This has got to be one of the craziest and most ambitious projects anyone has ever attempted. Instead of making a long, boring post trying to explain it all, I'm just going to quote Brian's (founder of the simExchange) e-mail to Niero. Suffice it to say, Destructoid seems to have the coolest fans.

Hi Niero,

Destructoid is a great independent site for video game coverage and you guys have established yourselves well.

I have been working on a new project for gamers that  I'd like to invite you to try out the beta test.   I call this project "the simExchange" and it is a simulated stock market for video games (kind of like fantasy football but for video games--a way to put your video game knowledge and predictions to the test).

The idea is that gamers can quickly see what are the most anticipated upcoming games from the highest priced game stocks or most actively traded game stocks.  After identifying some games of interest, the gamer can then see a succinct summary, aggregated articles, images, and videos of the game, or participate in a discussion.  After forming some kind of opinion, the gamer can then express his opinion by buying or selling the game's stock.  The stock is a proxy for the game's buzz and forecasts the total worldwide sales of the game over its life time.  The stock market simulation follows real market mechanics, but there are some twists to make the website more entertaining.

 

I invite you to check out the site (www.thesimexchange.com).  Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.