In what has to be one of the most unfortunate stories of the year, it’s being reported that a gamer who spent a whopping $1.4 million on his character in an MMORPG ended up losing it for just $552.
As reported by South China Morning Post [via Kotaku], a man in China had parted with the cash to build up his character in MMORPG, Justice Online. He then loaned the buff character to his buddy, who reportedly then tried to hold the character to ransom.
The friend (or should I say “friend”) reportedly tried to sell the character back to its original owner for $55,138 (388,000 yuan) but mistakenly listed it for sale at 3,888 yuan – $552 USD.
It was then purchased by an unknown third party, which then led to a lawsuit. The character’s original creator took legal action against both the game’s developer, NetEase, and his former friend.
While in court mediation, the defendant said that the typo which led to the sale was due to “exhaustion” following a massive gaming session.
The lawsuit has apparently now been settled, with NetEase cancelling the sale. The plaintiff has reportedly received his $1.4 million investment back, but has had to pay $12,789 to the unfortunate player who scooped the character up for the $552 price point.
The news comes at a controversial time for microtransactions in video games, where many people believe in-game spending needs to be better regulated by both game developers and publishers.
Justice is a martial arts MMORPG based on the novel, The Four Great Constables. It’s one of the most popular MMOs in China.
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Featured Image Credit: NetEase