To step away for a moment from the heaviness of homicidal maniacs, suicide bombers in Iraq, and administration missteps... For those of you who don't pay attention to the video game world, it's a multi-billion dollar market that by most accounts is surpassing Hollywood in sales dollars. Video games are up there with pornography and DVD/on-demand rentals in terms of money spent by Americans each year. MMORPG's (Massively Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games) have followings in the millions worldwide. In recent years the phenomenon of creating/buying in-game characters hit. Level up enough to make your wizard go from hobbit to Gandalf and you have a hot commodity. Pimp your ride out with sufficient flash and horsepower, and you have a monster that not only looks good, but can smoke the competition on the streets. Three years ago a Japanese dude brought an intellectual properties lawsuit against another gamer who somehow managed to steal a virtual character the guy had created. The plaintiff placed a dollar value on the game charcacter he created, and sued for damages. Now video game makers allow you to upgrade characters by using points won from other games, by accumulating in-game "money" to be exchanged for the upgrades or characters, or even by engaging in transactions through eBay! Many of the most fanatic players clock 40+ hours per week easy just playing their games, and their worlds of dragons, warriors and wizards is a meaningful to them as ours is to us. So no surprise that this happens. If people can sue for the theft of a virtual character, why wouldn't some woman hit on using the world's oldest bargaining chip to gain some quick and easy gaming money?
You might want to stay abreast of the gaming and movie industries, as the changes there will impact our society in ways you may not have anticipated. And please: no corny jokes about her needing an "epic mount"! *********************** Woman Offers [Favors] for 'Warcraft' Gold By: Ruben Diaz For: Game Invasion Reports are circling around the Internet at a rapid pace about a woman who had posted a personal ad on Craigslist.org offering sexual favors in exchange for 'World of Warcraft' gold. Needing 5000 gold to purchase an 'Epic Flying Mount,' one of the fastest mounts in the game, she offered anyone, male or female, playing on her server the opportunity to perform a variety of sexual acts in exchange for the in-game currency. Chief among her deviant interests was finding a partner into role-playing, going so far as to inform potential suitors that she has a costume ready for the occasion. ClubSi.com managed to snag screenshots of the postings, including a posting the next day about her success, before they were removed from Craigslist. Obviously she didn't read the upcoming 'World of Warcraft' development notes where her character class will be able to acquire an epic mount (epic flying form) through a quest in lieu of purchasing one. Look at this as an example of immediate vs. differed gratification, kids. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
