Leaked internal CCP documents reveal EVE's new focus on f2p and microtransactions

[Dr Zaius]

EVEnews 24 has obtained what it claims are internal CCP documents allegedly revealing there may be a huge disparity between what CCP has been telling players about their plans for microtransactions in EVE and what's actually going to happen.

Greed is Good: Purportedly leaked internal bulletin shows CCP's "refreshing" new direction

Among the more interesting revelations:

• Selling faction standings for a price
• 'Vanity' clothing items that will cost more than a capital ship (about $61.00 US dollars or 1.4B ISK for an eye monocle)
• Selling minerals and ore on the open market
• New types of ammunition only available through the microtransaction store
• Integrating microtransactions into the total EVE Online experience
• Deliberate shortening of a product's lifespan
• Selling performance enhancers and "items of power"
• Relying on statistics of micro-sales as an indication of what the EVE community really wants

Download the documents from EVE Files

The password for the pdf is ‘dominixevenews24′.


There's been no confirmation from CCP yet as to whether the documents are authentic or not, but the general consensus from EVE News 24 and Massively is that they are the real thing. If true, this would mark a sad day for MMO gamers.

 

[Redwolf]

Deliberate shortening of a product's lifespan

This is the most interesting item if you consider more games than just this one.

In LOTRO the big elephant in the room is whether the quest and raid difficulty will over time be adjusted so that you must have for-cash items from the store, in particular consumables (one time use items such as health potions). This doesn't have to be directly, but modifying quests in obvious ways. It can be done by integrating it into major other changes, and one such change would be new quests and raid and coerce people into doing them by making the old ones unattractive. (which is simple, you just invalidate the reward items in there, as they have done for the rift quest cluster).

 

[Dr Zaius]

This is the most interesting part to me:

On the opposite end of the scale to vanity goods are performance­ based items such as weapons. They are consumed through gameplay, making them a potentially powerful source of renewable income. Selling them for real money is very tempting. They are highly desired by the player audience and yield lower development costs, as variation can be achieved through numbers rather than unique art assets. Selling them though, is highly controversial. We are planning on doing so. I would be tempted to say it is because we are fearless, but the real reason is that we have strong evidence that selling performance enhancers, in moderation, works.

If this turns out to be true, and I really hope it isn't, then I predict there will be a mass exodus from the game. EVE players are a different breed than most other MMO gamers and such a move by CCP would so alienate the base as to possibly destroy the game. I hope it's not true, but given CCP's direction over the last year or two it's hard to dismiss the possibility.

 

[Redwolf]

This is the most interesting part to me:



If this turns out to be true, and I really hope it isn't, then I predict there will be a mass exodus from the game. EVE players are a different breed than most other MMO gamers and such a move by CCP would so alienate the base as to possibly destroy the game. I hope it's not true, but given CCP's direction over the last year or two it's hard to dismiss the possibility.

LOTRO said they wouldn't, then did.

According to the best measurement I can do the active player base is on a constant downturn since these changes. But that lacks a control group, maybe it would have gone down without lies and these items, too. Question is, would it have gone down as quickly if the effort for all of this had been invested in either content (to keep people playing) or into providing cash items that don't piss people off (and no lies).

 

[Dr Zaius]

According to the best measurement I can do the active player base is on a constant downturn since these changes. But that lacks a control group, maybe it would have gone down without lies and these items, too. Question is, would it have gone down as quickly if the effort for all of this had been invested in either content (to keep people playing) or into providing cash items that don't piss people off (and no lies).

I bet there are other people like me out there. I was seriously considering a subscription for LotRO but then changed my mind based on what I read here when the game went to f2p. There may or may not be a lot of us, but Turbine lost at least some potential customers by changing the game in the way they did.

In contrast, EVE is all about hyper-competitive gameplay and kicking over other peoples' sandcastles. As such, its community is unusually sensitive to any proposed changes that might affect actual gameplay via micro-sales. EVE can be tedious at times because it takes so much time and effort to really accomplish anything meaningful. And if players can simply buy success directly from CCP, well, at that point there's really no reason to play the game at all. My point is that f2p may have been a bad move on Turbine's part, but it would almost certainly be a catastrophic move for EVE if CCP ignores the players and elects to go that route.

But they probably will at some point because the lure of easy cash is simply too great. Even if the existing EVE players quit en masse, CCP might be able to make a big profit by replacing them with hordes of casual gamers who just want to jump in, buy shiny new ships, and start blowing stuff up. From a financial point of view it could work for them.

