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Most Expensive Piece Of Virtual Real Estate Sold
Virtual real estate is getting pricey. Recently First Planet Company which created the multiplayer online role playing game Planet Calypso sold a piece of the Entropia Universe, the Crystal Palace Space Station, for $330,000 in cold hard cash. The space station was sold through public auction to player Erik Novak (aka Buzz Erik Lightyear). In the press release, Novak said that the game changed his life even helping him meet the love of his life. He expressed confidence that the decision was a smart one and that he will recoup his money saying that "Planet Calypso is one of the few safe investments in this economy."
The Crystal Palace, is a popular hunting destination in orbit around Planet Calypso. Players reach the space station by hiring a virtual pilot and can hunt in the four biodomes on the station. The station will now be privately operated by Novak and he can charge players fees for the services on the space station. In 2005 when gamer Jon "NEVERDIE" Jacobs bought a Virtual Space Resort now known as Club Neverdie for $100,000 and has earned money by operating a virtual nightclub and selling virtual mining/hunting rights and property on the resort.
Inside the Entropia Universe, players use a currency called PED. The currency can be exchanged at a fixed US dollar rate of 1:10. Anything that can be bought and sold inside the universe has a value. Prices can fluctuate depending on gamer demand. Playing is free but if you really want to participate and interact you need the basic supplies of virtual life which cost money. The Swedish Wire reports that the parent company recently got a license from The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority to open a real bank merging the virtual universe with the real world.
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