A social game for web-capable mobile phones parodies rogue financier Bernie Madoff's long-running Ponzi scheme, reports CNNmoney.
Made Off, available from publisher Cellufun, allows players to create virtual scams of their owns, promising other players investment returns of up to 20%. Player need to continually attract new "investors" in order to pay back the older ones, lest their Ponzi scheme collapse. No real money is involved. Instead, players trade "cellupoints."
Cellufun CEO Neil Edwards, who says his game pokes fun at the jailed Madoff, not his victims, told CNN/money that Made Off has an educational component:
When your fund goes broke, you go, 'Holy crap, I didn't invite enough people... There is a lot of misconception and confusion on what happened. People don't really understand a Ponzi scheme."
A blurb on the game's website describes the action:
Play as a slimy Fund Manager, a savvy Investor, or both. The game will end without warning when the Feds finally crack down on the Cellufun community, and people managing Funds will get to keep all the Cellupoints invested in them. Investors will keep all the Cellupoints they've acquired through interest payments as well. And we'll give trophies to those who have "made off" with the most profits...
Comments
Re: Social Game Lets Mobile Phone Users Try Bernie ...
Do you guys not feel that negative happenings have a bad effect on the things we do. There are a lot of good things that occur as well but we tend to highlight scams and failures and bad loans etc more than we highlight and read and write of the good things that are happening around us. Admittedly there are more negatives things but the more we hear and read about such things it will certainly pull us towards negative actions. Any lawsuit against him is a waste. People will not be able to recover their money from this fraud of the century.
Commercial litigation funding
Re: Social Game Lets Mobile Phone Users Try Bernie ...
The media loves to be outraged when a game comes out that lets you "kill prostitutes". Will this game generate controversy for teaching the children to commit fraud- or is it OK so long as it's a white-collar crime?
Re: Social Game Lets Mobile Phone Users Try Bernie ...
Not a chance, we have had a massive goverment supported ponzi scheme that has been quite public in it's ponzi stats going on since 1935 and very few people got outraged.
Re: Social Game Lets Mobile Phone Users Try Bernie ...
Ah, but remember, this is set in real life, whereas 'no-one shoots anyone in the face unless they are a Hitman or a Gamer...' ;)