Price of Plex - Market intervention Required from CCP
The Price of Plex is putting off existing and new players from playing the game.
It is my view that market intervention from CCP is required. CCP will have statistical data on the impact on the price of plex and subscription levels. Is there any data that has been released into the public domain that we can see?
All I know is that I’m seeing more people leave the game as they cannot make the plex within a month and RL does not allow them to pay for their own PLEX. Like it or not we all know this happens. We also see more players consider returning and when they get to the ‘oh, wow my three accounts are going to cost 6 bil a month’ there is a pause in the potential return.
I would like to se data on the price elasticity of demand for PLEX and suggest to CCP they might be able to draw down more income from lowering the price of plex. Profit margins might increase through a market intervention strategy.
I have no issue with CCP making money from the player base. In fact the more the better, as we will continue to get investment into the game.
My tears are purely down to the fact I think PLEX price is too high.
Who at CCP is responsible for the economic and market based decision making?
CCP/PA don’t make money from people grinding for low price PLEX. They make money from selling it to whales to sell in game. The higher the price the more they sell.
So you’ll not see any “corrections” any time soon.
This sort of thing is exactly why I don’t play the markets in real life. I have absolutely no idea what the heck is going on. I see a lot of, err, ‘comprehensive breakdowns’ like this being published, though; do so many of you really have degrees in economics, finances, or whatever it is that lets you know how to play markets?
I pretty much just look at what I have, what the price is, and decide if I want to buy this thing for that much, or if I want to sell this other thing to get ‘that much,’ and then call it a day. I don’t have any training in any sort of financial stuff, though.
I will say that I like high plex prices, the higher the better, because when I buy plex from ccp, I do it to immediately sell it for an influx of isk. Why would I want the prices to be lower?
On contrary, high Plex price means existing and new players will get more ISK for selling it on the market and thus are more enticed to buy it from CCP.
Good… good. Playing for a month only to plex your account for next one is a fine example of Sisyphean task - an exercise in futility. Also dont pay for your own plex, pay for a subscription - it is cheaper.
Then that player doesnt need to plex all 3 accounts perhaps?
Plex pricing has more to do with supply/demand among players than CCP pricing. Overall, an EVE sub is quite cheap, and Plex is not all that expensive. Keep in mind that the players in other games are shelling out $30, $60, $120 for packages of ships, tanks, battlemechs etc.
The constant and massive influx of ISK, without substantial offsetting ISK sinks, means that over time Plex will always go up. At the moment, you are seeing the normal seasonal Plex variation (price goes up over fall/winter, falls during spring/summer), plus an additional factor that is somewhat unknown at the moment.
The additional factor is small - plex supply is currently at a historically low point; plex demand is currently at a historical high point - but two such differences can make for pretty big price changes.
The question of: “Why are people currently purchasing less Plex (than usual for this season) from CCP to sell on the ISK market?” is a bit trickier. Research is ongoing! FOR SCIENCE!
Why are people always whining for CCP to take action when players can easily resolve the issue as well? Just buy 100 PLEX with $$ and dump them on the market. My market alt will thank you for it.
Also a quick analysis of the PLEX dynamics show there is no problem for players:
-players who sell PLEX to fund their PvP get more ISK, so they are happy,
-new players selling PLEX to buy SP get more ISK, but the skill injector is of course linked to the PLEX price, so it is a wash for them,
-players who reduce the number of their alt accounts don’t really matter as long as the PLEX are consumed by other players.
That’s good. Looks like it starts hitting the right people. Also I agree with above post, just buy PLEX from CCP and dump it on the market to get the price down.
it is known. Deals and discounts on plex kept its price down, now that there hasnt been any major sales for quite some time EvE’s market regulates itself to reflect that.
Uhg, I am never in favor of capital intervention ideology, because they make things worse. But considering the Botting problem I think a head long tackle into it would probably correct the PLEX inflation.
I’m more worried at the amount of people that think it is a good idea to grind for a plex in order to save $15 each month. Even if one lives in a country with very low wages, I have a hard time seeing that it’s faster to grind for plex, compared to just working enough hours to get the sub money.
I am perfectly happy to have them work 8 hour days 20 days of the month, for me, to give me all that game isk for something I just paid $20 for. This is a totally awesome situation for me. They basically slaved away 160 hours, for about 13 cents an hour.
Talk about a sweatshop setup! And they volunteered for it! LOL
Its fairly easy for a high sec PvE type to get sufficient ISK for buying PLEX:
Have all 3 alts do PI, a total of 18 planets
Do whatever PvE activity you enjoy for whatever play time you wish to devote to Eve
At the end of the month, make up any shortfall with skill extractors
And you are good to go.
What CCP can do: If this is an issue with people botting for ISK to buy PLEX, then the proper thing for CCP to do is to step up efforts to kill the bots. This means assigning more employees to the effort.
Another thing: remove items from the New Eden store and instead make them player created, or bought via the loyalty point store. That reduces pressure on the PLEX supply.
CCP has informed on some occasions in years past, AFTER an intervention has occurred. “in due course” doesn’t mean they intend to tell us in advance
The skill extraction economy demands the price go higher. CCP profits on skill extractors: this extra income might be keeping the servers running. I don’t see a way out of this inflation loop.
If PLEX is known to always go up in price, it becomes the safest possible investment. Grabbing every possible plex off the market has probably been a winning strategy for certain players.
It is more than feasible to lower the price of PLEX and sell more, thus CCP gets more income. Its important the Economic council review the price elasticity of demand related to PLEX and make intervention strategies if required.
And for those who think any organisation allows the customer to decide the price even in a player owned economy, this is would not be the case. CCP has to monitor inflation pressures as this can greatly impact on player engagement and retention. There will be limitations set and monetary flags that if reached trigger intervention.
FOR SCIENCE!
