Editing EverQuest (section)

==Controversies==
===Sale of in-game objects/real world economics===
The sale of in-game objects for real currency is a controversial and lucrative industry with topics concerning practices of hacking/stealing accounts for profit. Critics often cite how it affects the virtual economy inside the game. In 2001, the sales of in-game items for real life currency was banned on eBay.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Andrew|title=Whatever happened to the Everquest auction suit?|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/02/12/whatever_happened_to_the_everquest/|access-date=29 May 2016|date=12 February 2001}}</ref>

A practice in the real-world trade economy is of companies creating characters, [[powerlevel]]ing them to make them powerful, and then reselling the characters for large sums of money or in-game items of other games.

Sony discourages the payment of real-world money for online goods, except on certain "Station Exchange" servers in ''[[EverQuest II]]'', launched in July 2005. The program facilitates buying in-game items for real money from fellow players for a nominal fee. At this point this system only applies to select ''EverQuest II'' servers; none of the pre-''Station Exchange'' ''EverQuest II'' or ''EverQuest'' servers are affected.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://eq2players.station.sony.com/news_archive.vm?id=466&section=News&month=current | title=Additional information about Station Exchange | publisher=Sony | work=Everquest II News | access-date=2006-09-13}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

In 2012, Sony added an in-game item called a "Krono", which adds 30 days of game membership throughout ''EverQuest'' and ''EverQuest II''. The item can be initially bought starting at US$17.99. Up to 25 "Kronos" can be bought for US$424.99. Krono can be resold via player trading, which has allowed Krono to be frequently used in the real-world trade economy due to its inherent value.<ref>{{cite web|title=Value of EverQuest Krono|url=https://www.everquest.com/krono|access-date=2021-11-29|work=EverQuest}}</ref>

===Intellectual property and role-playing===
==== Mystere incident ====
{{Main|Mystere incident}}
In October 2000, Verant banned a player by the name of Mystere, allegedly for creating controversial [[fan fiction]], causing outrage among some ''EverQuest'' players and sparking a debate about players' rights and the line between roleplaying and intellectual property infringement. The case was used by several academics in discussing such rights in the digital age.<ref>cf. Garlick M., "Player, Pirate or Conducer? A consideration of the rights of online gamers", ''Yale Journal of Law & Technology'', 2004-2005.</ref>

===Addiction===
{{Further|Video game addiction|Internet addiction disorder|Computer addiction}}
Some argue the game has addictive qualities. Some players jokingly refer to it as "EverCrack" (a comparison to crack cocaine).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gameogre.com/everquest.htm |title=EverQuest Lair - Reviews, Platinum, and Cheats |publisher=Gameogre.com |access-date=2009-03-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090405171532/http://www.gameogre.com/everquest.htm |archive-date=2009-04-05 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=cbs>{{cite web|first=Tatania|last=Morales|title=Everquest Or Evercrack?|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/everquest-or-evercrack/|website=CBS News|date=May 28, 2002|access-date=November 21, 2019}}</ref> There was one well-publicized suicide of an ''EverQuest'' user named Shawn Woolley, that inspired his mother, Liz, to found Online Gamers Anonymous.<ref name="SPAIN2005A">{{cite journal |last=Spain |first=Judith W. |author2=Vega, Gina |title=EverQuest: Entertainment or Addiction? |journal=The CASE Journal |date=Spring 2005 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=60–66|doi=10.1108/TCJ-01-2005-B006}}</ref><ref name="SPAIN2005B">{{cite journal |last=Spain |first=Judith W. |author2=Vega, Gina |title=Sony Online Entertainment: EverQuestor EverCrack? |journal=Journal of Business Ethics |volume=58 |issue=1 |date=May 2005 |pages=3–6 |doi=10.1007/s10551-005-1376-9|s2cid=154620737}}</ref> In November 2001, Shawn Woolley committed suicide. Although he had been diagnosed with depression and [[schizoid personality disorder]],<ref name=cbs/> Shawn's mother said the suicide was due to a rejection or betrayal in the game from a character Shawn called "iluvyou".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/addicted-suicide-over-everquest/ |title=Addicted: Suicide Over Everquest? |date=11 February 2009 |publisher=[[CBS News]] |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112054413/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/17/48hours/main525965.shtml |archive-date=12 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Sociological aspects of MMORPGs===
{{See also|Social interaction via MMORPGs|emergent gameplay}}
[[Massively multiplayer online role-playing game]]s (MMORPGs) are described by some players<ref name="study"/> as "chat rooms with a graphical interface". The sociological aspects of ''EverQuest'' (and other MMORPGs) are explored in a series of online studies on a site known as "the HUB".<ref name="study">{{cite web | title=Men are from Ogguk. Women are from Kelethin. | url=http://www.nickyee.com/eqt/menwomen.html | publisher=Nick Yee | access-date=2006-09-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902230123/http://www.nickyee.com/eqt/menwomen.html | archive-date=2006-09-02 | url-status=dead}}</ref> The studies make use of data gathered from player surveys and discuss topics like virtual relationships, player personalities, gender issues, and more.

===Organized protests===
In May 2004, Woody Hearn of [[GU Comics]] called for all ''EverQuest'' gamers to boycott the ''Omens of War'' expansion in an effort to force SOE to address existing issues with the game rather than release another "quick-fire" expansion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gucomics.com/comic/?cdate=20040526 |title=GU Comics by: Woody Hearn |publisher=Gucomics.com |date=2004-05-26 |access-date=2009-03-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223102858/http://www.gucomics.com/comic/?cdate=20040526 |archive-date=2008-12-23 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The call to boycott was rescinded after SOE held a summit to address player concerns, improve (internal and external) communication, and correct specific issues within the game.

===Prohibition in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil===
On 17 January 2008, the Judge of the 17th Federal Court of [[Minas Gerais]] State forbade the sales of the game in that Brazilian territory. The reason was that "the game leads the players to a loss of moral virtue and takes them into 'heavy' psychological conflicts because of the game quests".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://jogos.uol.com.br/pc/ultnot/2008/01/18/ult182u7954.jhtm | title=Counter-Strike e EverQuest estao proibidos no Brasil | publisher=UOL | date=2008-01-18 | access-date=2008-06-08 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725045428/http://jogos.uol.com.br/pc/ultnot/2008/01/18/ult182u7954.jhtm | archive-date=2008-07-25 | url-status=dead}}</ref>