I was reading this morning on the BBC website about a 22 year old gamer who purchased a Island in the game Project Entropia for $26,500.00 dollars. Back when I used to play MMORPG games (Everquest, DAOC, WOW) the companies used to be VERY MUCH against you selling an in game content. But lots of people got away with it anyway. I was the first druid in the game of Everquest to reach level 50 (I know I am a nerd) and promptly sold my character on eBay immediately for $2400 wayyyy back in May of 1999. It had taken me about 1 month of hardcore playing (living in the game pretty much) to get to that level so fast. I kept buying accounts… building charectors and selling them on eBay. Sometimes the auctions would get canceled but even when they did I would get offers. I never got as much money as I initially did for that first character.
A.D.D. MOMENT: Sometime I should write about my addiction to MMORPG games.
So what did he get got his 26k ?
The virtual island includes a gigantic abandoned castle and beautiful beaches which are described as ripe for developing beachfront property.
This game is very different because it actually has a exchange system which converts the in game currency to real money and back again. Pretty slick.
Back in my Everquest days my biggest competition in selling in game content (swords, armor, characters) was N. Koreans who were basically working for slaves wages for companies farming equipment for their boss’s to sell in real marketplaces.
Everquest took place in a virtual world called Norrath and I remember a article one time that talked about how if Norrath was a real country in the world based on estimates it would be one of the top 10 richest countries in the world.
Project Entropia is just getting started already has 200,000 players. I think this is going to be huge.
July 31, 2008 at 9:52 am
It’s so important not to get sucked into one of these games.. I remember spending about 2 years of my life playing text-based MMORPG (MUDs). I had so much fun back then but sincerely regret it today..
July 31, 2008 at 9:52 am
By the looks of it that investment will pay off handsomely if Entropia takes off like it probably will. I think enabling players to buy/sell/trade within the gaming environment is a good move as it should create a more realistic and stable game economy.
This is the first I’ve heard of this new game, but I’ll certainly check it out now. It sounds like an entrepreneurs paradise.
July 31, 2008 at 9:55 am
I have seen it happen to people. It is really addictive from what I have seen. Marriages lost and the like.
July 31, 2008 at 9:57 am
great info. thanks for your information. i am waiting your another great info
July 31, 2008 at 10:03 am
i never understood what do they do in such game , like second life and other ..
July 31, 2008 at 10:04 am
I used to sell virtual items for a game called Diablo 2. I made well over 60k in a year doing little work, it got so busy I just hired someone for about 100 bucks a day to fill all the orders and I sat back and watched my paypal rise…oh good times.
July 31, 2008 at 10:08 am
I used to play a MMO called Asherons Call back in the day, I was completely addicted for a while so you have to be really careful.
Project Entropia has actually been going for a few years now, I played it at least 3 years ago. It used to basically be an online casino in that you could never really get more money back than you put into it, ubt fun nonetheless.
July 31, 2008 at 10:09 am
Wow, sounds like another way to make money online to me. Crazy things going on.
July 31, 2008 at 10:12 am
Agreed. On the flip-side, it’s the addictive nature of these games that makes them such a viable marketplace for real-money sales of in-game items. The first one to actually foster that kind off marketplace (and take a cut per-transaction, of course!) is going to be very successful.
July 31, 2008 at 10:18 am
I dont believe
People have so much of money for crazy things !!
July 31, 2008 at 10:19 am
That is awesome and btw, I got a shoemoney t-shirt that looks very nice
July 31, 2008 at 10:20 am
Yeah, tons of people are selling their second life accounts, land, clothes, and even homes. It’s pretty crazy, literally making money from virtual real estate.
July 31, 2008 at 10:39 am
lol I believe ya. These virtual games are one of a kind. I am more into strategy games back 4 yrs ago … I know I Was an Age of Empires Geek.
July 31, 2008 at 10:40 am
I wish I can get one of the shoemoney shirts too. They do look nice.. hearing that on alot of places.
July 31, 2008 at 10:42 am
can we see your pic.
How does it looks ?
July 31, 2008 at 10:43 am
They are nice and quality too. They fit for me!
July 31, 2008 at 10:45 am
Its like the white ones in the gallery section.
July 31, 2008 at 10:46 am
Age of empires rules, we played that game long into the night. Those were the times
July 31, 2008 at 10:50 am
ya make sure you send pic of you and ill post it in the gallery
July 31, 2008 at 10:50 am
Wow, I got way too excited reading this post. I used to play a cleric and druid on Xegony, and I did the buy/sell thing for quite a while to help pay for college. I found that it was a lot easier to get a reputation for helping people liquidate stuff and then reselling it all at a premium (vs. hunting, which did get old until they started putting out more updates). It seems like RPGs are kind of an overlooked area amongst a lot of the “make money online” types, but it can definitely be done, often more easily than with more traditional methods.
