Boomtown: The Real Money Behind Virtual Goods

Virtual goods, such as avatars and Facebook gifts, are attracting major brands, celebrities, and venture capital. The money is real.Nexon’s Crazyracing KartRider game sold more than 100,000 Mini Coopers in South Korea, more than BMW’s sales of the actual car. It helped that the game’s virtual Mini cost less than $10. 2008 annual revenue for Tencent, China’s largest Internet portal: $1.05 billion. 88% of revenue comes from virtual goods. $200 million — Amount of virtual goods purchased in the U.S. in 2008. More