The world record for highest priced and bought MMORPG virtual property has been shattered by Entropia Universe’s Planet Calypso.
A player going by the name of Erik Novak (aka “Buzz Erik Lightyear”) has broken the record for most money spent on a virtual property by buying the in-game “Crystal Palace Space Station” for $330,000 USD at auction!
This obliterates the previous official record (as recorded by Guinness World Records in 2008), also held by Planet Calypso, in which the “Virtual Space Resort and Nightclub” (now called “Club Neverdie”) was purchased for a reported $100,000 USD.
How could anyone spend that kind of money on/in a videogame? Eric explains his reasoning:
“This is a stunning investment opportunity, and I have complete faith I will recover what I spent relatively quickly. To say Planet Calypso has changed my life would be an understatement. I have even found the love of my life in the game, and now we live together in real life. I feel very confident about purchasing the Crystal Palace Space Station as I have already invested years of time, dedication, work, hope and love. All of those things have already paid off more than I could have ever imagined. With the new game engine, new features and almost ten years of experience Planet Calypso is one of the few safe investments in this economy.”
Entropia Universe is a RCE (Real-Cash Economy)-based Sci-Fi MMORPG/Virtual World First-Person Shooter in which players colonize the ravish Planet Calypso and it’s two continents and can live out virtual lives by buying and selling goods and services for a currency called PED (Project Entropia Dollars); which can be redeemed or translated into USD (United States Dollars) via a real-life exchange rate, as every PED is worth real-world cash. Not only can PEDs be gained in-game via typical online MMORPG conventions, but they can also be bought with real-world cash. This means that the game world has real-world value, and as Erik stated above, an investment can indeed turn a real-world profit.
The game is run by First Planet Company, a subsidiary of the Swedish company MindArk Group which owns, runs and operates Entropia Online and the Entropia Universe including Planet Calypso.
Via Tech Crunch