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EVE Online Celebrates Five Years With A Surprise
Posted by Kotaku US Edition at 4:30 AM on May 9, 2008
CCP's EVE Online fans have a "surprise gift" in store for current subscribers who log in after May 6th, to celebrate the game's five-year anniversary. Ooh, what is it?
The MMO biz is a capricious one, and most online games tend toward a naturally short lifecycle. Five years is a big deal for EVE, which distinguishes itself through both its aim to develop a realistic player "society" and its sophisticated in-game economy - they were the first MMO I'm aware of to hire a real-world professional economist in Dr. Eyjo Guðmundsson to manage it, and since then other virtual worlds and online games, such as Gaia Online, have followed suit. Many critics, like the PC gaming mavens of Rock Paper Shotgun, believe the industry can learn a lot from EVE.
Full release follows the jump, in which CCP has delineated what it considers EVE's "milestones" over its five-year run.
EVE Online Celebrates Five Years of Unprecedented Achievements in Online GamingThe unique Sci-Fi MMO celebrates its 5th year of non-stop growth with an anniversary gift for subscribers
REYKJAVIK, Iceland—(BUSINESS WIRE)—CCP, one of the world's leading independent game developers, this week celebrates the five-year anniversary of its leading sci-fi massively multiplayer online game (MMO), EVE Online. What began as a highly advanced game, requiring a tremendous amount of skill and dedication from its players, has evolved into a fully functional, complex society that continues to attract loyal, active players. To commemorate EVE Online's five-year anniversary, current subscribers will receive a surprise in-game gift upon logging in after May 6, 2008.
Since its inception, EVE Online has achieved milestones in online gaming every year. Highlights include:
2003
May 6, 2003 - The highly anticipated EVE Online goes gold and comes out of beta to launch to the public.
August 13, 2003 - EVE Online earns CCP a place as a finalist for the prestigious 'Develop Industry Excellence Awards' in the category 'Best Online Development Studio'.
2004
April 26, 2004 - EVE Online breaks the 10,000 peak concurrent users threshold, with 10,396 players logged in at the same time in the same world, thus confirming the viability of the "one world" game vision.
2005
September 22, 2005 - In a little more than two years, EVE Online surpasses the 70,000 active subscriber mark.
2006
September 14, 2006 - EVE Online implements the massive improvements to its hardware infrastructure, enabling the capacity for up to 50,000 concurrent users.
November 11, 2006 - CCP merges with White Wolf Publishing, Inc., the world's second largest developer of offline role-playing, strategy and collectible card games, to become one of the industry's largest independent developers of virtual worlds.
2007
June 26, 2007 - CCP appoints the first Ph.D. economist, Dr. Eyjo Guðmundsson, to monitor and report on the status of EVE Online's economy, track political trends and follow the value of EVE's in-game currency, interstellar kredits (ISK).
November 16, 2007 - EVE Online's subscriber base shatters the 200,000 mark.
2008
March 9, 2008 - EVE Online sets a new peak concurrent user (PCU) record of 42,711.
March 19, 2008 - CCP announces the formation of the Council of Stellar Management (CSM), the first democratically elected governing body in a virtual world. Elections for the CSM began on May 5, 2008.
"As the EVE universe has evolved into a sophisticated society, it has attracted and maintained the interest of highly skilled, enthusiastic players at steadily increasing growth rates," said Nathan Richardsson, executive producer at CCP. "Looking ahead, CCP is focused on making EVE Online even more immersive and invigorating, and advancing the online gaming industry as a whole."
The next free expansion of EVE Online, called EVE Online: Empyrean Age, is slated to launch in summer 2008 and will give players the opportunity to support one of the four major empires with the introduction of Factional Warfare.
About EVE Online
Set tens of thousands of years in the future, EVE Online is a breathtaking journey to the stars, to an immersive experience filled with adventure, riches, danger and glory. With over 220,000 subscribers worldwide inhabiting the same virtual universe, EVE features a vast player-run economy where your greatest asset is the starship, designed to accommodate your specific needs, skills and ambitions. EVE offers professions ranging from commodities trader to mercenary, industrial entrepreneur to pirate, mining engineer to battle fleet commander or any combination of these and much more. From brokering business deals to waging war, you will have access to a diverse array of sophisticated tools and interfaces to forge your own destiny in EVE. Learn more and sign up for a free, 14-day trial at www.eve-online.com.
