EVE Online, Monocles and Microtransactions: Who Really Wrote CEO's Apology?

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Just another sign that you can always delegate that pesky human/customer relationship business to a team of people who might sort of care before retiring to your gigantic bed of $100 dollar bills.

Not a part of EVE but I know I'd be insulted to learn that an apology wasn't written by the man who's name it is attributed to. A speech is kind of different because we get to watch their face and hear in their voice whether or not they believe what they are reading but just throwing something on a website and claiming it is yours works on a basis of trust.

Kudos to whoever tracked down Nick Blood.

 

[BaronIveagh]

He told the fiction guys to write some spin and had PR put his name on it.

It';s a big slap in the face to all the eve players who've been bragging for all these years how they got him to 'apologize' for incarna when they bluntly did no such thing.

 

[Sanunes]

Having worked for a gaming company that produced a very famous browser MMO, I remember the times when the owner / lead programmer or his sibling (also a coder on the game) posted of their own accord on the forums it was completely RED ALERT DISASTER MODE ENGAGE for the customer relations department. Those guys were so socially retarded they probably had doctor's notes for it... so, I know for a fact it's often best left to another person / people to write such statements because if left to the guy in charge to pen himself, it'll only make things worse.

I believe you.

However, isn't that just an incredibly sad thing in itself? That those who are "in charge" of so many people are incapable of any social understanding with people in general?
The ones responsible for the whole organisation should at least have some empathy and knowledge about the parts of the same organisation imo.

We've come so far that we find these kinds of things normal. Screw that, they're not.

Honestly, the reason why people have PR departments and such write these letters is that they will be pulled apart and analyzed to the point of finding some fault. So they have professionals write or review anything that is posted externally for they don't want to have the issues with social media and being called liars or shown how their apology is wrong because they got one fact slightly different then the public sees it. The internet is full of statements that have been twisted because of how people wanted to view those statements, look at EA when they made their comment about "every game will have a social aspect" it instantly becomes "every game will have multiplayer".

 

[Vegosiux]

Bigwigs delegating PR to PR people? Why, that's just outrageous!

You know what, I'm in a bad enough mood to say I'm happy this "epiphany" happened. Because anyone who thinks they actually forced him into submission, deserves to have their egos deflated.

Nice to see the truth finally leaking out. The apology that never was. If you do not mean the words you are saying, then you are not apologizing, just lying (again).

Fancy CEO suit...7.500?
Fancy CEO car...75.000?
Having your PR department say what people want to hear, then laughing in their faces when they realize you didn't mean it...priceless.

Then again, what does it matter? CCP changed their ways in the direction the playerbase wanted them to be changed in. But who cares, our fragile egos are hurt because that self-absorbed twas wasn't genuinely remorseful...and that's terrible.

 

[BaronIveagh]

WEll, for even more entertainment, CCP's ISD mods official line is that it's all rumors and slanderous attacks against CCP staff.

 

[Blackbird71]

Bigwigs delegating PR to PR people? Why, that's just outrageous!

Except it wasn't the PR people - it was the people responsible for writing the in-game fiction and lore.

 

[Vegosiux]

Bigwigs delegating PR to PR people? Why, that's just outrageous!

Except it wasn't the PR people - it was the people responsible for writing the in-game fiction and lore.

Oh, how silly of me to overlook that[footnote]Not sarcasm.[/footnote]. Right well, then it was fiction-writers to whip up something sounding like heartfelt apology. Still nothing surprising or anything...

 

[JarinArenos]

Not surprising in the least. EVE's developers have their collective heads shoved so far up their own backsides that they're even driving away some of their biggest supporters [http://jestertrek.blogspot.com/]. They've fostered a community so inbred and toxic that the CEO being unable to craft something resembling an apology is practically a given.

 

[Karathos]

Oh sweet Jesus, the man that employs writers used said writes to WRITE SOMETHING. STOP THE GODDAMN PRESSES.

I'm not sure if I should be laughing or crying (or both) at this Nick Blood fellow and his big 'reveal'. Next he'll probably reveal that the CEO had the catering department whip up a big cake. Outrageous - using people you hired for the exact task they were hired for. This guy is bitter about something; very bitter. And he needs to get over it.

 

[BodomBeachChild]

Wow, absolutely crazy news! Next thing you know you'll be telling us politicians use speech writers.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Be right back, hiring someone to apologize to everyone I might have wronged in the past. Sure, I don't mean it, but hey, that's what those people are hired to do.

