First Planet Company, a subsidiary of the MindArk Group that develops and markets the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game Planet Calypso, which is based on the Entropia Platform and part of the Entropia Universe (still with me?), claims that the world record for most expensive virtual object ever to be sold has been smashed into thousands of virtual pieces.
First Planet Company about a month ago announced the public auction of the Crystal Palace Space Station, according to the release ‘an extremely popular hunting destination that is in orbit around Planet Calypso’. The lucky winner of the auction, Erik Novak (aka “Buzz Erik Lightyear”), ended up winning the bid with a $330,000.00 USD offer.
It’s 2010, so it’s no longer surprising for most people to see this kind of money being spent on virtual objects, and I doubt this world record will stick around for long.
Novak puts it this way:
“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.”
For the record (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), the previous world record as registered by the authorative Guinness World Records book in 2008, was also a sale of a virtual property in Planet Calypso. The amount paid for that property was much smaller though, with a reported $100.000 USD being spent on a Virtual Space Resort and Nightclub now dubbed Club Neverdie.
Do you spend money on virtual goods? What if it would concern a significant investment that you’re confident would generate a great return down the line?