EVE Producer rationalizes microtransactions

hishadow

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I've been following the story on microtransactions in subscription-based EVE with glee. Following the release of an internal document promoting far-reaching use of microtransactions in both EVE and their in-development games Rust 514 and World of Darkness, have left a lot players upset.

The producer of EVE have now come to the defence of their microtransaction scheme. With almost Vulcan logic he explains how captialism works in the real world - hence also in the virtual world:
Pricing structure

People have been shocked by the price range in the NeX store, but you should remember that we are talking about clothes. Look at the clothes you are currently wearing in real life. Do you have any specific brands? Did you choose it because it was better quality than a no-name brand? Assume for a short while that you are wearing a pair of $1,000 jeans from some exclusive Japanese boutique shop. Why would you want to wear a pair of $1,000 jeans when you can get perfectly similar jeans for under $50? What do other people think about you when they see you wearing them? For some you will look like the sad culmination of vainness while others will admire you and think you are the coolest thing since sliced bread. Whichever it is, it is clear that by wearing clothes you are expressing yourself and that the price is one of the many dimensions that clothes possess to do that in addition to style and fit. You don't need to buy expensive clothes. In fact you don't need to buy any clothes. Whatever you choose to do reflects what you are and what you want others to think you are.

We will gradually introduce items at other price points, definitely lower and probably higher than what‘s in the store today. We hope you enjoy them and are as passionate about them as you are of the current items that are for sale.

I hope I‘ve addressed your concerns and cleared up a lot of the issues you‘re having. We‘ll continue monitoring the forums and other communications channels and pick up and reply if there are concerns not covered by this blog.
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So, because there are so many morons in the real world - we need to support them in the virtual world?

Good reasoning there.

In any case, they want more money for one reason or the other. Maybe they're in financial trouble.

So, the single motivation behind this is more money - and nothing more.

Even trying to argue this is somehow meant to enhance the game in any way, is a ridiculous joke.
 
I was on the EVE forums when he released that blog, and he's since apologized for it. It literally set off a storm of shit.
 
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I thought the game was doing so well too. Why this move - beyond the basic greed?
 
The apology isnt worth much since the sale of virtual goods will stay. The real bummer is that this crap will be featured in World of Darkness. :( I was looking forward to that game.

They are probably low on cash too since they're developing two big AAA games on the back of EVE. That gotta be atleast 100m. o_o
 
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I've been dreading microtransactions since I first heard about it, and it's just another side of the impulse-buy coin.

It's inevitable - and it means I finally have enough incentive to stay away from MMOs, so I guess there is a bright side to it.

In 2-3 years, I think 90% of all MMOs released will have this kind of business model - or some variation of it.
 
I was very excited with MMOGaming at start and the early signs of gaming time vs money trend put me off. It is all about making the best of your investment and I prefer to invest and draw the best of it elsewhere than video games virtual worlds.

Wonderful to see that in a video game, expression through appearance should pass before expression through action. Adding to that, one might be able to buy better character capacities and well, the very substance of gaming is now diluted.
 
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I can't stand microtransactions. It's just a legal way of fleecing people, often kids or teenagers that don't understand how it all adds up.

You see the same rubbish everywhere nowadays, from Facebook games to ringtones and what not.
 
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It's just a legal way of fleecing people, often kids or teenagers that don't understand how it all adds up.

Ummm...

Monetization is inherent to MMOGaming, be it for MMOGs free to play with micro-transactions or with subscriptions. In the latter, a player is engaged in the race to developp a character as play time is charged. From my very shallow experience, this fact was well understood by gamers as they could offer to buy a developped character, which was illegal for the few MMOGs I tried. Another reason that kept me away from this kind of gaming as it is another way to limit players similar to the impossibility to resell games via online purchases.

I had the chance to play a game named Project Entropia which was fully based on micro transactions with real money involved. Players understood what it meant and saw how it was building up. Most players I met were extremelly aware of the kind of games they were playing. They wanted it.

Learning experience as I ended it convinced that it was just a matter of time before MMOGs go this direction. I quitted when a guy forked several hundred thousands USD to buy a share of a new planet.

From what I gathered from my small experience in MMOG, players understand how costs builds up. Playes going to microtransactions supported games are players who can not afford paying a monthly subscription scheme. That was the only difference.
 
