Sony Online Entertainment has sent the planned implants for Planetside 2 players back to the drawing board after "pay-to-win" backlash.
Fans of Sony Online Entertainment’s popular persistent shooter Planetside 2 were naturally very upset when it was revealed that the various implants (temporary boosts and bonuses players could equip their characters with) which were set to debut in game update 13 would be available for real cash, creating what many feared would be a “pay-to-win” environment within the game.
Fortunatly, SOE has decided to delay the introduction of implants and revise how exactly players can acquire them. Game update 13 is still on schedule, but implants have been cut from the list of features coming with update 13. Reddit users seemed especially vexed, calling the paid implants idea “scummy” and some even accused SOE of blatant lying as the developer had previously promised that no sort of pay-to-win strategy would ever be implemented into the game.
SOE President John Smedley took to Twitter to assure fans that their complaints had been heard and, as a result, implants are being revised and reworked.
After reading through your comments we have decided to go back to the drawing board on implants
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) July 18, 2013
While the idea behind implants was certainly beneficial to the ever-expanding gameplay behind Planetside 2, trying to charge players real money for them wasn’t the best strategy SOE could have come up with. It’s one thing to charge for cosmetic perks like new armor or weapon skins but trying to get players to pay extra for having an increased edge over their opponents is something entirely different.