I’m not sure that EQ would have ever been a spectacular income for the hours invested, given the lack of “real estate”, but I can definitely see the potential in a lot of others. It’s probably not a good business choice if you get addicted easily, though
July 31, 2008 at 10:51 am
Tell us more about your WoW days
Man did I waste so much time and money
July 31, 2008 at 10:52 am
Wow. My first car cost $800.
July 31, 2008 at 10:52 am
btw… isn’t this the last day to comment to win the Mac Airbook?
July 31, 2008 at 10:53 am
Wow!
I have been playing WOW with my friend and haven’t even realized that i can earn from my items. LOL! But it was too late because we gave our accounts to our friends online. And they were so happy having it. But i should have sold it. Huhuhuuhuhuhu..
I got lot of games played during my high school..
Thank you
Charles
Money Making and Blogging Tips
http://www.resourcesandmoney.blogspot.com
July 31, 2008 at 10:58 am
I used to play Magic the Gatthering: Online, but ended up just turning it into a business. I ended up selling my collection of virtual cards for almost $25,000. Virtual property is no joke at all. If it has value, you can make money off of it.
July 31, 2008 at 10:59 am
Maybe I should start playing more online virtual games.
July 31, 2008 at 11:12 am
the macbook is for this and next month.
http://www.shoemoney.com/2008/07/13/win-a-macbook-air-comment-contest/
July 31, 2008 at 11:13 am
will it contain a dofollow link back ?
j/k
I will send mine once i receive it
July 31, 2008 at 11:16 am
EVE online is another game where items can be bought and sold on ebay and various other sites. Its big business and I can understand to a certain extent why people will buy characters. In some games it can take months to get a character good enough to be competetive in the game, if you want to pay someone a couple of hundred $ to do that for you then why not?
July 31, 2008 at 11:18 am
It’s easy to get sucked into these games, the problem is that they are so good! Great stuff if you can keep it in moderation.
July 31, 2008 at 11:20 am
yeah – the shirts are cool, mine arrived yesterday. Very nice quality and very comfy, thanks Shoe!
July 31, 2008 at 11:20 am
Definitely let us know how you got of your gaming addiction and transitioned to making moola
.
I was addicted to several games (The Realm Online (Pre-Everquest), StarCraft, Warcraft 3), Counter-strike). Now I stay away from video games, because I can’t seem to control myself especially when I was competitive.
July 31, 2008 at 11:23 am
Cool – I didn’t realise there was a macbook up for grabs as well, I thought it was just the shirts – things just keep on getting better
That’s a very generous prize to be giving out!
July 31, 2008 at 11:35 am
It happens in 2nd life a lot i hear :S Never played it myself.
July 31, 2008 at 11:38 am
Yeah or find people who supply items for them and you can make great money just reselling.
July 31, 2008 at 11:38 am
This game look like it’s going to be huge for the 18+ market, the average 15 year old won’t have a credit card to buy items.
July 31, 2008 at 11:40 am
I know a guy who’s saved over $2million from selling virtual goods in games like WoW… Self made lamborghini owner at only 23. Massive amounts of money is spent on online role playing games.
July 31, 2008 at 11:41 am
does that mean no draw for this month ?
July 31, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Finally! Sounds like a business my husband could enjoy, and I could quit complaining that he’s playing online too much.
July 31, 2008 at 12:07 pm
thanks Shoe for mine too
July 31, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I remember them discussing charging a ‘tax’ for mining/hunting/etc on the land in game, PE has a static 10 credits/$1 USD exchange rate… Sounds like a decent idea, but I’ll bet I’m included in that “200k” players number when I made an account, and after about an hour of ’sweat harvesting’ — yes.. that’s what you do if you don’t put real money in (you get maybe 50 cents per hardcore hour) — I decided it was lame and haven’t logged on since. Back to the Second Life scenario of “We’ve got a bajillion players” but really it means “We’ve got a bajillion accounts made, but only 10% of the players actually play anywhere near regularly”
July 31, 2008 at 12:51 pm
That is sickening. Unless he can turn around and sell it for more, I think that guy is a joke.
July 31, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Just getting started? Where have you been? I read an article in wired about 2-3 years ago that mentioned the exchange systems in Second life and Project Entropia, people were paying ridiculous prices for land plots and imaginary items even at that time.
