We definitely don’t want to sell skill points
-CCP Rattati, EVE Online Director of Product, OZ_eve interview
I don’t even have the energy to care about the actual selling of skill points now. That ship sailed last year. I’ve accepted it as the new reality. I just wish CCP would get their messaging in line with that reality.
On Monday CCP Rattati who, among other things, has been driving the economic starvation plan in EVE Online, did this interview on Twitch, which was then posted up on YouTube for your watching pleasure. (And now there is a transcript.)
He talks about the New Eden economy for about the first ~40 minutes, then the discussion moves to monetization. You can find that quote at the top of the post at the 49 minute mark.
The interview happened on Monday, the video went up on YouTube on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday CCP literally started straight up selling skill points.
Personal Offer!
This is the sort of self-defeating corporate bullshit that just drives me crazy. He is the Director of Product, did he not know that this was happening the same week he was saying that? The usual paths are that the person is lying, stupid, or believes their audience is stupid, and I can’t really pin down which this is.
Now, you’ll want to talk about context, and you can justifiably point out that this was part of a discussion about the Expert Systems feature, the “rent a skill” plan announced last week. As part of that he said that CCP had ruled out the idea of selling skill points to new players, preferring to rent them temporary skill increases… because new players won’t understand things like skill injectors or something. Somehow giving them skills then taking them away will be more clear.
I remain unconvinced that this will somehow be better or make EVE Online more comprehensible to new players, but the details are still vague, so final judgement has yet to land.
But, even in that context, his statement not once but twice that they do not want to sell skill points seems pretty strong, as though it would apply outside the justification for renting skills.
He was also very firm a few minutes earlier that Pearl Abyss was in no way pushing CCP to sell skill points. In fact, he was quite adamant that PA has taken a very hands off approach to EVE Online and that they have given no direction or advice on monetization, which seems to torpedo the idea earlier in the week that the whole Expert Systems thing was handed down by them, and based on their experience as a way to monetize the Asian market. CCP Rattati said that this was all very much a home grown, Icelandic idea.
Then again, he also said CCP doesn’t want to sell skill points in the same week that the company did just that, so one might be tempted to point out that he has a credibility problem.
Anyway, if you want to hear how everything is totally going to plan with the economic starvation and resource redistribution plan and the rationalization of the rent a skill idea, this video will help you along. I will say that the host does push back, gently at times, on some of the statements, so it isn’t a free run statement by the company, but CCP Rattati remained firm on his own positions.
I hope this will be my last post related to selling skill points for a while, but CCP will be CCP.
Related:
- The Nosy Gamer – Slow Down the Monetization Soap Opera Please
- INN – Transcript of CCP Rattati Interview
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