http://stationexchange.station.sony.com/

It had to happen eventually, I guess.

I wonder what the implications will be for ****** and co?

EQII only or both games?

It says for EQ2 right now.

Wow this is truly interesting.





John Smedley Discusses Station Exchange
Hello Everyone,

We have a big announcement coming out in the press in the next day, and I wanted to make sure you heard it from me directly rather than reading an article about it.

Starting in late June, SOE will begin offering a new service called Station Exchange. This secure service will allow EverQuest II players on specific servers to buy and sell the right to use items, coin and characters. To be clear, all we are doing is facilitating these transactions. We are NOT in the business of selling virtual goods ourselves.

I'm sure this is going to come as a shock to many of you, since for the past six years, we have held the line in not allowing these sorts of things to occur. I'd like to explain the primary drivers for this change from our perspective:

First: It's obvious that a large percentage of our players either don't mind this activity or actively participate in it. We've done a fair amount of homework on this subject, and we believe this is a $200 million dollar market worldwide, and there are a huge number of our players taking part in the buying and selling of virtual goods. We have conducted polls, and the vast majority of players either doesn’t care about it or would like to participate in it. We believe that by allowing this to happen on select servers, we can have a solution for both the many players who want to participate in this and for those who don’t.

Second: Dealing with fraudulent transactions of one type or another takes up roughly 40% of our customer service people's time. We have players calling us up or requesting in-game service for activities related to these sorts of transactions constantly, even though they are specifically disallowed by our EULA. You may ask why the percentage is that high when it's not allowed in the first place? The answer is simple. Many times, people in these situations aren't up front with us about what actually happened. "My sword disappeared from my inventory" comes to mind, when what actually happened is the player has sold the item to someone else. Our CS people have to take the time to investigate this claim because if something legitimately happened, we of course want to take care of the player's needs. We believe that by taking this course, we will free up a great number of resources to deal with other things for our players.

Third: We see this as a potentially interesting model for future games. If we came up with a game specifically designed around these sorts of transactions, it might be pretty cool. Online gaming is always evolving, and we’re going to see how a sanctioned exchange service shakes out in EQII. From our perspective, it's always wise to keep pushing the envelope.

With the big reasons we're doing this laid out, I'd like to now tell you about the process:

On Wednesday, you'll see some press about Station Exchange. After about a week, we will conduct an in-game poll that's going to ask whether you:

1) Want to play on an "Exchange enabled" server
2) Do not want to play on an "Exchange enabled" server
3) Don't really care

Based on the results of this poll, we will light up a certain amount of new servers that are specifically "Exchange enabled." If the percentage of players who want this service is high enough, we might consider converting some existing servers to "Exchange enabled." Players who want to play on those servers will have the opportunity to transfer over to the "Exchange enabled" servers for free on a one-time-only basis (but you can't ever move that character off these servers). We will, of course, let people who don't want to stay on an "Exchange enabled" server off with a free transfer.

I want to be clear here: We will be lighting up a few new servers that are specifically “Exchange enabled,” and the number of existing servers we convert to “Exchange enabled” will be based on how many people actually want to be on "Exchange enabled" servers.

In addition to the issues listed above, you may ask, "What about farming?" The simple answer to this is that we're going to continue to heavily enforce the rules of EQ II, and those rules don't permit players to monopolize spawns or in any way harm the play experience of another player. We will continue to enforce these rules, but we also think that by providing a legitimate way for players to buy and sell the use of virtual goods, there will be fewer problems on the non-Exchange servers.

I realize this is a lot to think about, and I expect a pretty good debate to start on this subject. We welcome all your feedback, as it will help determine the future of this service. All I ask is that you consider the fact that we're really addressing this problem in the best possible way for all sides of this issue.


John Smedley
President, Sony Online Entertainment



Learn more about Station Exchange (http://stationexchange.station.sony.com/).

Yeah, extremely interesting development...

Lineage2... Backflashes.... Someone... Shots me... Now!

All Hail asiatic farmer overlords!
it might be pretty cool.That people with cash are ahead of others.

Well if it wasn't sure, now we know SOE was taking a purcentage of this "blackmarket", gg to legalize it. :)
Show me da money!!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! :d

EDIT: it's fixed, it's the one for today.

http://www.gucomics.com/

LOL...

^^^
Ownage.

Damnit edit isn't here anymore...
Anyway, link is better with gucomics, or you'll get this Woody face. :)
http://www.gucomics.com/comics/gu_20050421.jpg
Enjoyz0r!!1!~

I got owned myself... :o

http://www.gucomics.com (http://www.gucomics.com/comics/gu_20050421.jpg)
Today's comics!

And hit refresh!

Fil I hate you!

/starts to run around and scream

God Damn Woody!

http://www.gucomics.com/archives/view.php?cdate=20050421

and haha anterak.

