DALLAS – A 22-year-old Australian has just paid $26,500 at auction for a 6,000-acre island with prime beach front property, a castle and assault robots.
That’s right, assault robots.
David Storey’s purchase of Treasure Island, a parcel in the online game “Project Entropia,” makes him the king of virtual real estate, the game’s developers say.
Along with the island, the Sydney resident, whose game name is “Deathifier,” will be able to tax players who want to hunt for robots or mine on the property for raw materials.
He also can sell 60 island lots worth about 300,000 Project Entropia Dollars – $30,000 in real money.
Released last year by Sweden-based MindArk PE AB, “Project Entropia” encourages gamers to buy and sell virtual items for real cash.
Like most so-called massively multiplayer games, there’s no “game over” screen – just a neverending fantasy filled with battles between friends and strangers.
About 180,000 people have registered to play “Project Entropia.” It’s technically free, but players who can’t devote 80 hours a week can pay to gain status.
Apple counters Harmony: Apple Computer Inc. has quietly started to block technology created by RealNetworks Inc. to get around the iPod music player’s copy-protection armor.
Making good on a promise to not sit by idly, Apple counterattacked with one of its newest iPod models, the iPod Photo, which debuted Oct. 26, Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman said Wednesday.
She refused to say which, if any, other iPod models may have already received a similar software upgrade.
RealNetworks introduced in July the iPod-encroaching technology, called Harmony, hoping to break down some of the walls created by incompatible, proprietary digital music standards.
The Seattle-based company claimed it reverse-engineered Apple’s copy-protection code so songs purchased from non-Apple online outlets, namely RealNetworks’ RealPlayer music store and others using Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Media formats, could be playable on Apple’s best-selling iPod.
Otherwise, Apple’s protection scheme limits the iPod to songs downloaded from Apple’s iTunes Music Store or songs in the generic MP3 music format.
It’s unclear how many people are now stuck with songs they can no longer play on their iPods.
Game ads measured: Advertisers in video games will soon have a clearer view than ever of how much eyeball time they’re getting from players under a partnership between Nielsen Entertainment, of TV-ratings fame, and Massive Inc., a game advertising startup.
The two companies announced Wednesday that they will team up to provide measurement and ratings data from Massive’s new first-of-its-kind video game advertising network, which allows marketers to deliver fresh, new ads into console and PC games via an online connection.
Ads within a game can be changed repeatedly or tailored to the player’s region.
Nielsen, which already delivers television audience data to advertisers, will now develop similar metrics for video game ads on Massive’s network. It’ll audit the length of exposure an ad gets from players.
“It’ll empower advertisers to make more informed business decisions,” said Michael Dowling, a general manager at Nielsen Entertainment.
From Herald news services
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