Cash Card Taps Into Game Universe Money

By Geoff Duncan Published May 2, 2006

Back in October 2005, Mindark‘s Project Entropia MMORPG attracted attention for selling a virtual in-game space station for $100,000 in real money to player/entrepreneur Jon Jacobs. Now they’ve got a new idea: real world cash cards which let players access money they’ve earned in the game’s virtual universe.

Project Entropia’s in-game economy is linked to the real-world currency: a Project Entropia Dollar (PED) is equivalent to $.10 USD. With the Project Entropia ATM card, players will be able to access in-game funds as real-life currency using any Versatel ATM machine around the world. Players will be able to transfer, withdraw, and deposit funds back and forth from their Project Entropia Universe account.

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Within the Project Entropia universe, players can sell virtual products which have actual cash value: players can put real money into their characters’ development by acquiring goods, land, and other assets in the game universe. During 2005, the Project Entropia economy was estimated at $165 million USD. (Although a typo on their press release implies its economy is quite a bit larger than any nation on Earth

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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