Actually I don't find this move on Sony's part such a bad idea. They've stated if you don't want to play on a "Trade Server" then you don't have to. One caveat I see is if you've leveled up and set roots in a guild. Then what do you do when Sony makes your server a trade server. I might have missed that senerio in the announcement.

This is a bandaide for the problem. It isn't going to stop the plat & item farmers from working the non-trade servers. They still have their own sites to support and don't need Sony's hand holding to make money. They've proven this in the past. Hence Sony's answer to allowing trade servers. It is however a step in the right direction, specially with such a new game as EQ2. This may stem the farmers tide a small amount. This move should let the customers the farmers had go directly to Sony's auction site (or whatever it's going to be) To ward off bans or deletions from breaking the EULA.


If you didn't look lastnight, I suggest looking at your NO DROP items in EQLive.. They've been changed from NO DROP to NOT TRADEABLE. Makes me think this may be coming to EQLive also... This would be a bold move on Sony's part since most of the playerbase is established in guilds and have set deep roots in content. Making establiched servers now "trade servers" in EQLive would cause large upheavals and probably kill the game for long time players.



I know I can't spell... so flame away on the spelling an grammatical errors. I like the attention.

I agree with you almost completely Twinkles, having trade servers is a bad idea, but introducing it in some other manner is a great start.

To fill us all in on buyza's opinion:-

"NO! fucking SHITTY idea, this COMPLETELY SCREWS respectable sellers!"

i think deep down he'll be happy that noone is getting scammed though.

As for the NO TRADE tag, i think that was meant more for the retarded among us, as "NO RENT" has been changed to "TEMPORARY" as well.

I love it when you post real stuff, make me love you more :(

I just think with Sony regardless of what they are saying now, if the whole thing starts out successful you will see all servers become trade enabled in the name of the almight $.

There was a very good article posted here sometime ago talking about economy and MMOs, that on one side EQ (it was the main subject of the article) could be considered with its players to be the 80ish country on Earth in term of real cash production, and on the other side many MMO players were "enjoying" the economic aspect that only the sweet and time you put in the game value yourself in regard of the comunauty.

With this kind of "drug legalisation", you won't need anymore time and sweet to be on top, just money. Even worse, you could see rising "character builders" which would run 24/7/365 to create and equip characters just to sell them (it almost exists).

We are all on an equal ground when we play MMOs, why introduce cash to completely disturb that balance?

Well after 6 months of EQ2 I can definitely say I don't believe a damn word SOE says.

All classes are Balanced

SoE says: "in Eq2 classes will be balanced, all tanks can tank, all priests can heals"
time passes
SoE says: "nerf"

Paladin horse

SoE says: "we don't see a problem with it"
time passes
SoE says: "nerf"

Froglocks

SoE says: "they are in game, it's a long quest that one person will unlock for their whole server"
time passes
SoE says: "surprise in the next update, Froglocks are coming. we know this will be a surprise to many of you"

Account Bannings

SoE says: "its against the rules"
time passes
SoE says: "if you can't beat them, join them but do it our way"

And I could list more, but it just pisses me off. Even though they say we will get to vote they only care about $, my server is a busy server I am sure we will become a cheater server eventually. I will stay IF they offer guild moves otherwise I'm going to WoW.

I agree with you almost completely Twinkles, having trade servers is a bad idea, but introducing it in some other manner is a great start.

Then oh wise Grumb please share your infinite wisdom with the rest of the users..

oh and it's "Twinkie" in place of the L you used it's an I .. Thanks

The problem is that by the time this gets to EQ1 my assets will have lost most of their value :p

From conversations in guild chat and with guildies, it would seem that the camp is divided about the trade servers. As mentioned, I think a number of guilds would be split or severely hampered for those who don't want to play on a trade server.

I personally don't really care whether or not I play on a trade server. Is it REALLY going to make a difference? I don't think so. We have ALL been playing on trade servers since the beginning, they just were not sanctioned by Sony.

What real difference is this change going to make? Not much really. It simply means that more people will be able to openly buy/sell their plat/items. Oh wait, that was happening and is happening now. Unless Sony makes some sweeping changes and begins to police the buying/selling a lot closer. I don't think they are going to go to that effort. It was easier for them to "make a decison" and "give the customer what they want" instead of scrutinizing every transaction on the server.

We have lived with this kind of stuff going on since the game began. I believe there will be period of time while things shake out and settle down, and then the game goes on.

I believe that trader servers are going to be a mixed blessing. In the end, we the players will pay for it. We'll see what happens....

I just think with Sony regardless of what they are saying now, if the whole thing starts out successful you will see all servers become trade enabled in the name of the almight $.

