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EVE Online Players Rage, Protest Over Microtransactions

Posted by Soulskill on from the vote-with-your-wallet dept.

Several readers have written with news of a controversy that's been slowly building in space-based MMO EVE Online. "It all began with the Incarna update, which added an item shop to the long-running sci-fi sandbox. Players began to voice their concerns over the bizarrely high prices of items in the shop, with one particular item reaching an insane $68 US. Before this hullabaloo had the chance to so much as come to a simmer, an internal newsletter from CCP was leaked to the internet. The document outlined the introduction of microtransactions into EVE and mentioned that at some point, ships, ammunition, and so forth may be available for purchase with real-world currency. This naturally sent players into even more of a frenzy." Reader Ogre332 points out additional coverage, but notes that many publications are missing the punchline: "Players are angry that CCP has blatantly lied about their intentions and have responded to these customers concerns by basically telling us they know what we want better than we do. The purported e-mail from CCP CEO Hilmar Pétursson was like gas on a fire, and a response to some concerns in the form of a dev blog was not well received at all. Players are protesting, and many claim to be canceling their accounts left and right."

5 of 315 comments (clear)

  1. You mean companies want to make profits? by assemblerex · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Companies always want to milk the cow. Has it ever been any different in the history of man?

    1. Re:You mean companies want to make profits? by interval1066 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, like anything else it takes cash to run an enterprise. Games are no exception. Although $68 virtual items are a joke. Hardly what I would call a micro transaction.

      --
      Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
    2. Re:You mean companies want to make profits? by wulfbyte · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There is a difference between milking the cow with sensible management and long term milk production and butchering the cow for a quick feast and assuming there will always be another cow.

  2. They're probably right by artor3 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Players are angry that CCP has blatantly lied about their intentions and have responded to these customers concerns by basically telling us they know what we want better than we do.

    Players aren't a hivemind. Odds are the company that makes the game has a pretty good idea what the community as a whole wants, while a vocal minority is convinced that everyone else feels as they do.

  3. Meritocracy by copponex · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The only thing online games offer over real life is the opportunity to be someone you are not. WoW is successful because people can be rich and famous without actually being rich or famous. Once you allow people with more money to have cooler items in-game, you are destroying the reason people play it.

    That doesn't mean it won't be profitable, but I think it will certainly turn many people off.