Definition of Subscribers
EVE Online subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active electronic time code (ETC) to play EVE Online, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions and expired ETCs.
About CCP
CCP is recognised internationally as an industry-leading pioneer of the single-server persistent universe architecture as the developer and publisher of EVE Online, the critically-acclaimed, science fiction-based massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). Utilizing a cross-discipline approach combining cutting-edge technology and artistic excellence, CCP is dedicated to providing vibrant, compelling products that transcend the boundaries of conventional MMOGs and facilitate social networking through virtual worlds. Founded in 1997 and privately held, the company is headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, with offices in Atlanta, London and Shanghai. More information about CCP is available at the company's website, www.ccpgames.com.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Mara
Posted 5:37 AM 9/5/08
EVE is definitely the best sci-fi MMO out.
Mara
Sentientv2
Posted 5:20 AM 9/5/08
@Edmon: Two sandwiches? Careful buddy.
Sentientv2
Schabrak
Posted 5:17 AM 9/5/08
@dreamshade: So it's a ultra perfect game for every FFXI player?^^
Schabrak
Edmon
Posted 5:13 AM 9/5/08
I'd comment, but I've a sandwich to make.
Edmon
Edmon
Posted 5:12 AM 9/5/08
I'd comment on this, but I've a sandwich to make.
Edmon
Coquiton
Posted 5:09 AM 9/5/08
EVE is such a good game. I wish I could get into it more, but it's too slow for my tastes.
The whole concept of players running everything is mouthwatering. But seeing as I start out as little more than space dirt, it's kinda boring getting up to speed.
Maybe once they get their avatar upgrade thing it will be more fun...
Coquiton
dreamshade
Posted 5:01 AM 9/5/08
And thus, EVE became an even more awesome place.
...for people who have already been playing the game for four years and have a well-established power base. :D
I'm sure EvE is a fun game, but whenever anyone recommends I try it and then tells me just how long I'd have to play before I'd be able to do anything that matters, I can't help but roll my eyes (one friend even suggested that I play the game for six months, then sell that account and use it to buy an account that'd been around for two years from someone else). The council sounds like a really neat thing to put in a game, but I'm wondering how many people will actually be affected by it.
dreamshade
KroKan
Posted 5:00 AM 9/5/08
Well if I wasnt such an action man, I could be playing EVE. I tried it for 2 weeks, it was mostly boring but a really SOLID game. Especially the community is AWESOME! I met lots of great people in just 15 days!
Good job, congratulations to all the space pirates out there!
KroKan
Dyson
Posted 4:57 AM 9/5/08
So..what is the gift? ._.
Dyson
Floral
Posted 4:57 AM 9/5/08
Awesome.
Anyone here (or know anyone) played it for 3 or 4 plus years?
What's it like to invest that much time in a virtual life?
Floral
Kamakazie
Posted 4:52 AM 9/5/08
Best MMO out there. Good job, CCP!
Kamakazie
Eothein
Posted 4:50 AM 9/5/08
The awesome gift is the gift of knowing that all your effort has gone towards helping make the universe a better place to grind.
Eothein
Derigor
Posted 4:41 AM 9/5/08
It is so hard to comment on this story with a picture of Chun Li's side boobs right below it.
I'll try. Yea! EVE happy 5th birthday!
Derigor
CaptMonkey
Posted 5:49 AM 9/5/08
EVE is a good game, I played it for a couple of months, it was just too slow for my tastes. Lots of good stuff there, just not enough excitement to hold my interest.
CaptMonkey
AceKicker
Posted 5:48 AM 9/5/08
@Kaedex: Funny, thats what I do for WoW, LotRO, EQ2, Lineage, RFO, DAoC,...
AceKicker
Kaedex
Posted 5:46 AM 9/5/08
Whenever I heard of "EVE" I auto-yawn..
Kaedex
marlblank
Posted 6:34 AM 9/5/08
Eve online has the BEST trolling community of the internet. I only played the free trail and decided it wasn't worth the money, but occasionally I drop by on the forums to see what corporations have been grieved, how corp A destroyed a titan of corp B etc etc...