Very good point and Sony has proven in the past they don't give a rats ass about us the players.. so yea this could happen. I doubt it though, why shoot the cow for the milk?

I guess you're already quick to jump to the defensive from all of your other responses, but to clarify, when i said i agree with you almost completely - i meant i agreed with everything that you said, and compounded that with the following sentence, then went on to state the thing i didn't agree with you on (hence the almost), the no trade thing - which was just a conflict of opinion.

Hopefully one day i can earn being called wise, without the sarcasm (dream come true :) )

I personally don't really care whether or not I play on a trade server. Is it REALLY going to make a difference? I don't think so. We have ALL been playing on trade servers since the beginning, they just were not sanctioned by Sony.

What real difference is this change going to make? Not much really. It simply means that more people will be able to openly buy/sell their plat/items. Oh wait, that was happening and is happening now. Unless Sony makes some sweeping changes and begins to police the buying/selling a lot closer. I don't think they are going to go to that effort. It was easier for them to "make a decison" and "give the customer what they want" instead of scrutinizing every transaction on the server.

I believe it will actually hurt the EQLive servers and guilds. Yes we've been playing this way since day one. But, it's been somewhat quiet and under the table. Most legit players were afraid to "buy plat or a toon" because they were afraid of loosing everything they've worked hard for. So now those legits won't have the "big brothers" looking over their accts and can freely buy that Ornate BP they've always wanted. /shrugs

As far actually changing the game with bought toons? Unless they're flagged up thru Time and beyond during the PL sessions. I don't see it effecting my game play one bit. Now as for the newb leveling zones and older zones, well those Sony-bay toons will be a nightmare... What good is a cleric that doesn't know what a HoT is, or you can med mana while sitting on your horse?

I don't think the toon leveling people are going to go thru the hassles of getting them flagged up. But we'll see.. Could get nasty LOL

Grumb I just enjoy a good debate.. and I'm full of "my opinions" just ask our raid team LOL I've always got the best way to wipe the guild.

Point taken Twinked....

My toons got their armor/items the hard way... I ganked thousands of mobs to get the plat for it, or I got a bunch of rowdy friends together to help go kill the mob that dropped the item.

<chuckle> As far as e-Bay toons... we already run into clerics who don't know what a HoT is, and wouldn't know how to use it if they did know what it was. But yes, I agree that the whole thing is going to impact us, one way or another.

Some guilds will feel the crunch more than others. What will I do or where will I go? I don't know yet. I will continue to play as I always have and group with friends and guildies. If my guild decides that they want to move to a trader enable/disabled server, then I guess we will vote on it and decide then.

I keep waiting for Sony to "dumb down" the game even more, opening the elementals based upon level, much like they did with the rest of PoP. Maybe, maybe not. But how else are all the purchased Sony-Bay'd toons going to get in there?

You guys think the economy is screwed now? Just wait this will make it worse. Yes it's been happening for years but not on the scale it's about to be. It's cheating, I don't give a damn how you slice it. If it splits a guild from people who think it's cheating from those who can't get by without otherwise buying thier way b/c they don't have what it takes to make then so be it. I know I sure wouldn't want to be guilded with someone who has to "buy" their way.

The more $ that floods the economy the more insane prices will become for legit players. It's bullshit and it's all about $ for SoE. If you can make a profit and SoE says it's ok then all the script kiddies and coders in the world are going to come start finding holes to crack and exploit and dupe items and gold.

Oh and to clarify this is for EQ2 not EQ1......no mention of EQ1 yet.

Yea I see the community getting much smaller while it gets larger with trade items. The legits like ourselves will just hole ourselves up with our guildies and friends as to avoid the ebay-toons. The non-guilded who actually want to play legit will sit LFG longer or take the risk of playing with an "uber-newb"(tm) and wipe over and over again. Get frustrated with the game and go play Guildwars, WoW or some other MMO or quit the MMO genre all together.

It's not going to effect me or my guild we're pretty much focused on one goal and we're going to get there before any of this effects us much.

Now.. another caveat this will add to the recruiting pools of the higher guilds and make recruiting a mess for those officers or people asigned those duties. You'll have to ask for a complete resume and time played screen shot before you can even app to a guild in the future.


As for the EPs being opened to levels. It's kinda already happening with the Kill the God of that zone and gain access. I hate that shit, I worked my ass off to get flagged missing sleep, work, sex and beer to get those flags and what does Sony give me? Some stupid ass charm and some AAs for all that hard work. Bah.. now I'm getting pissed ..

Oh and to clarify this is for EQ2 not EQ1......no mention of EQ1 yet.

We know Fild.. but Sony has already changed the names status of our equipment in EQ1.. NO DROP = NO TRADE ... NO RENT = TEMPORARY or someshit.. I can't remember the complete details. I'm sure one of the anal retantatives around here will correct me and give awesome good rep scores to me for my lack of details.

again, you all can flame me for my spelling an grammatical errors, I like the attention.

