Virtual Entrepreneur

How To Make Real Money From Virtual Currencies

January 18th, 2008 | Author: MrsMoney

Entrepreneur:
An August report from Parks Associates states that 34% of adult internet users play online games every week. That’s more than the percentage of adults who watch videos or use social networking sites. Online gaming and virtual worlds are booming as both casual and hard-core gamers gravitate toward internet offerings. With them come virtual economies with goods and currencies that can be turned into real-world cash – which means opportunity for entrepreneurs.

The trading, buying and selling of virtual currency from popular games like World of Warcraft and EverQuest has been a largely underground market – until now. Sparter built a platform where users can trade, buy and sell virtual currencies from online games and virtual worlds. Co-founders Dan Kelly and Boris Putanec officially launched the website in beta form last February and have already made waves in the online gaming community, with sales expected to exceed $250,000 for their first year.

‘We did a lot of research,’ says Kelly, 40. ‘People clearly saw value in buying and trading virtual goods. We thought there should be a viable long-term solution not only for gamers, but also for the industry.’ Sparter costs nothing for buyers; the company makes money by taking a commission from sellers on each completed transaction. Sparter supports currency trade for a variety of online games and handles international transactions as well. Gaming-related startups need to keep the international nature of the industry in mind when building their platforms.

Entrepreneurs who are considering getting into different areas of online gaming have to be prepared to adjust to a rapidly changing marketplace.

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