Ratchman
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Posted - 2008.12.12 15:00:00 -
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Firstly, CCP do have a good defence. The economy is very complex in EVE, and things like these could easily exist without ever being noticed. Look at how many frauds and scams exist in the real world. Enron were bluffing everyone to the tune of billions for years, and I heard today that another hedge fund manager has been defrauding investors of $50 billion, and he was operating what seems to me like a basic pyramid scheme (but with better maths), paying off investors with the money from new investors.
The real world economy is extremely fragile, far more than any of us would like to admit, and an awful lot is taken on trust and confidence. Why should EVE be any different?
The other thing in their defence is logic. All those people involved were almost certainly using their fraudulently earned ISK to buy timecards, which deny CCP actual physical money. So if they find out people have been avoiding paying them (or denying them by the action of their fraud), they are going to take very swift action. If the amount turns out to be significant, maybe they would even consider legal action (although that could be a legal minefield, being a new area with little precedent). I can't think of a stronger motivation for a company to take action. Their existence as an organsisation is built on what they earn, so they will pay very close attention to it.
As for the impact the scandal will have, it will probably have some, but nowhere near as much as some people are claiming. The market will absorb a lot of the damage. What will push prices up is if people start panicking and start stockpiling T2 sips and modules, reducing availability and increasing demand.
I am interested in seeing if any gaps appear in the political landscape of EVE as a result of these players being removed. If they are all in one corp, or a smattering of corps, it could leave a hole in 0.0 territory, so one only has to keep an eye on any territory that suddenly becomes available, or where there is a sudden flare up of activity where people rush to claim it. However, if they are spread across a lot of corps, we may not even notice their absence.
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