d4shing
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Posted - 2011.07.22 17:04:00 -
[1]
 Originally by: CCP Apollo
clothing is not destructible, players usually focus their game play on a primary character, volume wise we have a modest player base (we don't have 10's of Millions of players) and only a % of people that will buy
I just want to say that I think you've hit the nail on the head, and while I disagree with the job you've been assigned to do, I think you're demonstrating a reasonable quantum of intelligence in going about getting it done.
If by only a %, you mean, low-to-mid single digits at best, I think you're spot on. Consider the player population, the fact that we all have 2-3 accounts and we're not buying clothes for our cyno alts, and I think you're doing the right math.
The inexorable conclusion, though, is that vanity MTs will only raise the revenue of a subscription game by a few % at the absolute most. Did you see the presentation about Battlefield Heroes where they discussed how, in a F2P game, only 2% of players bought any vanity-only items? What if this is the right metric for EVE? What does that say about the development resources invested into outfits and a NEX store that has already cost you 10% of your subscriptions?
You can't fix the POS interface because all of your artists are working on outfits. Look, I think at $15 a month, I am (more than) paying for all of the content you create with that money. Let's not talk about vampires and PS3 games. I think given the math that you're doing (a few % of players buy anything at all) you have to ask -- does it make sense to have a nex store at all? With 125-150k human players owning 325-350k accounts, generously speculate that 5% of them buy 1 plex worth of indestructible items per year. That's like getting 7,500 extra subscriptions for one month (roughly) or 600 annual subscriptions.
Is that a good reason to reskin one ship a year, to not update POSes because all of your artists are working on outfits?
Your bosses need to do the math. I hope you have lots of transferable business skills, and that your bosses listen to you.
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