In RuneScape there is an item that is extremely sought after: a party hat. It is so expensive that it cannot be purchased through normal means.
What kind of hat is that? In 2001, the developers at Jagex introduced crackers for Christmas. Those who broke them received a party hat and another item. However, the hat does not provide any benefits to the players. It is purely a cosmetic item that doesn’t even look particularly good.
The idea was that two people should pull on a cracker together. One would receive a silly little party hat to wear, walk around, and celebrate Christmas. The other person would not get a hat but would receive a valuable or somewhat valuable item instead. That person would be happy because they received something of value. The hat is the junk item. It was meant to be the item that nobody wanted.
Runescape Design Director Mark Ogilvie
A simple party hat becomes the most expensive item in RuneScape
Why did the value of this hat rise? Jagex decided in 2005 to change the Christmas events. The items were meant to be more useful and cooler.
Players thought the party hat would eventually return to the game, which it never did. Therefore, this item became increasingly valuable over time. In 2003, it was already traded for 15 million gold coins. By early 2006, the party hat had a value of 190 million gold coins, and there was no end in sight for the price increase. The hat comes in various colors, some of which are more desirable than others.
The hats increased in value because they told players that only with one could you be a true, serious RuneScape fan – that you were there in 2001 when the party hats were distributed. Whether the players were actually present or not was not the point – the fact that they owned one was a massive status symbol.
Runescape Design Director Mark Ogilvie
Other MMORPGs also show that some items can be worth a lot of money. In Tibia, it is a wedding dress worth around 5,500 US dollars. This also explains why some players – like a man from Venezuela – can earn a living through MMORPGs like Tibia.
This is why it became impossible to buy the party hat through normal means: In 2015, the item reached such a high value that it exceeded the maximum gold limit of 2.1 billion gold coins in a trade.
However, this did not stop the price increase. Players found other ways to sell their hats. Instead of a regular trade of item for gold, stacks of valuables were now exchanged for party hats.
How much is this item worth now? The YouTuber FlippingOldschool (see video above) recently managed to sell one of the hats from RuneScape for 57 billion gold coins. That is equivalent to around 6,700 US dollars.
Presumably, the price of this item will continue to rise over time.
RuneScape is currently very successful, by the way. The free-to-play MMORPG is taking over Steam – thousands of players and 93% positive reviews.
