Customer Service Announcement: Premium Membership

The issue is not about getting members to buy more SC (not really) The issue is the player created items. Sony pays a commision to the item creator for every item sold (in real money not SC).

Originally giving SC to members cost Sony nothing. The items don't cost Sony anything to make, however Player created items bought with free station cash DO cost Sony the commission (in real money), This is why player created items will be excluded from the things you can get for free (because Sony would have to pay the commission out of it's own pocket).

They still want to give you stuff for free, but only stuff that doesn't cost them anything.

I want to give constructive criticism and I hope this is not like a flame but I'm upset. I don't believe this was a Planetside Team decision but a corporate because it also affects my DCONLINE. This doesn't add the value that I was looking forward too every month anymore. Now I feel like a swift Kick to the Groan from my best friend because his having a bad day. I'm a lifetime member in DCO so I've been getting 500 SC every month. That allows me to use my SC in other games. Now I can't do this. Now I can't add that 500 to my planetside membership! Grrgg

If only we had a decision in this I would have voted against it. SOE should have just kept things the way they were and don't mess with my lifetime subscription. Then in Planetside to say a member can't carry over their benefit to a subsequent month is like a bad dream! Why would my girlfriend leave me and now she is with my enemy? I wish I never woke up this morning.

DCO loyalty points build up so I don't understand the benefit in Planetside not allowing to be saved up. It might work for business but I feel like I just got two black eyes and SOE is laughing at me and saying they did me a favor. I'm going to go into planetside now and play with tears and wailing! signed ~ mOuRnInG!

P.S. Planetside Team Please Use your Special Powers and Tell SOE "ThEse are not the Games Your Looking For!"

I agree its luck, but when you start there is plenty to buy and its very unlikely you dont find anything you cant buy in a week, let alone 4 weeks.

It's funny how there was and still is no warning about this anywhere on the current membership signup page. The date set for the changes is next month and you didn't even think to announce it ahead of time? Something like this should be announced at least 6 months ahead of time - your selling 1 year subs here!

This is bad and unprofessional marketing if anything - piss of your customers by springing a gigantic change out of nowhere. This way you piss off even new and old members.

Given the responses from Piestro, the response I have had from the support forum (none), and the support site (go to forum), it is clear that SOE have not fully passed on how this change will impact each of their games. More established games may have more content, but ultimately members are still going to be short changed when compared to their previous scheme.

Piestro, you are in a difficult position and I applaud you for taking the time to respond. People have made their voices heard, across the catalogue, many voting with their wallets. PS2 is vulnerable due to population, (lack of) content and game issues - please ensure the community voices are heard so that we can all enjoy this game for a long time to come, and not see it wither and die because of an incomprehensible decision from up above.

The only way I can see this justified is if there was added more bundles at 1500-2000 SC including newer content.

New (Roadmap) content and weapons/other would also have to arrive pretty swiftly for most long term members to stay on.

Dear Sir: Haveing been a SoE customer since Everquest 1, I have found it time to leave your games. The removal of station cash was poorly thought out. This in addition of the failure of dealing with the hackers and broken promises ( ie...the recerts issue ) .

IN Missouri their is an old saying " Don't tinkle down my back and tell me it's rain water ". 2k in a one time buy is NOT what I just payed for ...it was 500 SC that I could buy from any game of my choice. If not used, it added up. A ONE time buy a month is NOT what I payed for. Worse case of bait and switch I have EVER seen.
I truly feel that your BOSSES broke the laws as to change a service with out a Writ of Notice. Rather rant and threaten legal action...I'll stick to a more effective means of language....canceling two 18 year old accounts. Pity too.....was looking forward to everquest next.

Well you can add me to the list of people here who won't be purchasing a subscription now. I'd seriously kicked the idea around, since camos are fun and come on pretty deep sales for members, and 500 SC would get me one or two a month. Now I'm being told it's basically going to be for guns only (since most new cosmetic content will be coming from the player studio), and I already have all the guns unlocked that I want. You've removed the major driver for having a membership for me, and for a lot of other people.

I know this is probably a decision from on high and you guys aren't allowed to contest it, but I'd suggest making yourselves a nice powerpoint slide to show to the boardroom bandits above and tally up the cost of all the lost memberships and ask them "Is this decision REALLY capable of making us enough profits to offset these losses? Because these are the tip of the iceberg, just the ones who actually speak out."

Hmm, feedback? As someone who's been subscribing to SOE games since 2000, screw you for screwing your customers yet again.

