"Stop playing that video game and do your homework" used to be a viable request of a parent to their child. However, the recent actions of a Texan highschool student have changed everything. Xonad, as he is known in-game, now commands an annual income of just over $250,000, more than double the combined income of his parents, and he owes it all to playing the online video game EVE Online. In early 2007, Xonad began to hire his schoolyard friends to play in the game with him, paying each of them a daily salary in ISK, the game's currency. Their task was to help him complete errands within the game, for which he would amass a sizeable amount of currency. A schoolyard cooperation soon became a national operation, with gamers from across the USA joining Xonad's workforce.
Today he commands dozens of employees on 3 different continents, earning a significant income by trading EVE ISK for real-money - and a lot of it! Xonad's parents (no they're not aliens) are delighted with his success and are showing full support to his business ambitions.
This story highlights the very real contribution virtual economies, and similar online communities, can have to economies in the real world. Be sure to keep a close eye on this ever-developing market in/of the future. Want to get your own EVE Online fortune? Visit www.MOGS.com to buy cheap EVE ISK right now.