I think Huey Lewis & The News said it best:
New Eden, New Eden, is everything they say
And no place that I'd rather be
Where else can you do a half a million things
All at a quarter to three UTC
When they play that game, ooh that modern game
They like it with a lot of style
But it's still that same old back beat rhythm
That really really drives 'em wild
They say the heart of Eve Online is still beating
And from what I've seen I believe 'em
Now the old boy may be barely breathing
But the heart of Eve Online, heart of Eve Online is still beating
HED, Eve Gate, and the Monolith
Is something everyone should see
Neon lights and the pretty pretty ships
All skinned so scantily
When they play their game, that hard rocking game
They like it with a lot of flash
But it's still that same old back beat rhythm
That really kicks 'em in the....
They say the heart of Eve Online is still beating
And from what I've seen I believe 'em
Now the old boy may be barely breathing
But the heart of Eve Online, heart of Eve Online is still beating
Eve has been dying since I started playing in 2008. I have never experienced a group of people more inclined to kill something they enjoy, than a certain segment of the Eve player base and community. Let me make an American Football analogy. I live in Pittsburgh. Home of the Steelers. If you haven't heard of them, they are simply the best American Football franchise in the NFL. This is not a statement of bragging, but simply a statement of fact. And they've been around for a very, very long time. No one thinks they are going to collapse and die. No one. In fact, every year, everyone around here expects them to win the Super Bowl. Mostly because they've done that more than any other team.
Why would a fan of something want it to die? This makes no sense to me. I want the new Star Wars movie to kick serious ass and be awesome. And yet there seems to be a contingent of people that want it to fail. You can point to just about anything in our modern culture and find people seemingly dedicated to the idea that it will suck, fail and burn to the ground. This is, after all, the Age of a Billion Prophets.
The Internets have turned everyone into a Prophet. Even if the vast majority of people take a positive stand, that still leaves thousands of contrary minded voices railing in the corners. And guess what? If something bad happens, then those people were right all along. Their position was justified after all. They tried to warn you. But you people never listen, do you?
For seven years now I've been listening to those people rail against the very thing they claim to love. If enough Prophets beat enough drums loudly enough, prophecy becomes self-fulfilling. Eventually you drown out the positive and leave only darkness and doubt in your wake. This doesn't mean we can't be negative, or address concerns, or rail against injustice. Goodness no. Because that wouldn't be right. But I have news for you, Eve is dying. And so are you. So am I. So is everything you love. Eventually it will all be dust. And not the video game. Although that is a good analogy. We are all ending. And someday, hopefully far down the road, Eve will join the ash-heap of history. Just like the rest of us.
But I'd like to challenge you to stop hastening that day. The Eve I play is a vital, engaging, driven content machine of awesome. And I'd like it to stay that way. It is a better game now than it has ever been. We have more spaceships, more space, more opportunities than ever before. Yes, Eve is a hard sell. Yes it is hard, dark and difficult. And Eve is not for everyone. But maybe, just maybe, we could get more people to try it if we weren't so Hell bent on seeing it fail?
Eve Lives.