Here's some food for fodder. We all have known people who camp certain mobs for loot....now imagine when something like this goes live. You need mobA for a quest but it is camped literally 24/7/365 by "professional" farmers. How does that make ya feel about allowing "exchange servers" ?

We know Fild.. but Sony has already changed the names status of our equipment in EQ1.. NO DROP = NO TRADE ... NO RENT = TEMPORARY or someshit.. I can't remember the complete details. I'm sure one of the anal retantatives around here will correct me and give awesome good rep scores to me for my lack of details.

again, you all can flame me for my spelling an grammatical errors, I like the attention.
There you are! :D

Even if this hits EQLive it still won't change the fact that someone doesn't know how to play their toon. It is like grouping with jerks, ninja looters, or a Trib term, POMS. You find out who they are and tend to avoid them. Their Sony-bay'd (love this term btw) toons will get a rep, and people will start to avoid them. As far as items go there is something to be said for that person who sits and camps or farms for hours on end for items instead of whipin out the ole credit card, and after a 10 sec transaction is the proud new owner of <l33t uber item>.

But SOE on the other hand sees an opportunity to line their pockets with some cash, and they are taking it. Well researching the possibility by testing the waters in EQ2. If it works they will more than likely bring this to all their games. The only bitch that I have about it is if they just create the item, toon, etc. If someone still had to go out, farm, level up I don't think it would be that bad of a deal for the players. Its not like the player base would suddenly be flooded with level 70 toons with a level 1 mentality.

Here's some food for fodder. We all have known people who camp certain mobs for loot....now imagine when something like this goes live. You need mobA for a quest but it is camped literally 24/7/365 by "professional" farmers. How does that make ya feel about allowing "exchange servers" ?

I won't be playing on those servers and if Sony makes it Live on all EQ servers (1 & 2) then I won't be playing Evercrack anymore.

They know not to make it live on all servers because of some poll or voting they've done. So it's probably going to be like the Zek servers where they're special trade servers and it won't go to most of the legits. Hell farmers and high tier guilds are camping all the good loot anyways.

IE: During the first 2 weeks of the Fabled event. The Chardok Kings BP was fucking AWESOME Loot for even a Time+ guilds plate wearing classes. One guild on the Tribunal camped the King & Queen two weeks straight. Unless you were special you didn't get a chance at the drop.

So mobs are camped even without trade servers. Valid argument, weak but valid.

IE: During the first 2 weeks of the Fabled event. The Chardok Kings BP was fucking AWESOME Loot for even a Time+ guilds plate wearing classes. One guild on the Tribunal camped the King & Queen two weeks straight. Unless you were special you didn't get a chance at the drop.

So mobs are camped even without trade servers. Valid argument, weak but valid.Imagine that.
This guild has fully stuffed all its members, but they are still camping the royal couple. Only they make known that they are accepting invitees for the loot, if said invitee pay a 50k plat fee. Some may mouths about it, but it would still be "OK". Now replace those 50k with a new shiny $100 bill. Grats you created a lucrative business!

camped literally 24/7/365 by "professional" farmers



As far as I know that's already been happening in many games already. That Yantas guy parently has people who work for him now, farming the crap out of stuff to sell on that ************** site.


It was only the natural progression of the way things are going. It's a shame though.

2 weeks is piss ants compared to 24/7/365, that was my point not the camp.

can't say player auctions site on here huh?

*GM Ca$hmoney logs in...

/GMcreateitem AwesomeSwordof$$$

*GM Ca$hmoney puts AwesomeSwordof$$$ into the SOE item selling service

*Timmy pays 40 bucks for AwesomeSwordof$$$

*SOE opens their paypal account and says "myyyy preciousssssss...."

P = R - C

Well, C = 0 in this case.

Go SOE you greedy motherfuckers.


Anybody gonna try to say they wont do it, either? You sit right the fuck down, cuz you know they weill, too.

Who needs farmers when the items can just appear effortlessly in the hands of the company that provides the game? All for your almighty dollar of course.

Can anyone say collusion? I'm sure Smed created this so that his employees can make an extra buck or two.

Well we were allowed to vote this past week. I'm curious what the results will be. At first they said that existing servers could be affected then after the monstrous uproar in the community they said well ok exisiting servers will not become exchange servers....yeah right. I don't even care about it anymore and won't until it directly affects me when it does I will cancel and move on to another game.

Well after 6 months of EQ2 I can definitely say I don't believe a damn word SOE says.

Heh, didn't play eq1?

yes I did.......but they told us EQ2 would be different..../sigh

Heh, didn't play eq1?

Rofl! That's a big part of why I *didn't* play EQ2... :)