When you put your card into an automated teller machine, view your balance on the screen and then receive money from the dispenser, you probably understand that a merely electronic notion – your bank account – is being translated into a physical object with value: money.
But what if you are at the corner ATM and your net worth is locked up in an imaginary asteroid mining venture?
Until now you would be plumb out of luck. But on Tuesday, the makers of “Entropia Universe,” a popular online science-fiction game, introduced a real- world ATM card that will allow players instantly to withdraw hard cash automatically converted from their virtual game treasury. So a player with, say, 2,000 spare PEDs, or Project Entropia Dollars, left over after buying a new laser rifle in the game could withdraw $200 and take a date to a real-life ballgame.
For instance Jon Jacobs, known online as Neverdie, a 39-year-old Entropia player in Miami Beach, Florida, last year sold almost everything he owned (real and virtual) to put together $100,000 (1 million PEDs) to buy a huge space station in the game. By selling apartments and storefronts to other players and by imposing taxes on players’ hunting and mining on his real estate, he is now making about $12,000 a month on his investment, he estimates. And his big nightclub is still under construction.
“The ATM card is a huge step forward because it’s all about making the experience more immersive, and now that we know we have easy access to our money, it’s going to give people even more confidence in the system,” Jacobs said. “Among the higher echelon of players we’re moving money around big time. Like when I’m upgrading my resort, and I want to buy a new creature for people to hunt, we’re talking about $1,500 or $5,000.
Jan Welter said MindArk software engineers had been working on the ATM project for years and had finally developed a system secure enough to allow instant verification and cash authorization. He said that his company was in contact with the Swedish government and that systems were in place to prevent money laundering and other potential abuses.
Rock on!
I don’t know about the pope but ATMs are INFALLIBLE. I don’t even count the dispensed cash anymore. I just put it into my wallet.
It’s insane that you can make a living with full-time gaming, what excuse are you gonna have to get your kid to stop playing on the PS2? Can’t use the ‘job’ argument anymore….
This sounds like a great way to launder your ill gotten drug money. Now all I need is some ill gotten drug money.
who knew that by helping people get money out of your game, you get so much money into your pocket?
Yeah – I’m wondering where they’re getting the cash too … that said, people will write bots to accumulate themselves game cash … and then use it … the system will be abused and quickly shut down – neat idea though.