 

[Redwolf]

Eve is kinda screwed.

It's not that I don't understand that there is a market for in-game combat powerups for real-world money. I know there are customers running around in the games who either don't care about challenge and don't care about the money. Or who have mommy's credit card on file and need to beat their peers no matter what.

In LOTRO the situation is better since there is no direct player against player, except in the Moors where these powerups are disabled (for now). But in any case pvp is not a big thing in lotro. So the concern when it comes to these powerups is (1) that the total quest difficulty might be increased to that some content isn't playable or no fun without store consumables and (2) that you are at a disadvantage when trying to find groups to play with when the others are willing to spend $20/hour on consumables.

That's pretty minor compared to Eve where it's pvp all the way. So they are in quite a squeeze.

The reason why LOTRO players are so pissed isn't that the effect is so catastrophic yet (might be later), it is that Turbine lied to the players. Pretty stupid since it was not really necessary, people would have swallowed cash consumables for suckers who think they need them.

My money is on Eve not doing it graceful either and getting into even more trouble than needed by being dishonest and showing no backbone at some point.

 

[Dr Zaius]

You know, the crazy part is that CCP was warned by the players that the introduction of micro-sales and Incarna was going to lead to trouble. There was a tremendous amount of angst on the forums prior to the release of Incarna and the leak of the (still unconfirmed) internal CCP documents, so the player rage manifesting itself now that Incarna has gone live should surprise absolutely no one as this is exctly what was predicted.

But now CCP seems surprised by the response. This just in:

Hi, everyone

Some of you who have been around for a while may remember me. I was the original community manager for EVE. These days, I oversee the PR and Community teams. While most of what I do happens behind the curtains, I am still aware of what’s going on front and center. I would be lying if I said that what’s happening now didn’t make me sad, but I’m not here to ask for your sympathy. To be perfectly honest, I’m here to buy time while we try to sort things out. No sense in lying about it so I'll call a spade a spade.

It’s clear that many of you are <understatement alert> angry </alert>. There’s a lot happening, things are changing quickly and we haven’t been as forthcoming as you were used to in the past. I’m willing to step out front and take a lot of heat for that since I was the one who made the decision to hold off on responding for a while to see if things cooled down once the new wore off.

I was wrong to do that and I apologize. We should have said something much sooner. We should have done more to address your concerns and be forthcoming, even if we weren’t going to be able to immediately give you all of the answers you were looking for or the answer your questions in ways that will instantly turn those frowns upside down. To be even more candid, I cannot answer all of your questions, either, but I am working with the people who can to start getting those answers for you. Again, I know we’re doing this past the expiration date of your patience but I hope you’ll bear with me.

I know that, with very few exceptions, most of you don’t know me from Adam. I haven’t earned your trust or respect; therefore I have no right to ask anything of you – but I am going to try, anyway. Can I please count on at least some of you to help bring the pitchforks and torches down a few notches?

Like I said, I won’t be able to answer all of your questions tonight, but I promise we’ll start getting some info out tomorrow. As I see it, the chief complaint is regarding the high cost of goods in the Noble Market. Second, many people are unhappy about the Captain’s Quarters. Third, there are some performance issues with Incarna. I would appreciate it if you would confirm my observations or tell me what I’m missing, but I do ask that you do it in a productive way. I will remove posts without prejudice if they are counterproductive to the conversation I hope to have with you.

If you’ve read this much, thanks for staying with me. If you have something to say, I’d like very much to hear it.

Humbly yours,
~P~

http://www.eveonline.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=1536065

This thread is now 148 pages long with 4,440 replies as of this writing. You might say CCP has finally managed to provoke a real response from the community.

 

[Dr Zaius]

What is most interesting here is that even after 100 threads and thousands of posts on the subject, CCP still appears to be clueless about the true source of all this anger.

Like I said, I won’t be able to answer all of your questions tonight, but I promise we’ll start getting some info out tomorrow. As I see it, the chief complaint is regarding the high cost of goods in the Noble Market.

Talk about being out of touch! The players have made it perfectly clear that the two chief complaints are:

1. Microtransactions. Players do not want EVE to become just another MMO where power is for sale. CCP's reluctance to acknowledge this smacks of willful ignorance.
2. Incarna/Dust 514. Players are furious that CCP has wasted vast quantities of time and resources developing the "walking in stations" addition to EVE while large portions of the core of the game (space warfare and empire building) is seriously broken. Right or not, players feel that they are paying for the privilege of being beta testers for CCP's upcoming vampire MMO while EVE is broken.

