Selling virtual (video game) items for real money?

This has probably been going around for a while. I find it really odd that people would spend so much of their time and money dedicated to a game.

www.newscientist.com...

A court in China has ordered an online computer games company to return virtual belongings to a player whose account was hacked and looted.

The Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing ruled last Thursday that the company must return the player's virtual stash because it had allowed the theft to take place in the first place.

Li Hongchen, 24, spent two years and more than 10,000 yuan ($1,210), amassing a cache of virtual money and weapons in the online game "Hongyue", or "Red Moon".

A thousand dollars for digital money?

Yes, I know that software can be bought in "digital" form for real money, as well as video games, but why invest a good portion of your life into something that you'll never get anything in return (materialistically).

Anyone play Ultima Online? Look what they're selling on eBay!!

cgi.ebay.com...

Its pretty wild...they are doing the same thing for Star Wars Galaxies....

cgi.ebay.com...

I guess people will go to any lengths for the games they play...

[Edited on 12-23-2003 by Garon]

I am currently modeling several 3d models of ww2 warbirds which I hope to sell to those online who are into 3d. I cannot see exchanging real money for virtual money though.

hehe yup i done this

in a game cald motor city online

i have lotsa good cars parts and money witch took me 6months of strait gaming....

i got 150$!! on ebaaayyyyy

This really is nothing new.

I have some friends who are Everquest fanatics, and they have told me about ebaying items from the game over the last four years.

Personally, I can't understand the point, unless you're looking to shortcut your way through the game -- getting powerful items without working for them. I had always thought that the purpose of RPGs like these was to spend the time working your way up to that level of power.

Just another example of laziness on the part of the buyers, I suppose.

Same thing with Ultima Online I used to play that SOOOOOO much my account was worth about $2000, but I havn't played in so long I lost my whole account

Very true TDH.
I remember when I used to play Diablo II alot, many years back, and the amount of Diablo II accounts and items that would be sold for major bucks on EBay. I have seen some accounts go for as much as $500........wowzer.

I remember meeting some online gamers (Diablo II, Quake) that actually did quite well off of such doings....I would think EverQuest or other online games would be no different.


regards
seekerof

[Edited on 23-12-2003 by Seekerof]

I could have sold my EQ character for a good amount of dough. Not so much because of his items (though he had some cool and expensive ones, including a full set of bought plate armor), but because of the name. He wasn't that high in level, but he was on since day 1 that EQ went live, and was pretty well known on the server. I even had some offers via e-mail when some learned of my retirement from the game. But, I value my online persona (and my rep in that game, at the time), too much for it.

I must admit, it was pretty neat being "famous". It was pretty cool when people you'd never met, would be a little awestruck at actually seeing a character they've read about on sites, etc. in the game. I spent more time with politics and RP though. I can see people paying for that experience....but I wasn't going to cheapen Dinin's character for that....

Yeah, evercrack...I remember Dinin btw. Back before KEI and everything, yup I still cannot believe people payed money for pixels and still do.


Gazrock if you havn't noticed, alot o people have copied that name, I have seen it on more than one server. I played the Tunare server and had an alt on The Tribunal.

Sometimes, I still get the urge to play. Man that scares me.

I wonder about how legal some of that is...

I remember a few years ago some people were on ebay auctioning off some desirable AOL screen names. (By desirable i mean screennames that were a word, or a name, or something else very hard to get). Some of those were actually going for a lot of money. Basically, what happened was AOL went into a whole thing about how the screen names are actually their property, not the user's and voided some of the sales. I wonder if the same could happen in any of the cases you folks have mentioned.

Gazrock if you havn't noticed, alot o people have copied that name, I have seen it on more than one server. I played the Tunare server and had an alt on The Tribunal.

Yeah, I know...but when I quit, I deleted the account, so it pretty much made the name available again... Originally, I had it locked on all servers (taking up all my slots), and then eventually, there were simply too many to do it without getting another account, and by then, I was kind of over it. I don't ever want to be that addicted to a game again ever.... I led a frickin' guild for godsakes! Funny, we actually had to scrape up the original ten members, as we started with about 4 buddies. Then, we became one of the largest on the server (pretty impressive, as we only allowed 3 races, Dark Elf, Ogre, and Troll). Last I knew, House De'Vir was still an active guild...but it's been a while since I checked....

Interesting tidbit, most of the leaders of all of the RP guilds, corresponded regularly, and set up raids, wars, etc. weeks in advance, and would then spring them on players! That was kind of the fun of it. Though PvP was pretty much protected, guild wars added a whole new dimension to things... I'll never forget busting up a wedding in North Freeport (paladin central) by our house of dark elves emerging from the sewers, hehe.... Or the massive dark races vs. dwarf wars that would pretty much bring the zone to a halt, hehe.... All covered by a dutiful guild of impartial bards. Good times....

[Edited on 24-12-2003 by Gazrok]

well theres proublems with this... were someone wouldnt give up the goods

Im sure there are more lawsuits then we know of over this and theres ganna be plenty more...


even in-game when you use in-game money on some games the person could rip you off and boy dose that piss you OFF

With the friend we all left in college...

Two years later and STILL one masters thesis from graduation, he hadn't even started the paper. He was playing some real time fantasy game like 20 to 22 hours a day.

His fiance was about to leave him when she called us in... we got him off it, but it was CRAZY.

All his friends, all his ambition, all he talked about was 'virtual'. It was bizarre. I wish I knew the world name. It was like an Ultima setting. He won't even mess with online gaming now. He can't handle it.

Remember Rona Jaffe's Dungeons & Dragons with Tom Hanks? It was like that.

yes theres casses of people dieing in the chair....

thats kinda one reason i tend to stay away from RPG's as additing as crack

i play fps the motor city online got boroing once i got all the stuff


but then again if you can make enf money to live off it then

its your life

cgi.ebay.com...

WOW!

Or you can pay $400 for a, shield?

cgi.ebay.com...

Originally posted by Dmsoldier
yes theres casses of people dieing in the chair....

That's just creepy. I've heard people (really sad people) that were chat addicts talk about their on-line husband or web wife. AOL tried marketing the concept of "parties" (maybe still do) where you meet your chat room in real time. Drama central.

yes... i was a chatter 2 years ago...

i ran a online gaming team for FPS and somepeople in the team were ackting like husband/wife

i went insane onthat and desided never to go into chats for longer then 30 mins to ask a questen

But even for a computer gaming nerd the chats and RPG;s i stay away from

hmm i just got FFXI... the possibilities hahahaha wonder if i have to claim the money come tax time

About 3 months ago, I sold my MTGO account for over $1,000 US on eBay. Couldn't believe that someone was willing to pay that for online digital objects.
I was very please to say the least

search.ebay.com... t&query=everquest+characters