Ultima merchant goes pro

By Tom Bramwell Published 13 August, 2003

Another example of the BBC's obsession with reselling intangible MMORPG goods, anyone?

MMORPG fan Julian Dibbell is carving a new life for himself out of the online market for cash, weapons, armour, homes and other artefacts found in Ultima Online, BBC News Online reports this week. Apparently Julian set himself a goal of earning $1000 in three weeks, and having scraped it by a hair's breadth, he's now planning to support his wife and child by playing UO and flogging its wares.

As many of you will know, there is a huge market for MMORPG items resold on auction sites. In fact, if you read the BBC website regularly, you'd have to be blind not to have seen one of the many items they've run on the subject. We weren't looking all that hard, and we found six. Here, here, here, here, here and of course here. It makes us feel good about paying over £100 a year on a licence fee. How about you?

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (13) Latest comment 9 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • FWB #1 9 years ago

    I'm amazed that people would be willing to exchange cold, hard cash for virtual items.

  • Killerbee #2 9 years ago

    I wonder if one of the Beeb journos is a big MMORPG fan himself or something.

    Can't complain - at least they are giving some space to games related news and there are definitely far worse things they've spent licence fee money on recently.

    For example, does anyone over 13 actually watch Fame Academy? (apart from because Cat Deeley presents it...)

  • Nemesis #3 9 years ago

    PA Linkage

  • FWB #4 9 years ago

    Well then I can talk, Nemesis, since I do play EVE. Not yet got into buying items with real money though. :)

  • Nemesis #5 9 years ago

    Good lad, keep the money in yer pocket for beer! Real beer! Or Lemonade.

  • FWB #6 9 years ago

    I hope that wasn't a slight hint at a pansy shandy? I mean, I'm a pussy, but shandy drinkers... I don't think I can see them from my position they're so far below me.

  • Nemesis #7 9 years ago

    Steady!

  • FWB #8 9 years ago

    Quick.... BUNDLE!

    I do enjoy Pimms though. Here, I'll pass you the bat.

  • Nemesis #9 9 years ago

    This is the bitch for you...

  • FWB #10 9 years ago

    Oh god... no. Avert your eyes. Its burning into my brain. And "organic" too... Noooooooo!

  • Nemesis #11 9 years ago

    Something to slip into the video for later?

  • FWB #12 9 years ago

    That's a fair point, vob, but I still see this as pushing things too far, or at least, beyond my understanding. A game is a game afterall. Its one thing to buy the CD (and its virtual contents) or even to buy a subscription for a service, but its another to start investing further money into it.

  • Machiavel #13 9 years ago

    I wonder if it's a flaw of the games that acquiring rank, items, prestige is not considered enough fun to do without buying it in. It feels sort of similar to buying a saved game situated just before the end of your freshly bought RPG - "Hoorah, no need to play through all that adventure stuff."

    On the other hand, if buying these items makes the game more fun for them, then that's a game flaw again surely?