deathifier, bought an online island, one that only exists in a computer game. This virtual island sold for $26,500 in an online auction. This particular island exists only in the game Project Entropia, which is an online computer game that lets thousands of people interact with one another. Gaming freaks actually pay real money for virtual land such as the island bought by Deathifier. This program lets people buy, sell and auction off virtual items for real cash. The games developing company says, "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."
The island itself includes a giant abandoned castle and beautiful beaches, which are described as "ripe for developing beachfront property."
Deception Pass and Fidalgo Island
Ika Island and Goat Island, Washington
Screenshot of phpbb in use on a games forum.But, still, why would Deathifier want to buy this island in the first place? Because he profits from it. It is an investment. Anytime an online gamer comes to his island for shelter, food, wood, or gold they are immediately taxed by Deathifier, and he has begun to sell plots of land from the island to other online gamers. This game allows gamers to exchange real money into PED, or Project Entropia Dollars, and back again. Ten PEDs are equal to one U.S. dollar. By playing this game many people have actually become very wealthy by accumulating PEDs through the acquisition of goods, buildings and land in the Entropia universe. Project Entropia now has over 200,000 online users.
What is wrong with this? Well, I can think of a few things; a) People are starting to...