SlashGear

Chances are if you started playing any MMO too late, you are constantly looking for a way to get ahead, or at the very least just catch up, one way is to play your ass off, play for days at a time with only short breaks of real life, another is to find somewhere to exchange real life money for gear or currency, or maybe even a higher level character. Regardless, publishers have almost always been against such practices, partly because it undermines their control of the environment, partly because it usually doesn’t work out in favor of the purchaser.

Well, now there is a new option, Live Gamer, a company that just netted itself $24 million in venture capital, is working with various game producers to offer a more secure, safer option for using your real life dough to get what you want in game. Gone are the days where Second Life is the only game you can use your real life currency to buy what you want.

Right now they have Funcom GMBH, Sony Online Entertainment, 10TACLE STUDIOS, Acclaim, GoPets LTD, and Pingo Interactive Limited all signed up for the program, but I don’t see any major MMO players on that list except for Sony, maybe in time they’ll add the likes of Blizzard and ArenaNet.

eBay for in-game items coming [via wonderlandblog]