It really is a quite funny community, but I found them quite helpfull during my trial.
marlblank
antialias02
Posted 6:11 AM 9/5/08
I played EVE for two hours before I got bored with it. The learning curve is through the roof, and it progresses really slow. For that pace I'd much rather be playing Sins of a Solar Empire and actually enjoying myself.
Also, developers cheating with certain groups in-game puts a sour taste in your mouth. I realize that's all in the past now, but it takes a lot to come back from a blow like that.
Even so, I recognize and salute the hard work CCP has put into this game over the years. Hats off to them, and to those who enjoy the game.
antialias02
Raziel66
Posted 6:54 AM 9/5/08
@Satarius: Thanks! Doesn't sound like much of a gift though :(
Raziel66
Raziel66
Posted 6:54 AM 9/5/08
I tried the trial for the game a while back. I was really into at first until I realized how tedious and boring everything was (to me) and I gave up on it. Traveling through 30 jump points to deliver a package took too much of my life. Here's hoping Conan will deliver the MMO experience I am looking for.
So anyway... what's the gift? It's after the 6th. Has nobody logged on?
Raziel66
Satarius
Posted 6:48 AM 9/5/08
In case you were wondering what the gift was, they gave a bunch of stuff to a corp who hold lotteries. Included is a signed art book, isk, game time cards, and 2 custom, GM-style ships.
The tickets are 1000 isk each, max of 50,000 per person...
Satarius
Rustedfaith
Posted 7:56 AM 9/5/08
yea it's a shuttle, nothing special, just not belonging to one of the 4 races. no special abilities or anything
Rustedfaith
red
Posted 7:33 AM 9/5/08
the gift is a unique shuttle. mine was given to me somewhere im not currently at so i havent looked at it yet.
unless it has some secret ability or can be redeemed next year for something, its pretty weaksauce. not a patch on the snowball launchers a few years back.
red
Shikome
Posted 8:32 AM 9/5/08
Been playing EvE on and off since release!
I oh so love it still!
Shikome
mikemil828
Posted 8:31 AM 9/5/08
Since the shuttles came out, I've been noticing that its becoming a much more favorite pastime of other players to suicide gank those who decide to take their fancy shuttles on a test run. I wonder how many of the shuttles are still left in the world.
mikemil828
Anaxymander
Posted 8:09 AM 9/5/08
Yay CCP! gratzi!
Me love me some EVE,oh boy oh boy I do.
Anaxymander
Recusor
Posted 8:04 AM 9/5/08
the shuttle, provided by a corporation called the Society of Concious Thought, is based off of the jovian design and was placed in the same station as where your clone is located.
Recusor
Recusor
Posted 8:49 AM 9/5/08
@mikemil828: hehehe yeah, theyre going to become collectibles soon i think.
Recusor
Robin64
Posted 7:56 AM 9/5/08
I tried EVE recently using the free trial, but geez.. The game was horrible slow, overly complex and just so empty. It became a case of warping to a stargate, jumping, warping to the next one, jumping, and so on for quite a while in many cases.
Levelling up of skills while you're offline is neat, but that can't save the game I'm afraid.
It's a shame, I really enjoyed Elite back in the day and thought this would be a superb online version of that.
Robin64
Paladin58
Posted 1:50 PM 9/5/08
I might try and get back in... Have to say, EVE is the only MMO I can stand, because everything is dependent on the player.
Paladin58
The Red Comet
Posted 3:00 PM 9/5/08
This game seems interesting, but I'm not much of an MMO person. I'm not up for the monthly fee, either.
The Red Comet
M. Kava
Posted 6:13 PM 9/5/08
I really enjoyed EVE when I played the two-week trial but the speed of the game was honestly too slow for me. I've played space-based MMOs before (Space Federation, anyone? Early 2004 vet right here.) and this one was solid, really solid, but just too damn slow. At the end of the trial, I was finally established enough to make some cash and actually grow at a good pace. But I was still a horribly small fish to be fried by somebody who was slightly more established.
Congrats EVE and its developers. Nice work. :)
Now to reduce the monthly fee a little... been around for five years and all.... :)
M. Kava