CCP addresses EVE controversies in new dev blog

@aaradun not only that, he seems to have also gotten a master degree in "how to lose your future customers"

not touching WoD with a ten foot pole after this

@Fabius Bile Agreed.

As someone with 3x 2 year trained characters in Eve, I left as soon as they screwed the game with the faction warfare. The sandbox almost disappeared then, it's well and truly gone now.

Back when I started playing it was all about getting into 0.0, fighting massive battles, and playing an involved (cheap) game. The devs were active, you actually felt like part of the game.

After recent developments I've become disgusted in CCP, if it was Free2Play I couldn't care less, but having already sunk money into it, I can only imagine the waves of concern and anger going about.

@Dril

If I may add...

I was actually quite surprised by Blizzard's willingness to simply come out and apologize for the whole "Real ID" debacle. They definitely won some points with me, that day.

I don't think I'll ever forgive them for other things *cough* 25 dollar mounts *cough* but, at the very least, they showed that they are able to listen and adjust, when their customers finally say ENOUGH!

But these guys... oh no, these guys are NOT backing down!

We may blockade Jita, we may "spam" the forums, we may slander their name on every single blog in existence, but the "milking" is here to stay!
In fact, judging by their words, what we have now is absolutely nothing compared to what's coming down the line.

Well, good luck with that, €€P. I trust you will learn your lesson soon enough...

@Dril

Agreed. Blizzard proved their flexibility, to my satisfaction at least, in their response to the real names on forums fiasco. Yes, it took several days to get one, but in the meantime they were constantly saying "keep posting in the feedback thread, we're listening" and when the response finally DID come, it was from Blizzard's CEO and actually addressed the major complaint as well as a few minor issues surrounding other aspects of Real ID.

They don't always have the best ideas, but IMO they at least know how to communicate with their player base. From what I understand that's a lesson CCP has badly needed for some time.

@Dril "who want to try and suck all the money out of their customers "

Newsflash Dril, you don't actually have to buy anything. No, you really don't. If you don't want it, don't support it, it's that simple and more effective than flinging poo like an ape and making death threats.

@(Unverified)

Or you could, you know, not support it by directly opposing it. I know it's a big leap, but, really, you can actually have an opinion and express dissatisfaction with an idea. Mayhaps even *vehemently* express your displeasure.

I hear such things worked well, but don't take my word for it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solidarity_(Polish_trade_union)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/09/blizzard-backs-down-on-real-id/

Also: no faeces were flung, no death threats delivered.

Do try harder next time.

@Wensbane $25 mounts are one thing. $80 monocles are another!! Zulu is just plain out of touch with reality. Especially with that insulting analogy about the price of jeans in Japan...

@Mode7James
That's one thing I really, really don't get. You're not choosing between function and fashion or vanity and practicality when you buy freaking virtual clothing. It's ALL vanity. If you've bought a cosmetic item from the cash shop, you've bought the $1000 jeans, whether they actually cost $5 or $80. You've already made the same statement $1000 jeans do in an ingame context. There's no need for them to pretend that charging ridiculous amounts for pixels is some kind of exclusivity thing.

@Wensbane Yes, Blizzard proved their willingness to bend to a bunch of hyperparanoids with no argument to speak of.

@Saerain

You're living with your head up your ass...and being an ass about it.

...but I agree with Tempes Magus, let's stay on topic please. Ta.

@Irem It's not a matter of function/practicality or fashion/vanity, is's about luxury and social perception/exclusivity; this is why the $1000 pair of Japanese jeans example was specifically given in the blog.

Buying any old pair of sneakers at Wal-Mart (~$30) is pure function.

Buying a pair of Green Suede Puma (~$60-80) is about fashion and vanity.

Buying a pair of Pada sneakers (~$250-$400) is about luxury, status, exclusivity, and all that jazz.

Are the $250 jeans better made than the $50 ones? Sometimes, but not always. Are the $1000 ones better than the $250 ones? Absolutely not.

It's about, as the blog said "What [...] other people think about you when they see you wearing [$1000 Japanese jeans]" and "Whatever you choose to do reflects what you are and what you want others to think you are."

This is why the goods are priced as they are. They're status symbols, the same way that $150K car or the $2M yacht or the $25M mansion is. It's not some elaborate conspiracy to fleece everybody of their money.

WoW has similar items available from certain vendors; the Gold Wedding Ring for 150G, the off-hand Bouquet of Black Roses for 12G. What purpose to those items serve? Same purpose the SparklePony served. Same purpose that monocle serves.

I understand the destabilization of PLEX argument, I've been reading about it in CAS chat for weeks now; and I honestly don't have an answer for that one. I'm not going to automatically assume malice and evil intent, however. This is the game company that's given away I can't even count how many expansions completely for *free* over the years.

But this whole "I will not/cannot afford to buy this *luxury* cash shop item, therefore Eve is now fail and it must die in a fire, blah blah blah" is something I cannot and probably will never understand. It's a choice! Choose not to buy! That's it! I own $50 jeans, $100 jeans, but will I ever own $1000 jeans? No. And I never would. But that's my choice. It has absolutely *no* impact on the game. PLEX prices, yes. But does that change the way you *play*?

I really wish for once people put would away the tin foil hats and talk about what *is* going on, rather than what might go on in months or years from now assuming Gylfason really is the greatest evil since Hitler to games. The melodrama and conspiratorial talk really is unsettling.

@mrdryden
It's pixels. There is no equivalent to the midrange fashion choice in game. What you're wearing is either free, or from the cash shop. If you are buying something from the cash shop, you've just said, "Look, I'm wearing Prada!" You've paid real money for the sole purpose of setting yourself apart from the crowd. There is -no way- to defend charging the price of a pretty nice piece of real-life clothing for in-game pixels, and it's completely different from the vanity items in WoW. Those are a gold sink. We don't need a real life gold sink.

I understand that they did it for the exact reason they gave. But it was a stupid, stupid thing to do, and it's pretentious as hell. If they wanted to convince people that the cash shop was a good idea, the smart thing to do would have been to roll out a bunch of lower-priced items at launch, and add in the higher-end ones later. Let people dip their toes in the water and feel like they got something fun to play with. Instead, on top of the performance issues and the fact that there's really not much to do in the CQ at the moment, they implemented the cash shop equivalent of Tiffany's with prohibitive prices. I seriously doubt there would be this level of resentment over the items if they hadn't established the cash shop as the kind of place that has a snooty doorman right off the bat.

@Dril

Except, dear Tril, there've been screencaps where people have threatened to, for example stab CCP_Awesome at next fanfest. I know it's most likely an idle threat, but nevertheless way over the top. Most "feedback" towards CCP thus far is nothing but flinging poo and generally being immature about it. Maybe 1% of all the feedback I've read on the forums is in any way civil.

@Dril
Blizzard ahs always been good about acknoledging thier fualts and missteps, even if they still feel they made the right choice, they at least acknolwegde that the community at large disagrees with them.
What CCp is essentially telling its players, is "yes, we're price gouging you, yes you'll take it and yes, you will like it and continue to pay for the priviledge of being walletraped by us."
What I really REALLY want to know is where is there stock market analyst during all of this, sure'y he had to warn them about the impact on EVE's economy these changes would have?
I guarantee its killed the ISK to play option completely as reports come in that the Price of PLEX is skyrocketing meanign those who buy PLEX with ISK are going to either be forced to subscribe to keep playing or quit.

@Eamil
It's telling that they chose not to address the complaints about the Captain's Quarters. I guess they are hoping that if they ignore the issues they will just go away...