US$179,668 Paid for Virtual Real Estate in Entropia Universe, marking the largest purchases in Entropia of 2006
03 January 2007
Original press release[edit]
Contact: Elina Heng
Terpin Communications Group
(310) 821-6100 x108
elina@terpin.com
For Immediate Release
US$179,668 PAID FOR VIRTUAL REAL ESTATE IN ENTROPIA UNIVERSE, MARKING THE LARGEST PURCHASES IN ENTROPIA OF 2006.
Winners of Auction Announced Today After Ten Days of Frenzied Bidding for Virtual Shopping Malls.
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN – January 3, 2007 – MindArk PE AB, creators of the Entropia Universe – the original virtual universe with a Real Cash Economy, announced today the winners of the public auction for the three virtual mall properties within Entropia. Bidding lasted from December 19 into the late evening of December 29, with the total winning bids amounting to US$179,668. The two winners are Onkel RobRoy Bob who claimed two of the prestigious malls, and Epsilon Eps Vaz who won the third piece of highly sought after Entropia real estate.
All located in some of Calypso’s busiest trading regions; two of the prime commercial properties were claimed by Onkel RobRoy Bob, a 37 year old quality engineer from Sweden who stated afterwards, “I have seen many good deals pass through Entropia Universe, so now I thought it was finally my turn.” Onkel RobRoy Bob bought the Twin Peaks and Emerald Lakes malls for US$35,000 and US$ 74,601 respectively. The third property, in the trading capital of Port Atlantis, was won by Epsilon Eps Vaz, a 19 year old from the United Kingdom. After claiming the mall for US$70,067 the young Epsilon said, “I believe the Port Atlantis Mall is a great investment for the future. Entropia Universe is growing all the time and Port Atlantis is a meeting place for new players.”
The malls will provide instant cash revenue to their new owners with each mall including three shopping floors, eighteen medium sized shops (each with a display window), eighteen large sized shops (each with a display window plus a display podium), three trade centers with an auctioneer, technician, trade , society, and repair terminals, storage facilities, an ad screen, tailoring, and construction machines. On the fourth floor of each mall, there is a public teleporter and a public balcony. The top floors of the malls also house a private penthouse apartment for the mall owner, complete with a large private balcony overlooking the busy locations. The roof of each mall has two spacecraft landing pads for future use.
MindArk’s Chief Information Officer, Marco Behrmann , followed the auctions closely happily claiming them, “the perfect thrilling ending to MindArk’s most successful year to date. The desire to own virtual real estate in Entropia is growing rapidly, which the mall auctions clearly show. Big business has entered the virtual universe with tremendous force, and we see no indication of this changing.” The Entropia Universe turnover amounted to over 165 million US Dollars during 2005.
The sale of the malls reflects one of the main principles of Entropia Universe. Entropia actively supports sales of virtual products with actual cash value within its real economy system. The Entropia Universe is the only virtual universe on the internet whose currency has a fixed exchange rate with the US Dollar, where 10 PED = 1 US$. Its currency can easily be moved between Entropia and the real world using an ATM card. The Entropia ATM card can be used to instantly withdraw real cash from over 1 million ATM machines worldwide. The PED currency allows members to invest in personal development and growth through the acquisition of goods, buildings, and land in the Entropia universe.
About Entropia Universe and MindArk
The heart of Entropia Universe is a distant planet named Calypso, which encompasses two continents with animal filled wildernesses and large expanding cities that offer a variety of entertainment and social interaction for its citizens. In Entropia, participants can create their own persona, or avatar, via a character generation system, and then have the option of choosing a suitable life and virtual existence for their avatar. Characters are able to enter the evolving worlds of Entropia Universe, which are full of unexplored and uncultivated lands. Participants can join a community or even create a civilization of their own. Entropia offers a new avenue for individuals to pursue dreams, fantasies, and adventures in an astoundingly ‘real’ virtual universe.
In December 2004, Entropia Universe set a world record, certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, when it sold a virtual Treasure Island for $26,500 USD as the largest virtual dollar amount spent, to 22-year old Australian David Storey, a.k.a. "Deathifier." In October 2005, the sale of an asteroid based space resort for $100,000 USD to famed gamer, Jon ‘NEVERDIE’ Jacobs, set a new record for the most valuable virtual item.
Entropia Universe is a registered trademark of MindArk PE AB. MindArk supports and monitors the services and maintenance of the Entropia Universe site. MindArk began in April of 2003 in Sweden, and has expanded to have partners throughout the world. Entropia Universe was launched in 2003 and has reached over 500,000 registered accounts. MindArk offers the Entropia Universe software to users free of charge with no monthly costs or associated subscription fees. For more information or to download the free Entropia Universe software please visit www.entropia-universe.com. For more information on EU developer, MindArk, please visit www.mindark.com.
Links, references, contributors, categories[edit]
Contributors:
|