They did change their ways, which is a good thing and shows that the company won't back down on their promises. But that doesn't change the fact that the CEO has basically said "I don't care enough about the fans, so I'll just have my writers write the apology to shut them up." If it was a PR department, I'd understand. But this was taking scriptwriters, PEOPLE WHO DEAL IN FICTIONAL STORIES, to write an apology for him. That, I'd say, is a fairly big deal.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

Point 1 Just because something happens all the time, that doesn't make it okay. This CEO guy wanted people to think he was taking responsibility and issuing a heartfelt personal apology, yet he had someone else do the hard part for him. That ain't classy. You don't make other people apologize for you when you screw up.

Or, if you aren't a particularly effective communicator, you are allowed to get other people to help you prepare a statement so that you get across what you really want to say.

 

[Spartan448]

Basically the fallout of this is that people who play EVE don't care because this is REALLY old news at this point and we're getting cool new Mordu's Legion ships, and some much-needed Caldari redesigns (no love for the Osprey yet tho), and because we all realize how strangely EVE-like this whole situation is. People who don't play EVE will be all like "OH NOES THE CEO OF A COMPANY WHOSE GAME I DON'T PLAY LIED!!", and CCP won't care because those people don't play the game.

 

[Vareoth]

So, a disgruntled ex-employee claims to know something "bad" about his ex-employer? Somehow I don't think that I'm really inclined to believe him by his word alone...

 

[DementedSheep]

Yeah...that doesn't bother me. You have PR in a company for a reason. Even if someone else wrote it it doesn't mean he doesn't actually feel that way. If he had it doesn't mean he believes it just means he's a good bullshitter. Some people are just better at getting the proper words on paper without misunderstanding than others and if CEO you want the best wording possible because its going to get scrutinised.

 

[Strazdas]

Ech, ever since that "incident" there was a shift in how the game is designed and its goals. and they are the ones that i like. Still playing so far, but even my patience has limits. So far they sucesfully ruined almost everything i enjoyed in the game.

I hope you're taking notes.

this. indeed actual journalism is so rare on the internet now that we need to celebrate it.

 

[Strazdas]

EVE was always only for a certain type of person. The encouraged arsehole behavior from parts of the community coupled with it's systems for elitism all bound together by a large amount of real money being spent all added up to something many types of gamer simply wouldn't want to play. There is also the complexity of the game it's self. Usually games with that much in common with a spreadsheet are gentile, polite affairs populated by men with beards who also refurbish steam trains in their spare time. But CPC turned that environment into a pit of dickholes.

And yes. Proper journalism online, especially in regards to games, is like unicorn tears.

they didnt encourage it as much as they didnt interfere. you know, concept of the sandbox and all.
Real money isnt that much of a deal in Eve actually. most sites like to report on real life money value lost ect but its just worth estimation based on price of game time can can be bought by real money and by ingame alike. the recent battle that made them loose hundreds of thousadns dollars actually didnt. id be surprised if more than 1% of that sum was actually funded by real life money that was sold off as plexes. most of it was made ingame and isnt that much money laundering.

Granted Eve is not for everyone, and it never tried to be. Its a niche game, it does what it does well, but it doesnt do other things well if at all.

The community really isnt as bad. few loudmouths are there, yes, but 99% of people i met ingame were actually nice people. heck, i met nice scammers that i had long conversations with. there are dicks everywhere, does not mean everyone are dicks.
Also not sure if you mistyped, but its CCP.

 

[CyborgGinger]

I believe you.

However, isn't that just an incredibly sad thing in itself? That those who are "in charge" of so many people are incapable of any social understanding with people in general?
The ones responsible for the whole organisation should at least have some empathy and knowledge about the parts of the same organisation imo.

We've come so far that we find these kinds of things normal. Screw that, they're not.

This is why he wasn't the CEO, thankfully!

Someone literally found the owner's polar opposite to be CEO. Whilst the owner loved nothing more than to be locked away in his office, quite removed from the entirety of the company (so he could just busily work away on the game), the CEO was a sandal wearing, beach blonde long-haired, perma tanned Lothario. A brilliant character, quite honestly, who knew how to run a proper bar tab!

This is why CEOs exist. I think quite rarely the owner/founder goes on to be CEO. Having a brilliant and original idea does not automatically translate into social skills or business savvy of course.

 

[Elijin]

Who bloody cares who wrote it?

It was written and made public and signed off as official. That means the company has apologised, and it doesnt matter an ounce whether the CEO wrote it or the PR or their professional writers. They have officially expressed apology, it is the companies stance.

I mean, lets be honest. The CEO probably isnt sorry. His job is to run the place, delegate things and take stupid meetings. Unless he's one of the rare CEO's who is ultra passionate, he's not even remotely sorry that they tried something and it failed. The guy who actually had the job of fine tuning the idea? They're probably sorry.