Get the Jump on Game Stocks With Virtual Market

On the simExchange, all registered users start with 1 million DKP, the currency used by the site. 1 DKP of stock price corresponds to 10,000 copies of the game sold worldwide.

Users can go long on a game by bidding for a stock's price at more than the current value -- or short it if they think it will sell lower.

"The important point here is we ask gamers the question what they think will sell rather than what they think they want to buy," says Shiau. "That eliminates bias and also ensures that people always bet on what they think will win."

The site also allows for futures trading, where futures contracts trade much like stocks, but expire on a certain date and pay out in the DKP currency.

While any prediction forum won't be perfect, the simExchange hasn't been any further off the mark.

Its estimate for game industry sales (including hardware and accessories) was off 2.1% from the total sales data disclosed by NPD. On the sales of games only, the site's forecast was off about 16%, but that margin of error is about the same as estimates by many analysts.

In fact, the simExchange compares itself favorably to estimates by one of video games' most outspoken Wall Street analysts, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan.