In the MMORPG Eve Online, there is currently an auction for a special ship, a “Gold Magnate Ship,” which only exists twice in the game. One player has placed a bid of 1 million PLEX, which is approximately 35,000 €. The money is ultimately intended to benefit Australia.
What kind of ship is this? It is a very special frigate, of which only 5 have ever been delivered. According to information from Eveuniversity, only two ships of this class currently exist in EVE Online, the other 3 have already been destroyed.
Each of the ships has its own story:
The first “Gold Magnate” ship is said to have been delivered in 2003 to the winner of the “Amarr Championship.” However, this ship was already destroyed by space pirates in 2004. In EVE Online, ships can be permanently destroyed, no matter how valuable they are.
In 2016, 4 more ships were introduced into the game, which went to 4 renowned pilots of a victorious team at the Amarr Championship 2016. However, 2 of these special ships have since been destroyed.
Time and again, very wealthy players in EVE Online have attempted to auction one of these prestigious ships, with bids reportedly reaching up to 1.5 trillion ISK, but were rejected.
Super Ship Auctioned for Australia
This is the auction now: One of the winners of the 2016 championship, Kelon Darklight, has offered his “Gold Magnate” ship for sale in the EVE forum. The minimum bid is set at 1 trillion ISK. (via forums.eveonline)
He says: Whatever money comes from this, he intends to convert it into Plex and then use this Plex for “Plex for Good,” which is a campaign by EVE developer CCP.
With Plex for GOOD, players in EVE can donate their PLEX to an NPC. CCP then donates the equivalent of the PLEX in real money to the Red Cross in Iceland to help combat the fires in Australia.
This is the current bid: A player, Scott Manley, has publicly announced that he is placing a bid of 1 million PLEX. If one were to buy 1 million PLEX with real money, it would cost about 35,000 €.
One would have to buy the largest PLEX package, which grants 2680 PLEX, 350 times at 99.99 € each.
Manley adds that this PLEX would have to be worth tens of thousands of dollars, or one could play EVE for 160 years.
When asked how Scott Manley gets so many PLEX, he replies: He has invested wisely and has many referrals running.
What is PLEX? A PLEX in EVE Online functions like a WoW Token:
- Players can buy PLEX for real money or acquire the in-game currency ISK in the game
- Players who have PLEX can exchange it for in-game currency ISK in EVE Online
- PLEX are also used to buy in-game time as “Omega,” essentially the premium subscription, or to access other services
It is thus possible for “rich players in the game” to finance their subscription through PLEX.
Whoever has money in real life but not in EVE Online can buy PLEX with euros and then exchange it in-game for the in-game currency ISK, thus becoming wealthier in the MMORPG.
Or one simply collects PLEX to acquire a mega spaceship.
How is the trade going? Previously, some had already expressed their interest and placed the required minimum bid of 1 trillion ISK, but Manley’s bid corresponds to about 3.4 trillion ISK, as calculated by an EVE player.
Manley’s bid exceeds what others have been able to offer. The seller has already made friends with the bid, now waiting to see if something higher comes, but says: The bid is already more than he expected.
CCP has already intervened and stated: If anything here is fake, there will be severe penalties, as this is for a good cause regarding Australia. But even CCP seems to be impressed by the bid: “This is blowing my mind a little bit”, says one from CCP.
