Gold farming mogul comes clean
It's rare to hear gold farmers speak up and give details on their business, which is exactly what the folks at Terra Nova have unearthed. Despite the stereotype, not all gold, plat or gil farmers in massively multiplayer games are Chinese; an American farmer who made something approaching $150,000 in a year from platinum harvesting has come forward on an Everquest board to speak out.
This history of gold farming in Everquest, from a first-person perspective, is fascinating. However, if this farmer is indicative of the profession, then it seems that foreign competition and the use of exploits are seriously threatening "home-grown" farmers' businesses. As Terra Nova points out, the question is whether anyone other than the farmers really cares.