July 31, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I remember buying a Dungeons and Dragons titled game for my 8086. I spent a week and a half playing that non-stop until I finished it. I knew then I could never play again.
Then I forgot my lesson and bought a playstation one, with extra controller and 5 games (very expensive). I used to come home from work at about 7 or 8pm, and before I knew it I was still dressed in a suit, starving becuase I hadn’t eaten and it was midnight. Sold that to a stoner buddy of mine for 1/4 of what I paid 3 months after I bought it.
Never again …….
July 31, 2008 at 1:48 pm
you can make it next month
July 31, 2008 at 1:48 pm
About a year after that,some guy paid $100k for his own space station from the developers of Project Entropia.
http://www.space.com/entertainment/ap_051110_virtual_spacestation_ent.html
July 31, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Wow, that’s crazy. I could never image paying that much for virtual real estate!
July 31, 2008 at 2:15 pm
That’s so insane, and it will only increase. I wonder when they will truly legitimize this. Imagine virtual real estate realtors trying to sell your property
July 31, 2008 at 2:20 pm
You should look up the articles about Club Neverdie. The guy spent $100k on that space station and is now making $10k+ per month from the night club he built on it.
I’d play Entropia Universe if the physics and graphis weren’t so terrible. I’ve read they are upgrading to the Cry Engine so hopefully we’ll see a big improvement in the game’s performance in the near future.
July 31, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I must admit I had an addiction to Project Entropia. Used to stay up all night and play the game. I’ve spend about $1000 on my character (some things were really useless – like my leather jacked or cool shades). I’ve quit playing the game 3 years ago, because I fell asleep while I was playing (addicted!!!) and hit my head on the desk….Soo Shoe, the game it’s not that new, but it’s very close to a virtual reality and….damn I wonder if I could get my account back
P.S. I was part of a trading society. We used to have somebody in every city and trade (buy cheap, sell with profit).
P.S.S Did you know that the 22 yo gamer gets a share of every loot on that island. So he will recover his investment not just by selling beach houses, but if you hunt on his island, he automatically gets a share of your loot.
July 31, 2008 at 3:22 pm
That is just bizarre. I can’t imagine ever wanting to get involved in something like that. After spending time in impoverished countries and seeing people starving in this world, the concept of spending money on virtual real estate really sickens me. People need to get out more and see the world, maybe they’ll think a little before spending.
July 31, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I don’t play these games because they will consume you and your life. lol
July 31, 2008 at 3:26 pm
world of war craft here.
July 31, 2008 at 3:29 pm
anyone played civilization revolution for ps3 or xbox360?
July 31, 2008 at 5:45 pm
That’s so cool, I didn’t know that people can meke money selling players accounts!
July 31, 2008 at 5:46 pm
yeah me too, but infact it’s real, I think I’ll be moving to this market
!
July 31, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I am a good ” Age f methology ” player, can I play this game online?
July 31, 2008 at 5:53 pm
That’s amazing! It’s seems that there is a market for almost everything these days.
July 31, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Sometimes it’s not about buying something to turn around and sell it for a profit. Perhaps it’s just a form of entertainment and owning that enhanced his gaming experience. People spend way more than that in one shot just to entertain themselves all the time.
July 31, 2008 at 6:13 pm
I’m sure you have spent money on things you don’t really need over the course of your life right? People spend billions and billions of dollars on entertainment. Do we really need to go to the movies? Do we really need to go to sporting events? Do we really need to do many of the things we do? The more money people make the more they spend on things they don’t really need. Some countries you have people lining up for bread…In America you have people lining up for iPhones and the newest games and game systems when they come out.
July 31, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I wana sell my wow account on ebay lol great info on the gaming industry shoe
July 31, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Seems like the same thing as second life, yeah? Never played it .. but looks similar.
July 31, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I come home from work at about 9pm and find myself dressed in a suit at 4am playing counter-strike source. Then I wake up at 8 and do it again that night. I know this is getting bad.
July 31, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Wow, I never realized there was a market for these games. It sounds like there is a lot of potential.
July 31, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Bring on Warhammer Online!
July 31, 2008 at 9:32 pm
*Sigh* If only playing “The Quest for the Holy Grail” on the Spectrum 48k could have been so profitable. That was many moons ago though, and the user interface wasn’t just as good.
July 31, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Wow – who knew? Very interesting.
July 31, 2008 at 9:37 pm
When I first started out with computers I was hooked on computer games (not very sophisticated then).
