Virtual Space Station Sold For $330,000

Pirx Danford writes "The world record sale for a virtual item was surpassed yesterday by the avatar known as Buzz Erik Lightyear, when he acquired a very special piece of property. For the incredible amount of $330,000, the space station Crystal Palace has been won by Buzz in the in-game auction system of Entropia Universe. The player who won the auction is known as one of the best crafters within the game, and like with Chuck Norris jokes, there are a bunch of sayings about what Buzz Erik Lightyear can achieve."

Just the Facts

[AP31R0N]

http://www.entropiaforum.com/forums/off-topic/91003-buzz-erik-lightyear-facts.html [entropiaforum.com]

Enjoy

No Cash

[brjndr]

He didn't actually spend $330,000. FTA:

"The auction for the Crystal Palace Space Station in Planet Calypso has sold for 3,300,000 PED. This virtual game currency when converted to US dollars is $330,000."

Apparently he earned all the PED in game.

Re:

[Pirx Danford]

As you can just deposit and withdraw anytime it is as good as cash ;)

I expect that this sale will replace the old Guinness Book record of 100 000 $ shortly!

Re:

[YouDoNotWantToKnow]

I was a member of his society ingame and I can attest he definitely deposited quite a bit over the time. Entropia started back in 2000 and he was one of the top crafters right off the bat. That cost him money MindArk really needed at the time when they were just starting out. Look at it as inflation and opportunity cost adjusted money, 30k back then could well be 300k now.

PE Marketing Guy?

[ludomancer]

Isn't this the guy who works for the Project Entropia team? Before he "bought" an island, but really it's just PR for their game? Correct me if I'm wrong, but after I found that out it really irritates me whenever his "accomplishments" make headlines.

Re:

[YouDoNotWantToKnow]

No, that guy was Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs. Some sorta extroverted DJ from Florida and former MindArk PR guy for the US. He set the previous record by buying an asteroid for 100k $ couple of years back.

Re:

[JohnKBates]

Actually Jon never worked for MindArk or Entropia. The confusion stemmed from what I think is actually a great program. MindArk often sends players to conferences to speak about the game from a player's perspective. They're called ambassadors. I think that's actually really cool, as it gives people an interesting and meaningful perspective. It was in this capacity that Jon attended some conferences in the past for MA and that led to the confusion. I am the PR guy and I can't bid on things like the asteroid

My Opinion

[YouDoNotWantToKnow]

I have been playing Entropia actively from early 2005 till mid 2008 and I have an intense love/hate relationship with them. Let me list my personal pros/cons:
Pros:
Videogame with real money.
CryEngine powered.
No shards, one world.
Mature playerbase, mostly US/EU.
Stable financials, the company is shareholder-friendly.
They are a registered Swedish banking company.
They have a deal with Chinese Cyber Recreation Development Bureau.

Cons:
Addictive as hell.
Quite random, i would say quite close to poker in

For a scifi game..

[Ka D'Argo]

You'd think they want a broad audience.. I've been really interested in trying out Entropy, but they don't support Vista O_O