Stephen Bannon once guided a global firm that made millions helping gamers cheat
Source: WaPo
Stephen K. Bannon had already been successful in Hollywood and on Wall Street when he flew to Hong Kong in mid-2005 to learn more about a promising new opportunity.
A start-up called Internet Gaming Entertainment, or IGE, had found a novel way to make millions of dollars each month in the exploding online video game industry. Working from the 19th floor of a skyscraper in Hong Kong, the company sold virtual goods for real money — magical swords and capes and other accoutrements that granted video game players power and access in more than a dozen popular online role-playing games.
There was one problem, though: The companies that owned and operated these fantasy games prohibited what IGE was doing, and even considered it illegal. Several IGE executives told The Washington Post that they thought Bannon could help change that. Bannon agreed to become the company’s vice chairman.
“The whole reason Bannon came on was to try to legitimize the business,” said David Christensen, who was hired as the company’s vice president of business development about the same time as Bannon.
In the end, it didn’t work.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/steve-bannon-once-guided-a-global-firm-that-made-millions-helping-gamers-cheat/2017/08/04/ef7ae442-76c8-11e7-803f-a6c989606ac7_story.html?utm_term=.9c0836e4236a
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Having myself spent some time in a gaming world (Second Life which was started in real life at Burning Man), I can see how this happened. SL has had many money making schemes. Years ago, it was casinos. They were threatened with legal action as they were not regulated in any way. No doubt tons of money changed hands there across the globe. Then they had private banking. Followed by a HUGE bank PONZI scheme. The Lindens (now a Dutch company who own SL), also banned private banking. The SL economy tanked after each of these events. SL had a Black Friday and a lot of people lost everything on a stock exchange. In other words, virtual money they could have cashed in with the Lindens. They could have walked away rich. Some did.
Later, they tried a teen grid because there were legal issues with underage gamers. The teen grid failed after they were accused of making some replicating machine for sale that you could use to copy elaborate items people make and sell online. It was against the company policy to have one of those devices in your inventory, but such contraband could be found if you looked. The rest is history. They closed the teen sites down, SL had a Black Friday again. Interesting to think what sort of weasels cut their evil griefer eyeteeth in virtual worlds before thinking they could do it in the real world. In SL, if you consitently mess up other user's experience, they call you a griefer. Bannon is a griefer. Those guys cost a lot of gamers money. Not to mention the companies involved.
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There are people selling very cool products. I make machinima. I use voice and avatars from Second Life. And I spend money on props. No gambling, stock exchange or fishy banks though. And I end up with films starring friends and their amazing creations.
Others are playing role playing games where they pretend to be Star Trek crew members, biting each other others with vampire fangs, or zombies apocalypses, hooking up, entertaining their kids, killing time out of boredom, musicians playing instruments, dancers producing ballets, shows, art installations in real time for tips inworld. Many homebound and disabled. And apparently creeps like Bannon stealing people blind.
I bet his avatar looks like this:
On edit: And I bet he bought an extra large penis to attach to the torso.
This is what he should have bought:
