Zora
Gallente Vector Industries DONT PANIC.
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Posted - 2011.06.25 11:14:00 -
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Fuuuuu... this really is a threadnaught isn't it? And I mean not a cute one. A really ugly, big one... So first of all, Hi Pann :) Glad to see you're still around. Not so glad to see the reason for why you had to make the post.
Second: Please, people, just stop being emotional and think for a second. Did you ever think about WHY such a document was leaked? This is highly damaging material for any corporation when taken out of context. Think about your own private or business mails, and what kind of stuff could be leaked that could show you in a very shady, wrong light. I think that's excactly what happened here. I don't know why someone would do that, but I guess there are always people who just like to watch other people get hurt.
The reason I stuck around this game for so long as I have is not really that I play much, it's because I fell in love with the company that works so hard to make their vision reality. Not a big, public company like Sony or Blizzard. A small company with a heart and a soul, and a very rough edge. If you don't know this let me tell you: there is no investor pressure because people like hilmar are the ones in charge. They say what to do and what not. And that's ok, because that's the way it has always been. They have established a pretty strong foothold in a very rough market with tons of high-profile competition.
So what's the point? The collector's items (and that's all they are now) are expensive, yes. So don't buy them, I don't unless they become as cheap as vanity items should be. Does this deteriorate my gameplay experience? No. Does it make my character less attractive? Hell no. I didn't even buy the monocle on the testserver with free aurum, because I *gasp* simply didn't like the looks of it. And now suddenly, because it's expensive, it's the root of all drama? What the hell? This is why I understand Hilmar's stance to just let the ****storm blow over. Many people would (are) complaining about it, including me, but they want to look at the hard numbers to see what's working on the market and what's not. And we all live in capitalism so that's how they have to measure the success of a sale strategy. Does this make you feel exploited? Well, maybe that's the problem, and that I can understand a lot better. Nobody likes to have it in their face that they are getting milked for money. But to expect from CCP that they have to act like some kind of saints when EVERYONE else in the business is jumping on the MT train may be a bit too much to ask. Maybe it's not, maybe we're the kind of crowd that disapproves of such things more strongly than others. We don't have problems supporting multiple accounts; we just don't like to pay for vanity. Or do we? That's what the NUMBERS would show them. We all talk big, but in a moment of weakness we'll buy stuff since we have creditcards and it's quick to do. That is, if we really have a kind of demand for that stuff. If it's not working, they'll probably ditch the idea altogether. If it is working, they may test the water with other stuff. If the public outry is too big, they probably won't even do that (no matter what is said in the mail now).
So I really want to appeal to the sense of reason in all of you. Nobody betrayed you. This is "normal" day to day business and strategy discussions, leaked out of context and to the public with ill intent. Same goes for the mail from hilmar, he is CEO and he has to tell his people that he stays the course, else he would look like a weak leader. I don't really think he said anything that's completely unreasonable or unexpected, at least for me. And, I feel a little dirty for reading private mails. Guess I'm the only one here
All that being said, ponder on this for a second: You can buy every single item on the eve market for real money by buying PLEX from CCP and selling it for ISK. You can buy noble exchange items by buying a PLEX on the market with ISK and exchanging it for AURUM. Nothing really changed.
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