Eve Online: CCP addresses player revolt

By John Bedford Published 27 June, 2011

Extraordinary meeting of the CSM called.

In its latest developer update, Eve Online publisher CCP has announced that an extraordinary meeting of the company's Council of Stellar Management will be held on 30th June to 1st July.

The Council, elected by players, will meet to address concerns surrounding the future of micro-transactions directly with the developers. Until that meeting has concluded, no further comment will be made by CCP.

Over the last week, CCP has found itself swept up in a tidal wave of player anger concerning leaked internal documents that hint at micro-transactions for in-game advantages, the high price of avatar vanity items, technical issues with the Incarna expansion, and a reference to the game as a "golden goose".

While the most recent developer blog suggests that "gold ammo" purchases are not planned for, similar re-assurances over micro-transaction plans were given by the company last summer.

On Friday, players protested in Eve's trade hubs, flooding systems with traffic in an attempt to bring the game's economy to a halt.

Look out for Eurogamer's analysis of CCP's Summer of Discontent, due to be published later today.

Picture of John.

About John Bedford

John is an MMO specialist with a particular passion for Eve Online. He once nearly went paragliding.

Read more articles from John by visiting the John Bedford archive page.

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Comments (24) Latest comment 11 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • WrongShui #1 11 months ago

    I am Spartacus!

  • Spekingur #2 11 months ago

    I am Spartacus!

  • EVERYGAMER #3 11 months ago

    I'm spartacus and so's my wife!

  • Electric #4 11 months ago

    I'm not Spartacus.

  • carlitoswagon #5 11 months ago

    No you're not. You're a very noughty boy!

  • Slamhound #6 11 months ago

    Spartacus is here, he's just nipped off to the loo.

  • BloodSaint #7 11 months ago

    Wait, why is everyone Spartacus??

  • chrisjm #8 11 months ago

    I am Chris

  • Sodding_Gamer #9 11 months ago

    Random question not relating to Startacus... But why is Zavvi selling EVE online for a tenner when you can download it from the official website for free?! :S

  • Mister-Wario #10 11 months ago

    Maybe for the same reason Target were charging money for free PS3 updates: all people are idiots except businessmen.

  • telboy007 #11 11 months ago

    The boxed game gives you character activation and free play time I do believe, with online only you'll get charged a one off fee to activate (after trial runs out).

    Edit: Slight amendment, but the post below explains it better. :)
    Edited by telboy007 at 27/06/11 @ 11:22

  • rowsdower #12 11 months ago

    The boxed copy comes with 30 days playtime, the online version only has the 14 day limited trial. You'd have to pay the full 15 quid to upgrade your trial account to the equivalent of the boxed copy so the zavvi one is in fact cheaper that the website one.

    Perhaps some reading and basic comprehension would serve you better next time Mister-Snippy.

  • Nephirion #13 11 months ago

    Eve has always had a player driven economy so this is strange decision from the developers, all I can think that this is in response to a drop in subscriptions to make up the shortfall ... sad but true

  • Sodding_Gamer #14 11 months ago

    @telboy007

    I got a 14 day trial online and didn't have to pay for my character. :s confusing man!

  • dsmx #15 11 months ago

    The dropping of subscriptions was inevitable, EVE is far to intimidating for newcomers and is filled with a bewildering interface with tons of different skills which are not properly explained or why there a benefit to have. At least that was my experience when I gave the trial a go, yes there's a great game in there but it's buried beneath bad game design.

  • 43n1m4 #16 11 months ago

    It's a great game, definitely. But it takes time for newcomers to get it, so CCP is doing whatever they can to draw new players in. However the Nex currency seems tacked on and out-of-sync with the otherwise stellar marketplace mechanics. The captain's quarters is basically superfluos, as there's very little Avatar roleplaying in EVE to begin with, and Captain's Quarters doesn't really add anything in that area. The framerate halves when I'm on stations in my 'captains quarters', so I'm beginning to ponder whether I should have it enabled at all - the only benefit from the recent upgrade, IMO, is the upgraded cannon animations (which doesn't seem to impact the game performance), the improved Agent finder, and the info screens in my quarters - but those could've been implemented quite well without the clutter of the whole 'quarters' area... (If I want to view my ship now, I have to walk ...slowly.. towards the platform outside the quarters, and use the fiddly view controls to look upwards, and see a distant starship looking less-impressive than in the old hangar screen)

    In short, CCP - play to your strengths!

  • lockload #17 11 months ago

    Revolt!!

  • nuanimal #18 11 months ago

    CCP has found itself swept up in a tidal wave of player anger concerning leaked internal documents ... and a reference to the game as a "golden goose".

    Aside from the other points, what's so bad about CCP calling their biggest money spinner a "golden goose"? It is their golden goose!?

  • Rack #19 11 months ago

    The goose that laid the golden eggs wasn't made of gold, the people who killed it wrongly believed it was and that's what caused the problem. CCP calling Eve a Golden Goose suggests a plan to gut it. Of course it's only a metaphor.

  • jonbwfc #20 11 months ago

    Is it 'cos I is Spartacus?

  • Spekingur #21 11 months ago

    No 'tiz coz I is Zpartakuz, yo!

  • telboy007 #22 11 months ago

    I like the fact that THIS LINK GETS YOU TO THE GAME PRICED TWO POUNDS CHEAPER ON THE ZAVVI SITE!!!

    [link url=http://www.zavvi.com/games/platforms/pc/eve-online-commissioned-officer-edition/10387327.html?utm_source=googleprod&utm_medium=gp&utm_campaign=gp_games
    ]http://www.zavvi.com/games/platforms/pc/...[/link]

    Jesus Zavvi, you really suck. Sorry for the caps.. *deep breath*

  • scoop #23 11 months ago

    I like the quote from Arnar:

    "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?

    Clearly he wasn't looking at what people were wearing at their latest Fanfest.

    People who play Eve don't go out. They don't buy new clothes - they don't need them!

    It's all too funny really.

    And this:

    "Assume for a short while that you are wearing a pair of $1,000 jeans from some exclusive Japanese boutique shop," he continues. "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?

    Anyone wearing a pair of $1000 jeans. I think 'what a twat'. :)
    Edited by scoop at 27/06/11 @ 15:53

  • scoop #24 11 months ago

    In all seriousness, there's nothing wrong in in-game purchases, but I think Turbine have handled it with the most grace, allowing players to purchase things with either real money or by simply playing the game [and earning Turbine Points].

    CCP had a great idea with PLEX, in that it served the new players and the old players. New players could get a hand up by buying PLEX or converting game time cards to PLEX, and sell it to higher-ups. Everyone wins, the economy benefits and nobody feels like it's just a greed machine.

    It's a shame to see their creative thinking stopped right about there.