The 500 monthly SC wasn't the main selling point of membership for me, but it hurts to see it go. And one item (only one!) up to 2000 SC a month? What digital item could you possibly have aside from bundles (which will be excluded) that are worth $20? And it can't even be spent on Player Studio items, which is the primary source of new cosmetics into the game? So you're basically adding not only a lesser deal, but one that many of the longer term members will have absolutely no use for!

Adding more value you say? Nice sales ploy from a true salesman. Lie to the face of your customers, no matter how long term, and hope they bite whatever bait you're offering. SOE should really try selling cars too.

(PS. I work in IT at a car delership, not in sales. But to hear the way they speak about how they screwed their latest 'customer' makes me sick. No doubt there's some behind the scenes at SOE, not involved in Sales, that know what I mean.)

Sony should consider that for some players the Playerstudio items are the sole reason they buy SC or havn´t cancelled their membership.
They might not have gotten some of that money in the first place without PS items for players to buy. So if they are now unwilling to part with a tiny weeny bit of their profit margin, they might find that all of a sudden they lose an even bigger chunk of it.
If Sony´s only reason is what you described then they shouldn´t be surprised when loyal subscribers boycott them. They should´ve thought of this beforehand. Guess it´s too hard these days to expect some decency when it comes to treating your customers fairly.

Dear SOE business makers,

Please ask your fellow game programmer Divisions how they handle drastic changes in their games. For example how the Planetside 2 Team handled drastic changes to Item Statistics. Like giving back all Certs for an Armor and giving the players the possibility to recertify them again if they like.

Drastic changes such as complete overhauls of Membership rules should include a similar move on your side. Give back all you took in advance - I doubt anyone would mind too much if you'd give the Money back in SC only. Cancel all plans. Let the players decide themselves then if they would like to get back into the Membership plan.

Sincerly,
Me

It was known in advance and decided that 30 days was plenty of 'advance' notice for your customers.

Yes that 'makes sense' in the context of a corporate business decision.

As others have stated, the previous system allows you to save up SC and have more choices (across several other games) on how to spend it. Unused credit at the end of each month would continue to build up over time, allowing someone to choose when to best spend their credit, with respect to current items on sale and the items desired.

The new system lowers a subscriber's overall purchasing power with respect to the previous 500 SC/month offering, regardless of how you spin it. The fact this is being served up as a benefit to the consumer in some way is just slapping them all in the face.

I've only been playing the game for a month or so after some friends got me into it and have never paid anything for it, so I'm still happy and will continue playing it for free. If I had just bought a subscription, though, I'd be canceling it already.

Dick move by SOE. It hurts the playet studio guys (you know, the ONLY people making new items in the game at the moment?) and screws those of us holding SC for EQN.

I have nearly every weapon for my faction in the game, and unless SOE start releasing a new item/weapon every month thats worth obtaining then I view this as a hard kick in the teeth to paying customers.

This is also a big problem. The only way th new method could possibly work was if they started releasing a lot of new big-ticket items with some regularity. Making a change after six months of almost zero content that requires new content to approach being worthwhile is foolish.

I just bought my first month of membership (thankfully I chose the one month plan to test it out) and in hindsight had your new 'better deal' been available I would not have bought the membership. I will not be buying subsequent memberships.

Listen to your customers; the game you have created relies on the long term and heavily invested players. That's what makes the game great. You are sabotaging this with your absolutely terrible customer service choices.

A new member who won't be renewing come February.

Station All-Access is losing its 500 SC per month as well. My question to that is will All-Access members be able to select one item per game, or one item period? If its one per game, then its a pretty nice deal. If not.. then we're kinda losing value in perks to the pass.

I like the change to 'one item per month' as I would often be saving my monthly SC. However, Player Studio exclusion will be a deal breaker for me.

I have most of the weapons I want, and am buying them with certs. Unless SOE are gonna bring out a new weapon each month, my monthly allowance will be spent on cosmetics. Player Studio items are a major part of the cosmetic options for PS2.

There will be no prices raises as a result of this. I can't say there will never be price raises, but this won't be the reason.

This topic is one we are especially interested in player feedback on. That comes from the top of the company all the way on down. Senior Vice Presidents and Smed himself are waiting on your feedback. It isn't quite hourly updates we're giving, but I had more than one conversation on this topic yesterday. We've put out reports on the initial reaction and will continue reporting on reaction to these announcements.

While we are trying to offer a greater value, we realize there may be different challenges in individual games. For example, a big part of the focus in this thread is Player Studio items. In EverQuest (my personal main game) the challenges are very different, that community's focus is predominantly on large bags. So another big part of what we're doing is trying to figure out where in each game there are sticking parts that make this a more challenging change to accept. Then I (and Luperza, and the rest of the Community Team), can bring them to the various different departments around the company.