So which kid gets the virtual mansion? MindArk writes wills for virtual game assets

Everguide · 09-10-2008, 12:56 AM

Quote:

That's right according to Swedish news site GP (English translation here) the "Second-Life"-like Project Entropia (700,000 players) published by Swedish company MindArk will start drafting wills for it's players so that their virtual assets can be passed on after their death.

This begs the question, which one of your kids get's your decked out character with that castle in prime virtual real-estate? Let the sibling rivalry begin.

From the article:

"The company Mindark from Gothenburg will begin to draw up wills for their customers to cover the things they own in their virtual computer world.- It's a natural development, says project manager Carl Uggla."

So, if you die, who takes care of your virtual avatar?

kudos · 09-10-2008, 12:59 AM

It's never deleted so nobody will have to.

Zarcath · 09-10-2008, 01:34 AM

Why would they need a specialized service for this? How is it any different from a regular will? Just put in "All my digital assets go to my kids".

Salshun · 09-10-2008, 02:16 AM

With games like Second Life and Entropia somebody is also going to be inheriting some furry costumes.

Crell · 09-10-2008, 02:16 PM

Gunna suck when the kid realizes his dad played a Furry.

Believe · 09-10-2008, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crell

Gunna suck when the kid realizes his dad played a Furry.

Atleast by the time he finds out, he can take comfort in knowing his Dad is dead.

Jait · 09-10-2008, 05:16 PM

It still gets parodied from time to time (Strangers with Candy), of burying your grandfather or great-grandfather and finding some locked closet with a Klan outfit, or an old Nazi uniform, or John Cheevers letters

Now they'll find a slightly stained pink Elephant. Awesome.

Evelys · 09-11-2008, 02:04 PM

You all are assuming that the furries will actually get laid and have kids. That's a pretty large assumption, isn't it?

Malakriss · 09-12-2008, 11:46 AM

The same argument has been made for homosexuals. That's not a large assumption.

Lorrac · 09-12-2008, 01:09 PM

I'm now starting the official countdown for some kind of virtual-goods related business to get into the stock market. In a few years down the road, patches will not only bugger your leisure time but also hurt your retirement funds.

Inconsiderable · 09-12-2008, 02:21 PM

After MindArk sold the rights to run "banks" in Entropia for 80,000 $ .... it kinda makes sense that you can bequeath (?) your accounts. Its not like your everyday MMO worth 50 bugs + 15 / month and possible 200-1000 on ebay.

Tortfeasor · 09-12-2008, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zarcath

Why would they need a specialized service for this? How is it any different from a regular will? Just put in "All my digital assets go to my kids".

If you ask the typical trusts and estates lawyer to draft something like this they would more than likely be utterly perplexed. Internet law is still pretty new and understanding what actual property rights you have in your MMO toon is going to be defined by jargon that most estate planners don't know. I would be pretty interested in reading a couple of these wills.

Also, this shit is pretty odd.

Havelock · 09-12-2008, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tortfeasor

If you ask the typical trusts and estates lawyer to draft something like this they would more than likely be utterly perplexed. Internet law is still pretty new and understanding what actual property rights you have in your MMO toon is going to be defined by jargon that most estate planners don't know. I would be pretty interested in reading a couple of these wills.

Also, this shit is pretty odd.

I dunno, unless you want to get way into details, it doesn't seem like anything that would throw a trusts & estates lawyer all that much. It might seem a little weird at first if he's completely ignorant of persistent online worlds, but after reading any one of the 8 zillion popular periodical articles on Second Life (those guys must have pictures of every journalist in America dressed as a clown and snorting cocaine off a six-year-old or something, they get way too much attention) the lawyer should be fine. The more complicated issue is ownership rights in general in MMOs, as most of these games just give you a license. But I don't know that that applies in Project Entropia or Second Life.

Zarcath · 09-13-2008, 05:36 AM

I would be interested in seeing a ruling on account ownership. If I die and leave my account to someone, per the ToS, I don't actually own the account. So Blizzard wouldn't have to recognize the new ownership, and the account information would still be tied to the deceased. So if whoever I left it to ever wanted to move characters or update account information, they wouldn't be able to?

09-10-2008, 12:59 AM	#2 (permalink)
kudos 80° when I tell a bitch please Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,661 -11 Internets	It's never deleted so nobody will have to. __________________ Pissing off Everquest players since 1999-2009

09-10-2008, 02:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
Crell Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bellingham,WA Posts: 199 +2 Internets	Gunna suck when the kid realizes his dad played a Furry. __________________ Padisar http://www.guild-core.net/

09-13-2008, 05:36 AM	#14 (permalink)
Zarcath is a little tea pot. Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 6,465 +75 Internets	I would be interested in seeing a ruling on account ownership. If I die and leave my account to someone, per the ToS, I don't actually own the account. So Blizzard wouldn't have to recognize the new ownership, and the account information would still be tied to the deceased. So if whoever I left it to ever wanted to move characters or update account information, they wouldn't be able to? Last edited by Zarcath; 09-13-2008 at 05:39 AM..

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09-10-2008, 01:34 AM	#3 (permalink)
Zarcath is a little tea pot. Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 6,465 +75 Internets	Why would they need a specialized service for this? How is it any different from a regular will? Just put in "All my digital assets go to my kids".

09-10-2008, 02:16 AM	#4 (permalink)
Salshun Holy fuck 6 years already? Where does the suck go? Join Date: May 2003 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 2,151 -11 Internets	With games like Second Life and Entropia somebody is also going to be inheriting some furry costumes.

09-10-2008, 05:16 PM	#7 (permalink)
Jait Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: :noitacoL Posts: 3,645	It still gets parodied from time to time (Strangers with Candy), of burying your grandfather or great-grandfather and finding some locked closet with a Klan outfit, or an old Nazi uniform, or John Cheevers letters Now they'll find a slightly stained pink Elephant. Awesome.

09-11-2008, 02:04 PM	#8 (permalink)
Evelys The Anti-Gnome Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: South of Hell Posts: 301	You all are assuming that the furries will actually get laid and have kids. That's a pretty large assumption, isn't it?

09-12-2008, 11:46 AM	#9 (permalink)
Malakriss GOMTV Contest Winner Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,845	The same argument has been made for homosexuals. That's not a large assumption.

09-12-2008, 01:09 PM	#10 (permalink)
Lorrac Invaders Spaced Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: the land of 16% VAT Posts: 1,394 -4 Internets	I'm now starting the official countdown for some kind of virtual-goods related business to get into the stock market. In a few years down the road, patches will not only bugger your leisure time but also hurt your retirement funds.

09-12-2008, 02:21 PM	#11 (permalink)
Inconsiderable the princess approves Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,489 -1 Internets	After MindArk sold the rights to run "banks" in Entropia for 80,000 $ .... it kinda makes sense that you can bequeath (?) your accounts. Its not like your everyday MMO worth 50 bugs + 15 / month and possible 200-1000 on ebay.