Man Reportedly Spent $1.4 Million on Video Game Character Only to Have His Friend Accidentally Sell It

How much money would you say you’ve spent on virtual goods in video games? One of the more popular monetization options for the sort of “games as a service” model that is all the rage these days is to constantly trickle small amounts of money into the game’s ecosystem by selling players cosmetics and more. This can add up over time, however, and according to a new report, one man in China spent $1.4 million on a single character — only to have his friend accidentally sell it for $552.

According to Abacus, which is a tech-focused section of the English-language South China Morning Post, said man in China spent the equivalent of $1.4 million in local currency in the video game Justice Online, a wuxia-themed MMO in the vein of such games as World of Warcraft from the Chinese company NetEase, on a character. The character was then given to a friend, who ultimately went to sell it back to the owner — but mistakenly put in the wrong price.

Rather than sell it for the equivalent of $55,200, the friend entered in what came out to around $552. This pricing was apparently noticed rather swiftly and the character was bought up by a third party. The friend claimed that they were dizzy from gaming so much, thus the typo.

In the end, the original owner — the one that spent $1.4 million — ended up suing NetEase, and a settlement was reached with the help of a judge: NetEase revoked the transaction, and the owner had to pay the buyer (who simply saw and took advantage of a great deal, remember) the equivalent of $12,800.

What do you think of this saga? Have you spent any significant amount of money on digital games? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!

[H/T Kotaku]