While it's nice that CCP is finally engaging the community, the way they're going about it is seriously undermining faith that the developers know what they're doing or really care.

 

[Redwolf]

What is most interesting here is that even after 100 threads and thousands of posts on the subject, CCP still appears to be clueless about the true source of all this anger.

Yeah, that's usually one of the most interesting aspects from a psychology standpoint, or simply if you enjoy studying human nature.

Do they pretend to not notice the real issue in an attempt to deceive the silently observing minority away from the real issue?

Or do they actually not see it? This is much more likely than most assume. This is very emotional, the issue touches the financial and work-satisfaction future of the observer (the idiot who makes that statement) and there is a lot of noise over the signal. It is very easy to have your perception off a whole bunch of notches and honest-to-god get it wrong. Although it is painstakingly obvious what the real issue is to more casual observers. The psychology of fooling yourself it an interesting topic.

 

[Redwolf]

Do they pretend to not notice the real issue in an attempt to deceive the silently observing minority away from the real issue?

I apologize for quoting my own post, but this came up right away.

Search google news for "Eve online".

First link in first block is "Eve Online dev responds to player furore
Eurogamer.net - John Bedford".

First sentence in article is "After a day of player discontent, CCP has responded to player concerns surrounding the launch of the Incarna expansion, the high price of vanity items and the future of micro-transactions in EVE Online."

So, I can't tell you whether dude just didn't get it or deceived himself. But I can tell you it is working, and working great, if the goal is to steer public perception off-course. Because the idiot journalists don't research the issue on their own, they simply pick up a single source - the developer's, and then try to make it appear balanced by expanding on that lose statement, not by looking at more standpoints.

It could be worse but alas the core issue, do people get advantages in combat over other players when they fork out cash, has been successfully buried and made invisible to new observers.

 

[Dr Zaius]

They may or may not be entirely successful in burying the issue. Here's a sample of what the press is saying so far:

Ten ton hammer - I bet the Monopoly guy never had this problem.

Massively - Rumour: Leaked document shows CCP's microtransaction plans

Eurogamer - CCP: Greed is good?

PC Gamer - Eve Online now selling $70 monocles - "The cost of these items is far, far beyond most DLC prices"

Kotaku - Eve Online is selling horse armour in space - "you’d think CCP would have been a little more subtle about fleecing the devoted"

VG247 - EVE Online economy upset by avatar items - "they’re probably better classed as 'macro-transactions'."

MMOGA - Eve Online Charging 68 Real Dollars For Space Monocles - "quite one of the most ludicrous cases of overpriced DLC I have ever heard"

RockPaperShotgun - Eek: EVE’s Clothing And Cash Crisis - "The vanity items appear to have been comically overpriced."

Gamer Gaia - "the most ludicrous cases of overpriced DLC I have ever heard"

Games On Net - "These prices match or often exceed actual real-world prices for the same items (minus the robotic eye) which leads players to wonder what, exactly, is going on."

EuroGamer - Greed is good?

EuroGamer - EVE Online dev responds to player furore

EVE News 24 -- CCP offers and apology -- Disgruntled EVE Online players lock down Jita/trade hubs

 

[Dr Zaius]

After almost two days of being silent, CCP Pann an older CCP member was sent to the forums to quench the wrath of the outspoken players apologising and asking for “parlay”:
The backslash from the EVE community took an almost explosive nature, netting over +503,000 views and more than +5,500 responses mostly in an angry and expletive nature, regarding a perceived lack of trust and inability to explain the nature of the leaked document.

From the 185 pages (and counting) thread...

CCP Pann acknowledges the existence of an internal news letter

The newsletter was not fake. I guess this is how it feels when someone reads your diary, something you hadn’t intended anyone else to see. Not to deflect the heat but to explain why what I’m about to say, I wasn’t involved with writing it. The only reason I mention that is because I am not going to presume to know the minds of the people who did have comments in there. I am not going to throw people I love under the bus or to the lions or whatever. I can’t/won’t answer questions about what they said or why they said it.

Our newsletters are written as a means to bring about discussion (that sometimes can even become heated debate) among our coworkers. That’s really all I can say about it. I am not a game designer. I’m a mouthpiece. I’ll admit it. By the time I get involved, the decisions have been made. Not making excuses for myself, just explaining.

This admission is only going to feed the fury.

 

[Dr Zaius]

And here's CCP's official response to all that's going on:

Dear concerned citizens of New Eden

What a steaming pile of fertilizer.