July 31, 2008 at 11:11 pm
It’s way better then Second Life. Graphics, concept, the way you level up + you can create only preset items (not like in SL where you can create your own items).
August 1, 2008 at 12:06 am
It gets pretty addictive and takes a bunch of your time so thats when it gets a bit crazy
August 1, 2008 at 12:17 am
I think this concept is incredible! I love these games but never figured out away to monetize them while playing- I still will play similar games to escape reality for a while- but they’re addicting so I try to avoid!!
August 1, 2008 at 3:30 am
I am so impressed with these stories of people doing online business in a virtual world. I believe that there is a Korean or Japanese girl who has build a virtual real estate company in Second Life where she employs more than 30 real live people. Now that is cool !!
August 1, 2008 at 3:51 am
200 000 players is not so much to start.
August 1, 2008 at 3:55 am
This is a very common way to make money on MMO.
August 1, 2008 at 3:59 am
Everything is very simple. This is special drug for people .
August 1, 2008 at 4:14 am
I like interesting games. But they should not disturb me to live.
August 1, 2008 at 4:14 am
Yep, I think she was the worlds first online millionaire, as in she had made over $1 Million just by buying and selling stuff online.
I hear there is prostitution rampant in these games as well. Maybe they have a marketplace for John’s?
August 1, 2008 at 4:56 am
Ahh yes. Everquest. I still remember harvesting sirens on the little island, when you jumped off the boat. My paladin spent a lot of time there.
Before that I played Ultima Online. Nothing like watching the ghost runs around “OOOoooOOOooooooOOoo”. What did you say? You are dead? You need a res? Ohhh…but I don’t understand you…
I’d love to hear more about your MMORPG addiction.
August 1, 2008 at 8:42 am
When world population slips off the edge, where else will we go but the virtual world !
I like Chinese.
August 1, 2008 at 9:07 am
I guess I just prefer the Warren Buffett way of life, make lots of money and save lots of money and don’t spend it on frivolous crap I don’t need like virtual real estate, then put the money toward a worthwhile cause later after the money has compounded.
August 1, 2008 at 9:09 am
One could be addicted to worse things. Gaming is a time killer of note though!
August 1, 2008 at 9:13 am
It sure does! It is still early days, and if people are already paying this type of money for virtual real estate in this virtual environment it sure makes good sense to jump in and flog this horse (if you’re a gamer-type, that is)
August 1, 2008 at 9:17 am
Some first hand experience reflecting here….you must’ve spent a lot of time playing the game. I see the World of Warcraft gamer generation also indulging in some economic activity, with choice items realising tidy sums.
August 1, 2008 at 9:20 am
That is the nature of hobbyists and enthusiasts. They’ll pay almost anything to satisfy their niche needs. Girls like shopping too, maybe in a more direct, tangible manner, but it is still shopping…..
August 1, 2008 at 9:24 am
Strategy games, now we’re talking! Real time strategy is tops, with the original Starcraft serving as my introduction. I can not wait for Starcraft II, which is due out next year sometime. Warhammer 40,000′d Dawn of War and expansions is currently on the playlist.
August 1, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Good article but you are quite wrong about ‘Just starting out’. Entropia has been available online for over 5 years!
August 3, 2008 at 5:23 am
I have seen it too, gaming is really addictive stuff.
August 3, 2008 at 5:26 am
I have not played world of war craft but have heard, from mates, that there are companies that make millions of dollars a year selling gold that they produce in the game.
August 3, 2008 at 5:38 am
Well said Web Marketeer. We all need to escape. How many hours do you spend a week expressing your thoughts on various blogs without being paid.
August 3, 2008 at 5:42 am
Or paying the youngsters to play on your behalf, interesting business model.
August 3, 2008 at 5:45 am
Well they can ask their parents to pay, spending money, there are always to pay.
August 3, 2008 at 5:51 am
I would believe the risk must be higher online as its not a tangible item, “what could go wrong”.
August 3, 2008 at 5:54 am
I agree with you Paul, but if I was just out of school I would be tempted, have fun and make cash.
August 4, 2008 at 9:42 am
The mmorpg I play, in that also people sell in game money to real money. Some people make like 100 million daily ingame wz and sell them for 1,000 rupees. So they are making money from it actually, but you play all day long and night also to make that many wz. Its boring to have your life stuck in a game.
August 6, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Virtual world and Real world. I just want to stay in the real.
August 9, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Games used to be my life but now life is about work
September 9, 2008 at 10:26 pm
this amazes me especially when there are a lot of areas in the US you could actually buy a house for $26,000.