If you know anything about PC gaming, then you have probably heard about the MMO game EVE Online. It is a space simulator game that has players fighting, mining, trading, and scavenging for multiple in game corporations. Players interact with the game world through different avatars- which happens to be a variety of spacecraft. Some of these vessels are small and nimble, meant for little jobs like mining and basic dogfights, while others are larger frigates and cruisers, meant to brute their way through the toughest tasks at hand and come out without a scratch. The latter mentioned naturally tends to be a lot more expensive in-game, and sometimes can cost a little bit of real world investment as well. The largest cruiser in game is the Titan, a beast of a ship with an estimated cost of around $3000-$3500 dollars a piece.

     While that alone seems like a massive amount to be invested in a video game, imagine what would happen if a group of rivals met in game an began trading pot shots with the other group. As things escalate, the groups call in their friends, who call in their friends, some passerby decides to join in and calls his friends, and before you know it, the original conflict has grown into a mass-collaboration between a warring group of over 4,000 players organizing fleets ranging from the massive Titans to the smallest frigates. This is what happened when the largest in game battle broke out in EVE Online's over ten year run. About a hundred of the Titan class ships were destroyed, and among the other losses in the fight caused a loss of over 11 trillion in the game's currency, ISK.

     Now, to the average reader, this probably doesn't mean much. "So what? They play their game, they lose, they win, no big deal. It's just a video game" However, the 11 trillion ISK converted into U.S. Dollars is roughly $330,000. In less than 24 hours, this battle in EVE Online cut a huge chunk out of the in game economy and a considerable one out of the real world as well.

     What do you think about this? Are video games worth the loss of this much investment? If so, do you think we should start taking games like this more seriously?

Kain, Eric. "Massive 'EVE Online' Battle Could Cost $300,000 In Real Money [Update]." 

     Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 29 Jan. 2014. Web. 31 Aug. 2014.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/01/29/massive-eve-online-...

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  • Very well written! It is hard to believe that something in a videogame could lead to real money loss. I love videogames but have never played this game before. I have played Dust 514 on the PS3 a little bit which ties into this game in some way. I think some aspect of Eve is coming to the PS4 if memories serve.

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