Online game Entropia Universe has been granted a licence to be a bank. Issued by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, the licence means the game can be more closely tied to the real world finances of players.
Mindark, the developers of the game, said it aimed to launch a fully-functioning in-game bank within the next 12 months.
At current exchange rates, 10 PED (Project Entropia Dollars) are worth one US dollar.
Players pay real money to get at in-game items, such as guns, armour and other gear, and the micro-payment system pays for Entropia’s running costs.
“We will be in a position to offer real bank services to the inhabitants of our virtual universe,” said Jan Welter Timkrans, boss of Mindark. It plans to offer players interest-bearing accounts, let them deposit their salaries and pay bills or lend cash via the in-game bank.
When will they start offering mortgage-based derivatives?
Its an interesting game. You can download and play the game for free. Your character will be limited if you don’t buy any stuff, but there are ways to earn money in the game.
I’ve never had any interest in “massively multiplayer” games. The idea of paying a chunk of money for the game and then paying monthly fees just doesn’t fly with me. I get bored and like to try new things and there are plenty of great games to play that don’t require a monthly fee for online play.
Its a different sort of game definitely. When a batch of pixels represent a ‘pistol’ and the best one in the game is worth $20k (or more) U.S.D. as well as sets of armor at that price, it makes you wonder.
Have they applied for a bail-out yet?
Or has AIG simply sent them a cheque?
“10 PED (Project Entropia Dollars) are worth one US dollar” Hmmm. That’s the same exchange rate we enjoyed when I was in Zimbabwe a decade or so ago. Now I think the rate is something like 100,000,000,000 to 1. So, with the rest of the world’s banks in meltdown, I think giving all my money to an on-line game/bank sounds like a terrific idea! Count me out.
[Yes, I lied above. I’m aware that Zimbabwe gave up on the Zim$ a couple of months ago and have accepted the US$ as their de facto currency. I was in Cambodia a couple of months ago and was surprised to find ATM machines dispensed US$. Nice crisp currency, too. Might have been printed regionally. I made sure to spend it all there.]
Invest in the PED now, Im sure it will be worth more than the $US shortly
Entropia Universe is the game that has gotten famous for encouraging huge investments in the game. The first was an in game “night club” bought by a player for $100,000 of real money, an amount unheard of for virtual real estate, though occasionally matched in oher games like Second Life.
The game also has in world banking, and the devs sold operation rights for hundreds of housands of dollars. One of the banks was bought by SL’s first virtual millionaire Ansche Chung.
All of this over a player base no bigger than half a million players. If the 20 million strong World of Warcraft did something similar, who knows how many millions it could generate.
#6
PED is pegged to the USD. Unless they change to a different currency 1 dime U.S. will always be 1 ped.
I tried it and after a gig+ download it immediatly bored me, and I moved on.
Maybe its age, but if the character development is anymore involved than… pick up a gun and start shooting things, I just don’t have the attention span for this sort of thing anymore.
I went to a private party a couple of years ago with one of the execs of this company. He told me about this but I didn’t it would actually go through.
They probably just want to apply for a bailout.
after you PAY for net connection, PAY for a console, PAY for the game, PAY for NET service like xbox live, PAY to PLAY??
EVEN WOW has private/pirate servers that are free.
NO, I will not PAY to play.
Yes I know servers cost money. But MANY games that WERE pay to play have gone to free status. They couldnt get enough players to make it worth playing.
This gives me two separate ideas.
First: This would be a great way to smuggle cash!
Second: These people must be ego boosted to have a bank in their game, but I would assume there would be significant regulatory issues dealing with, um, running a bank. To process payments into and out of game currency would not require having a bank so I’m mystified as to why they did it. Also, real banks are going to protest that this bank makes its own currency.
If the currency is convertible into real money it is fiat money. Banks just don’t do that, and they haven’t for a long time.
Um so this bank can take deposits in more than one country and maybe people can make withdrawls and purchases in more than one country and not every government in every country would know what you had deposited?
Sounds like a business with a lot of potential.
no one has said this yet…
Gaming as a Service.., It’s a GaaS man!!
Just download this game.It’s interesting. You And this game is for free. You should to earn money in the game.
With exchange rates like that it will be overrun with Chinese “gold farmers” in no time.
16, change or update your link in your name..ITS OLD.
the fun part will come from GETTING the money out..