CCP Games Explains Dust 514 Microtransactions on the PS3

CCP Games surprised a lot of fans when they announced earlier this June that the first person shooter title set to expand the existing universe of their PC-only MMO EVE Online would be exclusive to the Playstation 3. There was also some confusion regarding how their advertised micro-transaction structure would work on a console.  Are we in for more putting our digital money in a virtual bucket?

CCP Games explained to Joystiq that players will pay a $20 “cover charge,” which covers the initial game download as well as providing the player with $20 worth of virtual cash for use in-game.  From then on, players can simply play the basic game to their heart’s content.  But, as CCP proved with Eve Online, nothing in their world is a simple as that.

Just like the preceding MMO – where the market is so thoroughly run by the players that some users have never even fired a shot from their spaceships -  players in Dust 514 might stay wrapped up in the business aspect, CCP suggested.  “I wouldn’t be surprised if we get quite a few EVE players that join Dust but actually don’t play Dust at all, they’re just on the market speculating and they never go into a match.”  

EVE Online is an extremely unique title with a broad audience of players that range from dedicated combat pilots to market savvy business folk that spend their game-time wrapped up in virtual profit charts. Players of Dust 514 will interact with the exact same economy as people playing EVE.

The fact that Dust 514 is a shooter may attract a wider audience and I will certainly be interested to hear how the inclusion of this whole new military industrial complex will shake up the space-market happening above each vicious ground battle.