Feldon Massively‘s MJ Guthrie has checked in with her thoughts on SOE’s announced removal of 500 StationCash/month allowance for Gold subscribers to its games:
While I had another, happier topic all ready to ring in the new year, SOE surprised us with a questionable decision this week that I felt necessitated an immediate response. So today we’ll focus on this hot topic instead: All change is not good. And SOE’s announced change in membership benefits for EverQuest II is really not good.
Previously, with the removal of the remaining free-to-play restrictions, EQII subscribers saw their benefits whittle down to essentially a buff to mount speed and coin, AA, and XP accumulation (basically what was offered during the Gold Rush event) and the monthly 500 Station Cash allotment. While that seems as if players lost most of their advantages for subbing, there wasn’t too much murmuring because at least we were happy that our comrades had the freedom to choose the classes and races they wanted and enjoy the game better. And besides, we still had the 500 SC, so we still had some worthwhile benefit. Well, now that’s changing.
SOE has decided that this last benefit must be retooled from 500 SC that accumulates until you use it to the ability to buy one single item for up to 2000 SC per month. While it may sound like a better deal on the surface, it’s not — not for SOE or for its customers.
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Why this switch, and why now? My bet is because EQN Landmark is coming out soon and SOE wants to prevent players from building up SC by subbing to one game and spending it in EQNL, thereby forcing players to buy SC for the new sandbox if there isn’t any kind of subscription benefit offered.