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From what I gathered from my small experience in MMOG, players understand how costs builds up. Playes going to microtransactions supported games are players who can not afford paying a monthly subscription scheme. That was the only difference.
My perspective on gamers who use virtual sales is that they'll pay money to gain advantages or avoid certain aspects of a game. I don't think a subscription fee of 10-15$ is that big a big deal for most players, and microtransactions could certainly dwarf those costs rapidly, which is probably why they're popular to offer.

Another aspect is gambling laws. At some point maybe they'll be applicable to these games? Maybe I should start lobbying for age restrictions on MMOs that offer microtransactions? :devilish:
 
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Well, CCP is aware that a fair number of EvE players, myself included, will be unsubscribing if they roll out any non-vanity MT items. I could care less if someone wanted to paint their pretend spaceship or wear a $60US monocle (not kidding). As soon as they implement Pay 2 Win items, I'm out. The events of last weekend prompted a meeting between CCP and the player organized CSM, and by July 3rd, we should know more about what's actually going on. There's been so much conjecture, conspiracy theorizing, and vitriol, especially from the player base, that it's hard to know exactly what CCP is planning, and what's just rabid rumor.
 
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Well, CCP is aware that a fair number of EvE players, myself included, will be unsubscribing if they roll out any non-vanity MT items.
Once it has been included there is no going back. None of the promises Blizzard made for Warcraft concerning gameplay restrictions was kept once the virtual store vent online.
 
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Once it has been included there is no going back. None of the promises Blizzard made for Warcraft concerning gameplay restrictions was kept once the virtual store vent online.

Yeah, and like I said, once it happens, I'm out. I'm not going to freak out and biomass my toon right now, based on rumor.
 
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My perspective on gamers who use virtual sales is that they'll pay money to gain advantages or avoid certain aspects of a game. I don't think a subscription fee of 10-15$ is that big a big deal for most players, and microtransactions could certainly dwarf those costs rapidly, which is probably why they're popular to offer.

I concluded that subscription based games are balanced against the money a player must invest in order to enjoy certain aspects of the game. That was probably the reason why selling characters was forbidden in the games I played. Yet many ads to sell characters, done against the average money it would cost to developp such a character.

What is the difference between shelling $75 on the spot to enjoy an aspect of the game and shelling $75 over 5 months?

In free to play MMOGs (that came with micro transactions most of the times), some players pay nothing to play and go through any part of the game. In Project Entropia, some guys I met (who played the game from the beginning) told they made (real) money without investing one cent. Dont know if it is true but was possible.

Money vs gaming time is the basic equation of MMOGs. Some games stretch the equation over time with a subscription scheme, others offer shorter schemes.

For the few games I played, I noticed that loitering interactions with other players were most numerous in micro transaction games than in subscription games (untrue as soon as the character hit the cap level if there is any) In subscription games, gamers want for the most to maximize their gaming time vs subscription fee and go questing relentlessly. Another reason I did not bite into MMORPGs.
 
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To simplify for the uninformed the issue some people are having:

When money = progress, the entire concept of a game loses its meaning for some of us. The illusion is ruined utterly.

Money = access to content is fine, but that's something entirely different. In this way, I don't care about the differences between a decent microtransaction model and a decent subscription model. The problem, though, is that it's never going to be about that - as long as players are willing to pay for actual progress.

Obviously, this is just the beginning. As soon as you even TALK about implementing a cash shop - you declare yourself an enemy of the player-driven mindset that's supposed to be what EVE is all about.

Not that I ever got the appeal of EVE. Well, I did, but I would never invest myself in a game with such a dreary set of core mechanics.
 
Only players playing MMOGs for free are players who advance through the game without equating money and progress.

Free MMOGs with micro transactions address players who lack either time but have money or have time but do not have money.

MMOGs with subscription address players who have both time and money. The character progression is cast against the money one wishes a player to pay to reach that level, and such for example, to get an access to that type of quest, content linked to levels.

A player has averagely x hours to play the game by week and the developpment rate of a character is cast against the wished revenue.
A cause that lead sto prohibition of trading characters as players who play 18 hours a day beat the average revenue expected and can sell character for a lower price than it averagely costs while making money for themselves

The equation in MMOGs is gaming time vs money. Different forms to attract different players with different balance between gaming time and money, players who occupy different positons on the graph.
 
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