At this point you'd have to be living on Mars not to have heard the news that CCP is increasing the subscription rate for Eve Online. This news hit the community like a meteor last week and a lot of players went bat-shit crazy about it. Which they do about twice a month these days. On average. So yes, it seems that after 10+ years of holding steady Eve is finally getting more expensive. Like everything else in our lives.
I don't like this any more than you do. And I am not going to tell you how you should feel about the news. That is totally up to you. I don't know your situation or how many accounts you have running. If $5 more a month is too much for you to deal with, then don't deal with it. Please. Real life is always more important than internet spaceships. And of course it is. If you need to scale back your accounts, do it. If you need to un-sub for awhile, do it. Take care of yourself first. That is always and forever going to be my first piece of advice. Always.
I wrote a thread over on Twitter yesterday in which I tried to explain my personal thoughts on the issue. I'll post that thread here so you non-Twitter people can read it.
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"Couple of points regarding the recent price increase, a thread. First of all, announcing before Fanfest is the right decision. We can all provide feedback and hear their plans. This is good."
"Second, higher base sub costs mean more flexibility with discounts. This is basic retail strategy and one I’ve personally recommended to other businesses. I’d be shocked if multiple accounts are not heavily discounted."
"Third, inflation impacts all aspects of a business. Employee salaries, benefits, insurance, especially. That’s a huge cost consideration. Not to mention energy usage, rents, tech etc. all of which have grown exponentially."
"Fourth, marketing costs have also risen exponentially over the past few years especially. I’d like Eve to grow, in certain CCP would also like that. It costs more to grow than it did. This is a fact."
"And lastly, If you haven’t noticed everything is more expensive now. It’s irrational to think a game that doesn’t charge for expansions won’t have to increase base prices. In fact I’m surprised they didn’t do this before now frankly."
"Eve is a twenty year old game and CCP is also developing new stuff we look forward to seeing next week. They deserve the benefit of the doubt in my opinion and they are getting it from me until then."
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I think that sums up my opinion on this issue. Next week is Fanfest and obviously we'll have a lot to talk about, discuss, debate, and also learn. I'm more anxious now than I was before this announcement frankly, now CCP has something to prove. This gathering was already important as it represents our first time back together in Iceland in over three years - but now it has gained even more importance.
I'll be extremely curious to hear what they have not only in the pipeline, but planned for the coming months. Should be interesting to say the least.