First the good part. I do wholeheartedly agree with CCP Zulu that the devs ought not to be criticized for open and honest internal debate, especially when the issues are difficult or controversial. It's good that CCP thrashes these topics internally and that the devs are willing to discuss, debate, and argue the best way forward for EVE Online. CCP also ought to get some credit for allowing the debate to go on uncensored on the forums because, lord knows, many other game companies would have locked the threads and started handing out bans. Such is the state of gaming these days.

That said, there's more to this than just open and honest internal debate that was leaked online by the press without any context. CCP has been acting stupidly for a long time and the community has stood up and told them with one voice to change direction or risk alienating a large portion of the player base. I think it's safe to say the players have CCP's attention, but whether they will actually take the criticism to heart is an open question. It's entirely likely they will do what they have to in order to patch up this situation and then continue to do exactly what they were always going to do. We'll see.

 

[Redwolf]

They may or may not be entirely successful in burying the issue. Here's a sample of what the press is saying so far:

Ten ton hammer - I bet the Monopoly guy never had this problem.

Massively - Rumour: Leaked document shows CCP's microtransaction plans

Eurogamer - CCP: Greed is good?

PC Gamer - Eve Online now selling $70 monocles - "The cost of these items is far, far beyond most DLC prices"

Kotaku - Eve Online is selling horse armour in space - "you’d think CCP would have been a little more subtle about fleecing the devoted"

VG247 - EVE Online economy upset by avatar items - "they’re probably better classed as 'macro-transactions'."

MMOGA - Eve Online Charging 68 Real Dollars For Space Monocles - "quite one of the most ludicrous cases of overpriced DLC I have ever heard"

RockPaperShotgun - Eek: EVE’s Clothing And Cash Crisis - "The vanity items appear to have been comically overpriced."

Gamer Gaia - "the most ludicrous cases of overpriced DLC I have ever heard"

Games On Net - "These prices match or often exceed actual real-world prices for the same items (minus the robotic eye) which leads players to wonder what, exactly, is going on."

EuroGamer - Greed is good?

EuroGamer - EVE Online dev responds to player furore

EVE News 24 -- CCP offers and apology -- Disgruntled EVE Online players lock down Jita/trade hubs

But most of these focus on the vanity items which do nothing for those who don't want to buy them.

Powerups sold to others who are willing to spend the money and then win against you, destroying your investment (of time) is the issue that only a small minority of the press picks up.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

This is both hilarious and fascinating:

Eve Online players protest against monocle prices/microtransactions. Lasers involved.


[video=youtube;6iiXd0ZSly8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iiXd0ZSly8[/video]

What happens when the players use the devs own game against them? I am curious how CCP will respond if this catches on and the players have a continuous virtual riot?

What a PR fiasco.

But also: what a juvenile reaction.

Gamers have to unplug themselves every now and then and realize that there is a difference between real life and our virtual lives. We look at Eve as an awesome game, but CCP looks at it as a business. And, in the final analysis, that is what it is. CCP isn't considering these changes just to tick off their faithful, or even because they are a bunch of idiots (could idiots have built the technological marvel that is EvE?), but because they are looking at their revenue stream and the demands for long term growth and have decided that some hard decisions need to be made - namely, to monetize much more of the game.

Personally, I think CCP should just get the worst over with: announce EvE is going F2P. Seriously. Sure, the hardcore will flee and do a bunch of damage on the way out, but I suspect that the F2P newbs will quickly repopulate New Eden and probably boost revenue, too (if LotRO or D&DO are any indication). This would be the quickest way to end the suffering (yes, I do believe that EvE will be heading to a full F2P with premium options at some point, so why draw this out?).

The game will change, but the game will go on and even grow much more rapidly than is now possible. For CCP, that is all that matters.

 

[Redwolf]

But also: what a juvenile reaction.

Gamers have to unplug themselves every now and then and realize that there is a difference between real life and our virtual lives. We look at Eve as an awesome game, but CCP looks at it as a business. And, in the final analysis, that is what it is. CCP isn't considering these changes just to tick off their faithful, or even because they are a bunch of idiots (could idiots have built the technological marvel that is EvE?), but because they are looking at their revenue stream and the demands for long term growth and have decided that some hard decisions need to be made - namely, to monetize much more of the game.

