Like it or not, it looks like the exchange of real-life money for in-game products is here to stay. Sony Online Entertainment announced that it's "Exchange", which has only been active since July 15th (a little over a month) has already taken in about $180,000 USD. The "Exchange" service alows SOE subscribers to "buy and sell the rights to use characters, items and coin through a secure, official online auction site."
Currently, use of the service is limited to EverQuest II and even then is only available on two of the game's servers. Both The Bazaar and Shadowhaven provide the service.
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The following is some data that we’ve collected from Station Exchange activities after its first month.
- In the first month, over 45,000 characters have been active on the two Station Exchange EverQuest II servers
- Station Exchange participants have spent almost $180,000 in auctions in the first 30 days
- Nearly $80,000 in characters, almost $10,000 in items and close to $90,000 in coin.
- On the average for the first month, those players actively participating in Station Exchange are spending over $70 per person
- Over half the items listed end up selling
- The recent average value of 1 platinum piece is above $8
- Almost 60% of all items for sale list for $20 or less
- Over 50% of purchasers are buying their virtual goods as an instant purchase vs. a timed auction.
- Characters and items are more likely to be impulse purchases, while players tend to be more conservative with coin
- The highest price character (Iksar Lvl 50 Fury/ level 50 Sage) sold to date went for $2,000, which is currently the dollar cap on Station Exchange
- Average character price is $185, with the median being $130
Of characters sold:
29% are Fighter archetype
27% are Priest archetype
25% are Mage
17% are Scout
- The biggest “power user” on Station Exchange spent more than $8000 in the first month of service
- The 20 most popular items sold on Station Exchange:
- pristine teak strong box
- pristine strengthened leather backpack
- Rough Ruby
- Rhodium Cluster
- Ebon Cluster
- Necklace of Flowing Orbs
- Bent Ebon Disk
- Smite (Apprentice IV)
- Rough Coral
- a Qeynosian small wooden barrel
- pristine fashioned palladium torque
- Tellurian Recruit (Adept III)
- Storm Of Lightning (Apprentice IV)
- Lightning Burst (Apprentice IV)
- Fissured Ruby
- Palladium Cluster
- Rough Jasper
- Minor Healing (Apprentice IV)
- Tellurian Recruit (Apprentice IV)
- pristine imbued ebon vanguard cuirass
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[ expand press release ]
