Thousands of EVE online players riot over microtransactions

Post by JamesBlair » Sat, Jun 25, 2011, 1:22 AM UTC

wccrawford wrote: post #4

You know what the best way to protest a game is? Stop playing for a while and send an email. I know this sounds absurdly little, but look at it this way: If you're out doing other things, you might find something you like and -never come back-. This scares the bejeezus out of game developers who exist solely on the fact that people are addicted. If their playerbase actually went and did other things, they couldn't ke…

Post by ajacksified » Sat, Jun 25, 2011, 1:27 AM UTC

ajacksified wrote: post #12

MaxGabriel wrote: post #9

When I played Runescape, we had similar massive riots over the removal of free trade and the old pvp system (wilderness pking). The pkers were on average decidedly less mature than the average player, so there was really poor communication from them, but also from the company Jagex, who struggled to explain the 'why' behind the changes. Can anyone who plays Eve comment on how the company is responding?

I'm a (retired) director of one of the larger corps in EVE, and I've been discussing the points of contention with members today. Most of it stems from the fact that those rioting feel the prioritization of the walking-in-stations expansion and the addition "vanity items" is poor judgement. There are bugs, missing features, and new changes that are viewed by the rioters to be of far greater importance than the time s…

Post by antihero » Sat, Jun 25, 2011, 1:33 AM UTC

cynest wrote: post #8

kevingadd wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the big problems with 'stop playing' protests is that gamers have to pay for a month of playtime in advance, and in many cases, they pay in 3-12 month intervals to save money. This is the case for World of Warcraft subscriptions, for example - they give you a discount if you pay up front. If you stop playing after you already paid, the company isn't really going to suffer any immediate impact, and any visible…

Also, Eve especially has problems with continuous commitments to your alliance. No spaceholding alliance would give up defending their space to protest vanity monocles and the possibility of microtransactions.

Post by JamesBlair » Sat, Jun 25, 2011, 1:38 AM UTC

cynest wrote: post #8

kevingadd wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the big problems with 'stop playing' protests is that gamers have to pay for a month of playtime in advance, and in many cases, they pay in 3-12 month intervals to save money. This is the case for World of Warcraft subscriptions, for example - they give you a discount if you pay up front. If you stop playing after you already paid, the company isn't really going to suffer any immediate impact, and any visible…

Also, Eve especially has problems with continuous commitments to your alliance. No spaceholding alliance would give up defending their space to protest vanity monocles and the possibility of microtransactions.

Post by dpcan » Sat, Jun 25, 2011, 1:58 AM UTC

antihero wrote: post #14

Really, people are getting this raged about shit in an online game? Take to the streets, my friends. Fight for the real world, not an imaginary one.