Personally, I think CCP should just get the worst over with: announce EvE is going F2P. Seriously. Sure, the hardcore will flee and do a bunch of damage on the way out, but I suspect that the F2P newbs will quickly repopulate New Eden and probably boost revenue, too (if LotRO or D&DO are any indication). This would be the quickest way to end the suffering (yes, I do believe that EvE will be heading to a full F2P with premium options at some point, so why draw this out?).

The game will change, but the game will go on and even grow much more rapidly than is now possible. For CCP, that is all that matters.

Well I don't think it's this simple. This is a MMORPG where you develop things long term. It's not a savegame-go-on FPS game.

The problem is investment. People like me have more money than time. I don't care about the subscription fee and not much about some required store items. I care about time.

I make an investment in time, to develop characters and build things in MMORPGs. I learn how to use the game and how to fight best. I spend most time on some things and I am even willing to invest some "grind" time to develop my game position to where I want this. This is a very expensive investment for me. I need to trust that this investment is not invalidated.

If the developers were to -say- just turn off the game and walk away that's bad. If they "wreck" it that is pretty much equally bad, but now it goes into "what is wrecking"? Of course I don't demand that no changes are ever made to the game world, and there will always be a constant stream of changes that wreck some parts of my investment. That is fine.

But now it gets tricky. Now real world money is involved. If the game gets changed so that my ships cannot survive without buying stuff in the store, is that OK? It can be. Raising the subscription fee would have been OK as long as it looks like a raise, not a multiplication. Forcing me to buy some crap about as expensive as the fee is fine-ish, although I don't like it since I now have to spend time thinking what to buy.

This is what I said in the LOTRO world. The major problem I have with many things now available only in the store isn't that it costs money. The problem is that I now have to spend brainpower in the store and that is not an enjoyable game time experience. In the LOTRO world I suggested (unsuccessfully of course) that they introduce a "super subscription", which is a monthly fee higher than the regular one but it includes a bunch of the store-only crap, namely things related to LIs (aka high-level weapons in LOTRO) so that you can stay competitive without becoming a shopper.

 

[Dr Zaius]

I'm not sure why people are surprised by any of this or would even think of calling for protesters to be banned. This is EXACTLY the way CCP has encouraged players to deal with each other in the game for years. EVE not only encourages players to band together and grief other players using the most destructive, onerous, and frustrating tactics possible, it practically forces players to operate in that fashion because nothing else works! In many subtle (and some not-so-subtle) ways, the devs have created an environment where banding together and imposing your will by whatever means necessary is the intuitive and instinctive way to play this game. It should surprise absolutely no one that the EVE community has now evolved (or mutated) into a state where we treat the developers in exactly the same fashion as they encourage us to treat each other.

You reap what you sow. And CCP has created a Frankenstein monster that will no longer blindly do as commanded. CCP talks a lot about bravery and creating new virtual worlds where players truly control their own destiny's. Well, CCP's response to this crisis is going to speak volumes about who they really are as a game company. And it will also reveal whether they really believe any of that fancy talk or whether it really is all just about the bucks.

So far the signs are not encouraging. CCP has demonstrated a remarkable degree of incompetence in dealing with their own game and the player community over the past 24 months. There's very little reason to believe they're capable or willing to stop and actually listen. They often hear what we say, but they don't listen.

 

[LT COL KILGORE]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387588,00.asp

 

[Redwolf]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387588,00.asp

Good piece.

 

[Dr Zaius]

Sins of a Solar Spymaster #63: Courting Disasters

A Token $99 Fee: A mere two days after the Scorpion scandal, CCP published a dev blog into an incredibly hostile environment. As was obvious to anyone, the playerbase was already in a rage about the risk of microtransactions ruining the balance of the game. Showing a level of public relations savvy rivaled only by Monsanto, this dev blog was titled “Monetizing 3rd Party Apps” and featured a “Inexpensive - $99 per year” licensing structure as a “Highlight”. I grope for an appropriate metaphor to describe the depth of outrage in the aftermath of such eloquence, perhaps some cliché involving farts and churches or napalm being added to a fire, but the nearly fifty pages of threadnaught speak for themselves.

In spite of the fact that The Mittani is a leader of Goons, I find his writing style entertaining, if often more than a bit self serving.

The problem with a $70 monocle is that it’s the kind of wacky “Horse Armor” story that gets gaming columnists to pay attention - an easy, eyecatching hook to write an article around. And the articles are flowing, a flood of ugly publicity for launch day: PC Gamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, Massively, and Kotaku just to name a few of the majors. If a controversy isn’t ‘real’ until the media report on it, CCP are officially in trouble now.

Indeed. The articles be flowin'.