'Buzz Erik Lightyear' has been crowned winner of an auction for the Crystal Palace Space Station.
Entropia Universe has a "real cash economy" where $1 can buy you 10 PEDs (Project Entropia dollars) and Buzz snatched up the space station for a cool 3,300,000 PED (USD 330,000). The MMO was designed by Swedish-based MindArk and is a direct continuation of Project Entropia.
Buzz buzzed, "I was really hoping to win this auction. I believe Crystal Palace can be amazing since it won't just be owned by some investor, but instead by a very active, and very old player who loves Entropia Universe."
Apparently all Buzz has to do is "let the station run, set a decent tax rate, keep it stocked with things to hunt, and he can take all the PED he earns and translate it into cold, hard cash." He also needs to get his head read.
Any Entropia Universe players out there? Tell us what it's all about.
Is this for real? Is it not a joke? Do I understand this correctly... a gamer has thousands of dollars on a map, effectively, that other gamers can go to. And those gamers pay to play within that map?
If I understand that correctly, and I hope I'm wrong, what a bunch of idiots, seriously, what a bunch of dicks that play that game! There are hundreds of games I don't play, don't understand people liking, but accept we're all different.
While I like some shooter games, another person likes arcade or levels games, which I would never touch. But regardless I assumed we were all pretty much on a level footing... we all have our system, ranging from the consoles, up to expensive PCs... and we all pay about the same... PC games being the cheapest, console game tending to cost more. And of course, there are those who actually love paying every month for their World of Warcraft and such like. I accept that, not for me, but each to their own.
But this? Seriously? What a joke. Really that has to be the most pathetic side to gaming. I don't know who's more pathetic.. the idiot who spends that much on a videogame map... or the idiots who pay to play within one videogame map. I am absolutely stunned. Or, is someone actually taking advantage of another's mental illness? If so, is that legal?
My first reaction was: "Apparently someone has more money than sense," and then I contemplated the possibility of the buyer being able to run advertisements in the space station, or lease out sections of it in-game to other players for a monthly rent, etc. In short, while it initially seems to be an asinine venture doomed to fail horribly it might just turn out to be a fairly deft business move if it mirrors the sort of real estate and leasing business transactions we are accustomed to in our physical world. Still, even if I were rolling in that kind of cash I doubt I would spend it on an online MMO space station.
P.S. @JensonJet: if someone knowingly takes advantage of another person's mental disability, I'm quite certain there are sound grounds for a lawsuit. While I do not know the exact penal code under British law, it would surprise me if one didn't exist that covers such a scenario. Considering that there are laws which prohibit a person from misleading another person about the items in a contract if the signatory does not understand the language in use in other Western nations, it seems almost certain that similar laws prohibit taking advantage of someone whom can be proven clinically insane or otherwise mentally unfit within UK law.
A person of unsound mind is legally allowed to enter into any contract for the very reason above that they could be taken advantage of.
If a person is found to be mentally deficient when they signed a contract then that contract is void. Same as people under the age of 18 cant enter into a contract either as they aren't legally liable.
Whether you can justify it morally or not, if he has the money then it's irrelevant. If I tried to do that you'd hear the bank laughing at me from the real space station. Must be nice to have 1/3 of a million to blow like that.
You also can't deny that it's a brilliant scheme the developers have come up with. They just made over 300 grand by doing sod all! I expect they'll get a share of all transactions across the entire game as well. I wish I'd thought of that. You don't need new content, you just need to sell the old stuff. Amazing.
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