Microtransaction Missteps in EVE Online

The debacle of EVE Online’s poorly introduced microtransaction item shop is something that won’t stop being discussed any time soon, and, probably conscious of this, the developers at CCP took the time to explain what went wrong and why at a panel at GDC Online 2011, which GameSpot reports on for those that haven’t been able to attend. Here’s a sampling:

To start, CCP looked at how other games handled microtransactions from a behavioral-psychology perspective. One of the things that surprised the team when they looked at other games’ virtual items is that they tended to congregate sales around three specific price points, such that there were bargain, standard, and premium tiers. CCP’s strategy was to try and position their offerings like a clothing boutique rather than Walmart; they focused on a small number of items with high graphical quality. To enable sales, they also introduced a new currency into the game: aurum. Currently the only use for aurum is to buy virtual items in the in-game store, but Cockerill expects to expand its uses in the future.

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Mistakes aside, Cockerill said the team did get some things right. He pointed to the $65 monocle that players can purchase in-game and said that despite the controversy it generated among players, it was the highest-grossing item for the virtual-goods launch. Additionally, the introduction of virtual items could have unbalanced the game’s player-driven economy, but apart from a temporary fluctuation around launch, Cockerill said the game’s virtual currency prices have been stable.