EVE General Discussion

Thats not true. lvl4 mission payouts has actually DECREASED since then (A few patches ago they reduced module drops in missions etc)

are you suggesting that people make 3x more isk now then in 2008? Even with the decreased misson payouts, decreased insurance fraud, etc etc?

*cough*incursionfarmersareruiningtheeconomy*cough*

Returning bittervets with fat wallets but still wary about this "New CCP" are willing to pay 500M+ per Plex since it's doesn't register in their wallet.

Several "play EvE for Free" blogs have been pushed trying to teach people how to grind ISK for Plex.

Incursions.

Speculation, not unlikely involving the mentioned returning bittervets who play marketgames waiting for Crucible.

Less people willing to pay, either directly or by GTC, until they see if this "New CCP" is real.

There's 5 reasons for the soaring price.

But what's the problem?

I paid 242.85 SEK (c:a 35 USD) for my last GTC (2xplex), or a pizza and some beers, or like a fraction of a family dinner at a cheap local pizza place.

And if you don't value 2 months of playtime in EvE over one dinner out, then I think you're playing the wrong game.

People have been heralding DOOMSDAY for the last half decade in regards to the price of game time in EVE Online. The same posts popped up when 30 day GTCs went from 120-130m to 160-170m.

PLEX will hit 1b+ eventually considering how much ISK is being created in EVE. And you'll see these same posts pop up again.

There's also no magical mystery figure controlling PLEX prices. You can fiddle around with the markets if you want, but the long run prices will always be the same.

This is one of the things overlooked in most of the inflation debates - elasticity, no not the stuff in your shorts.

Not all things can or will inflate or deflate at the same rate. There are very few products in Eve that are needs, PLEX is one of the few, POS fuel is somewhat, but a POS owner can just pack up the shop if they want. It's not like food. PLEX is closer to food than Oxygen Isotopes.

There are a few products that are in limited supply - no matter how much more time you throw at it, only so much R64s are going to be produced, etc, but you can throw lots of time at trit production and produce more trit.

Inflation tends to manifest most where supply is limited and where demand is least able to escape price changes.

To put it bluntly, you are wrong. CCP do not remotely, distantly or in any way care about the price of PLEX, they don't care if they are selling on the market for 10m ISK or 1billion.

They also don't give a flying donkey's anus for anyone that quits playing because they can't afford PLEX anymore.

They care about - How many people are willing to pay for the game.

If people aren't willing to pay for the game, then the game shuts down tomorrow and we're all out of internet spaceships.
If however, some people are willing to pay for someone elses subscription in exchange for that persons ISK, then thats fine too, because thats still effectively someone willing another subscription.

As long as the same volume of PLEX are being created by players, CCP's income is fine and going to continue. if 5,000 "PLEX Subscribers" stop playing, CCP hasn't lost a penny.

In the immediate term you are correct. In the long term there are implications of sudden and dramatic shifts in playerbase that would have an effect on the forecasting of financial returns and that would have an CCP's shareholders and the company bottom line.

First of all CCP has nothing to do with plex pricing. Secondly you people are overlooking the major trend.
Plex prices went up horribly after the Incarna failure Thousands of people unsubbed, mainly vets, with fat wallets.
Some of em even sold their alts and pushed all the iskies into one or two accounts.

My guess is they unsubbed from normal paying acounts, but with lots of isk in their wallets they decided to
use that isk to keep their toons training. They do not play actively but still keep their characters training by buying plex.
After all, CCP's policy is to turn players into junkies and make them hooked the minute they have made an account.

Incarna gave a lot of people the final blow to detach themselves from Eve, so they stopped paying but still have tons of isk.

People never click the biomass button because well... you never know... maybe one day Eve will be great again so you might as well use the plex, which is worthless if you don't play anymore, to squeeze the max out of your toon for the day Eve will be great again.

The good news is that these players (including myself) will not be back because Eve will not be great again since the sandbox game is bankrupt imo. This is because if you give people freedom to run their own world, they will F U C K it up.
Please do not ask me to give examples, just pick up a newspaper.

So you Eve junkies will just have to wait till the wallets of these bittervets will dry up, and voila..... prices will drop again.
As a side effect, the sandbox lets investers work this trend so that where you are all now.

Play the damned game or log of permanently and buy plexes.

It's none of your business what people make and spend except for you and your government.

A years worth of PLEX is like what, 12, so I hope you mean ALOT of years worth, because your're not going to have any impact at all if not.