Idea: Please try curtailing the PLEX/Injector sales

EVE Technology and Research Center Player Features & Ideas
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Hi,
(sorry in advance for wall-of-text!)

I’ve been seeing a lot of sales for PLEX, injector packs, etc., in the EVE store lately.

These sales may temporarily reduce the price of PLEX or whatever is on sale by flooding the in-game supply, but they still increase the price of PLEX in the medium-term.

PLEX and skill extractors/injectors are instantly turned into ISK. PLEX sales increase the money supply in game because the PLEX still exists in circulation, even after someone buys them with ISK. Because both the existing ISK and this newly-created PLEX are both in circulation, the money supply increases.

The only item in the game that is tethered to real-life prices is PLEX. PLEX cannot be farmed; it can only be bought from CCP. Thus, an increase to the available money supply goes primarily right back into PLEX prices.

Every time in the past year PLEX has gone on sale, the price has quickly dropped, followed by a larger increase in PLEX price vs ISK over the following couple months. Please investigate my veracity on this point; you will find I am correct.

It’s as if the US federal reserve decided that they wanted to bring down the price of commodities, so they put on sale the $350b reserve of gold in the NY federal reserve bank. In the short term, this would bring down the price of gold due to supply shock, but because this reserve was previously sequestered from the economy, this would have the effect of increasing the available money supply by ~$350b, which would bring up the price of commodities (relative to the $).

The difference in eve is that, as previously mentioned, PLEX is the only commodity that cannot be created from nothing. It can only be purchased from CCP. So instead of eve-flation driving up all commodity prices, it primarily goes right back into the price of PLEX. That’s why folks have been saying for years that “PLEX is the real currency in eve”.

Eve-flation is not a new topic to any veteran player, but I think I speak for just about everyone when I say that this year’s near-doubling of PLEX prices (relative to isk) has “gone over the line,” so to speak. Everyone who doesn’t hold plex is watching their purchasing power bleed away, and the cost of PLEXing accounts is growing too much for many to bear.

I’m sure PLEX sales generate great short-term revenue for CCP, but if you’re not taking an equivalent amount of ISK out of the game at the same time, it will keep raising the price of PLEX, and ISK’s purchasing power will continue to suffer.

Should the long-term winners and losers really be determined by who bought the plex dip after every sale? I’m at 300b+ and I haven’t farmed in years. I hardly even play the game anymore outside of the AT. Is this fair to you?

Let’s say I had 100b sitting in PLEX since April. The 50+% increase in PLEX since then covers all 4 of my accounts for those 5 months, with some ISK left over. At the current eve-flation rate, I can play for free simply because I know better than to keep my money in ISK. Is this fair to you?

Why not try pulling ISK out of the game when you put PLEX on sale, or simply curtailing these sales altogether? You could literally just put up buy orders for PLEX (in game) whenever you want to put it on sale, and then just make it disappear! It’s worth a try!

I’m not trying to be rude or hyper-critical here. I’m sure managing an economy is no easy task, but it’s very clear by now that the current strategy isn’t working.

P.S. On a side note, my recent experiences make me suspect EVE’s advertising only targets existing eve players… I mean come on, who on Zkillboard who isn’t already an eve player?! XD Shouldn’t EVE advertising be on other MMOs out-of-game websites instead? :stuck_out_tongue:

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Personally, I hope PLEX prices stay higher than Willie Nelson…

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Except the people buying the plex aren’t sequestered from the money supply… so they don’t increase how much isk is in circulation.

That comes from the massive faucets like the ones in trig space. It may seem like the prices go up shortly after a sale but whats really happening is the inflation is going on like normal you just don’t notice it because plex dipped during the sale.

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@Lugh_Crow-Slave I appreciate the response, but I’m afraid you’re incorrect.

PLEX sales increase the money supply in game because the PLEX still exists in circulation, even after someone buys them with ISK. Because both the existing ISK and this newly-created PLEX are both in circulation, the money supply increases.

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That’s… that’s not how that works. If people bought things from one another using plex that might possibly be viable. But they don’t. There is no new money in the game.

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If you are looking for a true source of inflation, look no further than Project Discovery. It is nothing more than ISK printed out of thin air.

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The inflation is transitory.

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Hmm, now where have I heard that before…

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The real solution will be a Central CCP Digital Currency.

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The isk that comes out of that is nothing compared to null rates and incursions. And those are nothing compared to trig space.

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Can we PLEASE remove the PLEX access in the SHIP’s inventory? LLeave it to only show when docked for craps sake. Tired of it being in the inventory when I am in space.

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Actually I feel there should be a PLEX counter attached to our ship in space.

Don’t you think?

And you can pay 100 plex to turn it off.

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Arn’t the PLEX’s used, therefor removed from the game. They dont stay in circulation for ever.

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While I understand why you came to this conclusion, the reality is that while injectors are tied to plex the bigger issue is the lack of new players entering the game, and the current player base still in it.

When new players join the game, they want to buy things they can’t afford with in game currency which is where plex usually comes in to play. 100 new players (who stay playing) will dump a metric shitload of plex into the game usually to buy things like faction battleships or carriers which keeps the economy going. However when the isk making potential in the game is nerfed into the ground and, when you have capital ships that are pretty irrelevant outside of massive fleet operations, those desires aren’t really there.

The current state of the game has almost no new players joining at all. Which means we have an abundance of just old guard players who have shitloads of liquid isk and have been here for a decade or more. These players also are not putting plex on the market because their personal net worth is measured in hundreds of billions or trillions. Yet they want to keep their accounts omega for the benefits.

This is basic supply demand. The people who would normally be providing the supply, simply aren’t here anymore, the people who have the most demand are though and they have A LOT of resources to continue buying plex, even when it’s almost double the price it was even a year ago. The fact so many are leaving the game though is directly related to the current costs of plex as more and more of the playerbase which isn’t in the top 10% looks at this game as a financial and time burden.

The fact CCP decided to increase the prices of subscriptions, and then didn’t even give discounts to people with only 2 accounts only exacerbated the issue. Now people who might have been paying for 2 accounts, are trying to PLEX one of them.

Here is hoping they figure this ■■■■ out before the game is unrecoverable.

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I am am only talking anecdotally (and personally) but my reasons for leaving (and therefore not buying any more PLEX with isk) are as follows:

During DDoS, I didn’t get a ship reimbursement, total lack of good faith from CCP.

Lack of control on my API, I ■■■■■■■ dare you shits to contradict this, if I have not allowed is beforehand, I should NEVER be asked to give it nor should it be given.

Can fleet make you jump a stargate? Can fleet make you jump a wormhole? the answer to both is no, it cannot make you change systems. But for some reason it can filament you.

Sorry CCP, you have accumulated too many bad memories for me. Please try harder, for the next guy. I won’t be coming back, by this point I should already be in doomheim.

Edit: I actually don’t think it matters that much that real world cost of plex has gone up. ONLY that real world cost of subscription has.

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Someone got taken to the bonus room…

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Yup Mistakes were made... - YouTube

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But how would you buy a special only-NES-sold booster while in combat otherwise?

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I get the other reasons for wanting the PLEX viewable. How about an option to remove the stupid thing from being viewed? Or is there an option I do not know abou?

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