Phoenix Mount Costs A Fortune

Shortly after its first appearance on Chinese World of Warcraft servers, the Legendary Phoenix mount was purchased by a member of the lucky raiding guild for 190,000 gold.

To provide a bit of perspective, 190,000 gold is the in-game equivalent of $958 USD (7,000 RMB).

While the mount -- an extremely fast, flaming bird -- is very rare and easily the most sought-after riding creature, 190,000 gold is still a virtual fortune. Considering that the next most-desirable mount will only run you 5,200 gold, and generally takes more than a month of fund-raising to acquire, we have to wonder if the Phoenix's new owner isn't actually transparent as a result of all these years away from the sun's nourishing rays.

(The $958 USD price point quoted above is for the sale of gold in China. Here in the US, particularly on my home server, the same amount of gold would cost roughly $7,600 USD.)