[MUD-Dev] Project Entropia

[the_logos at www.achaea.com]

This graphical mud has a nice idea that extends Achaea's business
model back the way it came from. Not only can you buy credits with
real money (as well as get them via various in-game methods), but you
can trade them back in for real money.

  http://entropia.stratics.com/content/preview/preview.shtml

(dig at stratics: If you think UO was the first game in which people
sold characters for real money, you need to open your eyes a bit.)

The real fun begins when you read their business model, which is a bit
mind-boggling. I'd almost believe it was a joke if it wasn't on
Stratics:

  http://entropia.stratics.com/content/economy/model.shtml

Some choice quotes regarding Project Entropia, from which you can draw
your own conclusions:

----
  "One could compare the potential and the uniqueness of Project
  Entropia with products like "Windows" or "Netscape" and thus compare
  Mind Ark AB to what the companies Microsoft and Netscape were right
  before the launched their products."

It's a masterfully written piece of ironic fiction, I feel. Note the
cleverly amusing use of "unique" in the same sentence as "Windows" or
"Netscape".
----


----
They also have very modest expectations on the business end of things,
as the following quote demonstrates:

  "Calculations based on the following:
 
   - One million users simultaneously logged on to our system all 24
   hours per day. This assumption is conservative, keeping in mind
   that the client software is absolutely free, there are xxx million
   users on the internet increasing with yyy users per day. Existing
   communications systems (such as ICQ) have already millions of
   users, although they only provide one compared to thousands of
   features included in Project Entropia.

   - Users stay on for one hour. This assumption is conservative
   compared to on line games like Ultima Online, Asheron's call, and
   Everquest, where the standard user is often logged on for several
   hours at a time, even though these games only offer small portions
   of what can be experienced in the Project Entropia Universe.
                            
   - Each user is willing to spend one USD per hour. This assumption
   is extremely low compared with what people are willing to spend on
   quality entertainment, games, and gambling.  "

I read this, and I wondered if maybe USD means something other than US
Dollar. Possibly it is some obscure reference to a currency such as
the yen or the lira?

I must say, given their rock-solid logic in the feature comparison
with ICQ, I have to wonder why all of us aren't making a million
dollars an hour. Every mud I've ever played has more features than
ICQ. Sadly though, the general public hasn't yet realized that it
needs the ability to burrow underground in my virtual world more than
the ability to communicate with their friends and colleagues. Damn the
ignorance of the proletariat!
----

They apparently plan to generate over 8 billion dollars of
transactions in the game a year, generating 1% of that in revenue for
themselves. I suspect it won't be long before a MUD equivalent to
fuckedcompany.com will be a viable proposition given the amount of
crack that many online game developers seem to be smoking.

Two words for you Project Entropia: April 2000.

--matt




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