I work in technology (Waterfall / Agile methodologies) with a global team but only as an End User perspective so my next few statements may need to be flavored accordingly: Computer based MMO's of quality have an infrastructure and technology team requirement like none other in the gaming industry. I would liken them to a baking industry. The difference is that games don't hand out loans as a means of supplementing revenue lost due to fee waivers. Yet they have quarterly releases for updates, new content and products and such.

Just to entertain the thought, is it possible to have both subs and satisfy the hungry Alphas? Yes. However, as a player base, are we sure we want what that would entail? As I see it currently, the game would no longer be Eve as we know it today.

This type of model would require (at a minimum) a quarterly release schedule to offer Alpha's something worthy buying while also giving subscribers deeper content. Why? CCP needs income and needs it to be predictable and dependable for project management sake and their own bills. Sounds alright? Except, the fact that this will inevitably turn the New Eden store into one of those annoying in game advertising schemes that has turned me off of so many other MMO's. I want to play a game, not be advertised to. Maybe that's just me. Seeing the Omega reminders on several items in game is about as close to that gaming style as I would want to see. Why is it inevitable? Because we are asking to slice and dice the game mechanics into purchasable packages which requires advertising and a marketplace.

Because things are purchasable, it lends credence to complaints of "games favor the whales" (whales are those loose wallets that spend real money on gems or xp increases). I see many apologetics in these forums defending how newbies can indeed hold their own if they simply do some research and get a good corp. Having aspects of the game pieced in order to generate revenue would destroy those defense arguments and the overall game mechanics as we know it today.

Eventually, those products will turn into in game items (ships, weapons, rigs, etc) which are only obtainable through a purchase. Which, having consistent products pushed means Eve will inevitably lose the player driven economy and we'd probably see inflation at a rate that even the Veterans wouldn't be able to predict. Speaking of a player driven economy, I always hated instancing and world bosses tas the only means of obtaining a gear piece. A blue print makes far more sense and remains player driven. But I would not care for purchasing the blue print from the GM shop.

Rant, feel free to skip: These GM Shop games are just taking advantage of impulse buyers. I'm waiting to see what happens to Supercell since Clash of Clans seems to be standing the test of time. Free with no ad's won't last forever. I do reserve the right to be wrong, but, time will be the judge. Ultimately, companies want money for which we cannot fault them; not all of them believe in their product so much that they would let it endure the market ups and downs without making changes--exhibit A, was it SONY that took SWG (Pre-NGE) and threw it in the toilet as a response to WoW. That was probably the only other game with a decent player driven economy. Oh well, we'll see where CCP stands on this in time.

Eve is unique. Do we believe in Eve as it is? Then why change it? If we have to change it, can we do so in a manner that avoids the pitfalls that I'm listing above? CCP needs to adapt to the market regardless of how it's player base feels. They need to ensure income and subscribers are the most predicable and dependable where as lump sum payment are sporadic and far less predictable. In addition, because of the infrastructure and team required to run a computer based MMO, lump sum payments cannot sustain a game. Therefore multiple lump sums will be sought for. That is essentially a subscription plan without a predetermined due date.

My wife has a subscription to a gym that she attends about 6 months of the year yet she pays for 12. I have a subscription to a piano lesson site but I'm not on it every day. I pay an absolute minimum for water or electric every month whether I use it or not (and sometimes i am below that minimum). Why will i treat my games differently than the rest of my life?

For me, while I think some fun content and super wise planning could make it work, it's not worth it. (I don't plan on subscribing either way, nor would i buy from the gm shop, maybe after i pay off some debt and can justify owning virtual assets that do not increase my portfolio).

And it's 3:30 am ... i'm tired, no more proofreading for tonight.