SOE Station All-Access pass, thirty bucks

If you already have station access then the price hike to Planetside wont be an issue as you get access to that game as part of the package.

But I agree with the bitter sentiments of the quote, Planetside I found to be a potentially fun experience hampered by a complete lack of support and for such an old game ran exceedlingly slowly on my machine (is this some kind of trademarked feature of Sony? To only provide games that will run at low framerates regardless of on what or where its run?)

Is it just me or does it seem like Sony is going out of its way to alienate all of its customers? All the snafus around the PS3, the forced early launch of Vanguard (beta in a box as the MOG army guys called it) in a barely playable form. The whole SWG thing. Continued poor customer service. Numerous media and public relations blunders. And don't get me started on the PSP or Blue-ray. I also read today that they are reducing backwards compatibility on their PS2 titles for the PS3.

As to the increased cost of the Station Access pass. They've almost priced themselves out I think. I have usually 3 MMO subscriptions on the go at any one time, but damned if I can play more than one of them at a time (barring mining in EVE on my laptop while I play something else waiting for my containers to fill). I originally got the pass when I got Vanguard as I was also playing EQ2 at the time and figured well I save a couple of bucks a month. Now though I might as well have individual subscription fees.

It sounds great to have all these games available at the one 'low' price but at the end of the day, particularly with a game type like MMO's you can only play a small number over a month or two and for most people I know that is 2 or 3. But there is usually a clear leader that you will play the majority of the time (it is your focus as you try to level up or whatever your goal happens to be). I mean - MMO's are meant to be immersive - how immersive can they be if Sony is expecting you to play 3+ at once to see any savings in the Station Access pass?

They might actually be making an economic profit in terms of revenue. From their end, the increase in revenue will offset the loss in subscription numbers. They aren't concerned about playerbase unless it positively affects their bottom line. If they downsize and increase their revenue/cost ratio, they've benefited.

According to their math.

Of course, from the consumer standpoint, it's a horrible idea to expect people to pay more for bad and out-of-demand service. Unfortunately, the market is made up of lots of people. While individually they might all come to the conclusion that, in a vacuum, SoE isn't worth even thinking about, a significant enough number of consumers are likely enough to fall for it that SoE stays afloat.

Even if they do go down, I doubt it'll be because of a spectacular failure. Someone higher up will probably decide not that the company has failed but rather that there could be a marginally more efficient allocation of resources. This is the way companies end: not with a bang, but with a whimper.

One can only hope that putting out quality products instead of mindlessly chasing the ever evasive profit margin maximization will spread insidiously throughout the industry's economic projections. Maybe craftsmanship in game design will become the next hot thing and MMO's will be worth the fees charged per unit of game play.

Wishful thinking, unfortunately.