Archive for 'Virtual Business, Finance and Economics'
Interview with Mick, from Online Game Bucks
In The Alphaville Herald we have met some small currency dealers and some fairly large ones (six figures), but by comparison Online Game Bucks is just huge. Having started exclusively as Simolean dealers, they now sell currency in nine games, and they currently have 32 employees. By some outside estimates their annual sales revenues are [...]
Full StoryInterview with Ian, from SimoleansPlus
In this interview we talk with high school student and TSO entrepreneur Ian, who, through his SimoleansPlus site carries on a brisk trade in simoleans, rare pets, other rare objects ranging from dead Christmas trees to TSO anniversary cakes, and last but not least: his business selling 14 day trial account codes. He talks about [...]
Full StoryInterview with Nyk: Legendary Mazebot Programmer
In this interview we speak with Nyk, programmer of the legendary BMazer maze bot. He talks about some of his other creations (including the PetID bot) and his current projects: pizza bots, code bots, band bots, etc. How does he answer his critics? And just why does he do it? The money? The chicks? Free [...]
Full StoryInterview with a Six Figure Simolean Seller
In this interview we meet a well known TSO and eBay simolean seller. Badly injured ten years ago in a steel factory explosion, he has lived on disability since then, but this year he will report an income of around $100,000 US from selling simoleans. He describes how he got into the business, how his [...]
Full StoryThunderbox PC to Sponsor a MMORPG Guild
In an interesting bit of news that was recently discussed on Slashdot, Thunderbox PC has announced that it will be a sponsor for the EQ and UO superguild The Syndicate (no relation to TSO mafia also known as The Syndicate). All of which makes us wonder: if TSO survives, would corporate sponsorships of mafias and [...]
Full StoryInterview with SARP’s AJ: Hey, you’ve got us all wrong!
SARP is the acronym for the Jolly Pines based organization Sims Against Ridiculous Payouts. The organization is a kind of indigenous sim special interest group that campaigns against payouts to sims for just showing up or spending time in skill and money houses. In the past, these payouts have been fueled by the cheap money [...]
Full StoryDiscussion with Ted Castronova: can Alphaville be Liberated from EA?
A lot of people I talk to think that EA/Maxis is going to pull the plug on TSO – indeed that EA was going to do it *before* the S hit the fan and now they may have to cut it loose sooner before the *really* nasty stuff hits the press. So here is a [...]
Full StoryLazy-Fare Economics
If you?ll permit me to diverge from the ever-so-interesting topic of the social mal-adjustments and sexual deviancies of fake people I?d like to say a few words bout a topic we should all be considering: The economy.
Full StoryLife after Mazing: Interview with TSO Power Player.
In this interview we check in again with our old friend TSO Power Player to ask him about life after the maze money object has been eliminated. Liquidity is down, and he thinks ordinary sims are suffering the consequences. What will replace Maze? Well…
Full StoryFounder Account for Sale on Ebay
by The Phantom I don’t normally report on sales on Ebay, but this is a particularly interesting case. There is a male founder account for sale on Ebay, and current bidding is at $350 with approximately 20 hours to go. Check in here for details. What makes this sale particularly interesting to Alpha residents is [...]
Full Story
Recent Comments