Man Spends $330,000 on Virtual Item

[CD-R]

Man Spends $330,000 on Virtual Item...man is frikking idiot

Maybe not. The guy who spent $100,000 made all that money back within a couple months.

 

[Danny Ocean]

It's not an illogical decision, and utility is still gained. From a purely economic standpoint this decision is fine.

Risky, but fine.

 

[Simalacrum]

I have to agree with Funk on this one - unlike the golden Wii/PS3, this actually has the potential for a substantial amount of financial return from it - it isn't stupid, its actually a viable business transaction.

That said... $330,000 on an item that doesn't physically exist... whooooaaaaaa...

 

[Agent Larkin]

Ok previous highest spender in this game was making $1.50(real money) per hour per person on his asteroid and managed to pay off the 100,000$ it cost him in eight months 4 years ago and now earns a profit. If this works ...0.o

 

[SomeBritishDude]

Even if you look at this from a financial stand point, it's still kind of a risky buisness. What if the company or server shuts down? What if a hacker get's into his account? What if he's banned?

Now, looking from the angle of "I spend more money than I would on a house on an item that doesn't exist" and you've got a whole new type of mind fuck.

 

[you rolled a one]

...that would be why i wouldn't touch second life with a 10' pole

 

[Hawkeye16]

It sounds like a great investment.








/sarcasm

 

[LTK_70]

Even if you look at this from a financial stand point, it's still kind of a risky buisness. What if the company or server shuts down? What if a hacker get's into his account? What if he's banned?

Now, looking from the angle of "I spend more money than I would on a house on an item that doesn't exist" and you've got a whole new type of mind fuck.

I think we all have to remember that there is plenty of risk of your money evaporating into nothing in the real world, too. Compare a virtual world with the stock exchange, and this deal suddenly looks like a sensible investment. Asteroids in a game don't physically exist, but stock market shares don't, either. See, if the servers shut down, you can sue. If your account gets broken into or you get banned, you had it coming because of your own stupidity/carelessness.

 

[Indecizion]

WoW some people have too much moneh and not enough brain cells :S

 

[ryai458]

this is crazy, but if he makes money kudos to him.

 

[Kajt]

It isn't quite a dumb buy, though - Lightyear will receive a cut of the profits of all transactions that occur on the station, as well as income from players who decide to hunt rare creatures in the station's proving grounds.

So he gets PED for all transactions made on the station, and that PED can then be made into, say, USD?

 

[Spleenbag]

It's a business investment.

It's not an illogical decision, and utility is still gained. From a purely economic standpoint this decision is fine.

Risky, but fine.

These gentlemen/ladies have it right. It's not a game for these people; it's making a living. Don't knock it.

Personally, I'm thrilled that at least one MMO is embracing player-driven economy and letting it translate to real-world cash. AFAIK, this was one of the first big games to do that, and Second Life, of course, was the next one (and people make their livings from SL, too.)

 

[LeonLethality]

mortgaged his house to buy an online asteroid

-facepalm-

This is just tragic to say the least.

 

[Cosplay Horatio]

If this game is like buying true real-estate then I'm guessing Lightyear has to pay taxes as well as receive certain billing from the game company to keep the servers, accounts, and in-game features in working order.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

did the asteroid guy recoup he losses yet?

 

[The DSM]

How can you get that kind of money together and say "Ok im going to buy a virtual object that may or may not make a profit"

Less risky than stock though.

Oh snap.

 

[Lamppenkeyboard]

He might do pretty well, depending on the amount of money that gets spent in the game. Although I would be nervous if I were him about the obscurity of the game.

But stil, how awesome would it be to own virtual property? I would love to blow several hundred thousand dollars if I could own The Cleft of Shadows, and tax all the lowbies headed to RFC.

 

[DarkJester]

If he can turn a profit... Kudos. He has officially proved himself smarter than the average computer-bound nerd.

 

[Dodge1500]

It's not as bad as it sounds up front. He's got a very good shot at making his money back in a reasonable time frame for an investment of this size I think. As I have played this game and it has a very complex economy running. Now as for myself I would not risk that kinda of money in today's world economy