EVE Online : Devs & CSM Reach Accord on Virtual Goods
Recently, the leak of an internal memo with regard to the selling of virtual items in the EVE Online 'NeX' store caused an epic stir in the community. As a result, CCP and the Council of Stellar Management held an 'extraordinary' meeting to discuss the issue. The two groups have reached an agreement with regard to virtual goods, namely that only vanity items will be sold.
It is CCP's plan that the Noble Exchange (NeX store) will be used for the sale of vanity items only. There are no plans, and have been no plans, as per previous communication and CSM meetings, to introduce the sale of game breaking items or enhancements in the NeX store.
The investment of money in EVE should not give you an unfair advantage over the investment of time. The CSM, under NDA, has been presented with CCP's plans for continued evolution of the business model and agrees that nothing they saw breaks this principle. CCP has committed to sharing their plans with the CSM on this front on an ongoing basis.
CCP acknowledges that communication surrounding the launch of the virtual goods store should have been better. To address that, we will write up dev blogs that explain the pricing strategy of the NeX store and the price tiering system. We will also communicate that we intend to put the focus on further fleshing out the lower price range and give visual examples of upcoming items.