It's Tough All Over

Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET

"The shutdown has caused a real-life bank run by Second Life depositors. Though some players managed to get their Linden dollars out, others are finding that they can no longer make withdrawals from the make-believe ATMs. As a result, they can't exchange their Linden-dollar deposits back into real dollars. Linden officials won't say how much money has been lost, but a run on another virtual bank in August may have cost Second Life depositors an estimated $750,000 in actual money." There's a must-read piece in today's Wall Street Journal that shows how the current financial crises we're seeing in real life can also occur in the world of online gaming. It also proves that the people who participate in online gaming are exactly as dorky as you think they are. WSJ