Virtual Goods News

BringIt, profiled by TechCrunch today, adds a new dimension to gaming of all sorts. BringIt lets gamers 18-and-up set a wager, put money into escrow, and duke it out in one-on-one matches across all the major consoles and the PC. Because the matches are considered games of skill instead of chance they exchanged is allowed in most states. (At least that's BringIt's argument, though, as a non-lawyer, I wonder especially about games like Fifa '09 that have stat rankings for players and that apply percentages and a bit of randomess to gameplay and skills.)

BringIt makes a profit by taking a 10% cut of the entry fee. It's not quite the same model as publisher-supported RMT markets, but there's a similarity. BringIt takes actions in a game environment and gives them a real-world value. The site just launched to open beta and is targeting a full launch this winter. TechCrunch worries that it may just be one more community that users won't want to join. I'm more interested to see how the traditional gamers adapt to monetizing their activities.   [via TechCrunch]