Instead Of Pandas

One of the arguments we heard in favor of the Aurum store in Eve Online last year was that CCP needed the capability to keep up with the competition in the area of cash shops.  I don't think CCP has too much to fear in that department anymore with a cash shop providing the major revenue source for DUST 514, but the fallout from the controversy around Incarna left the Icelandic company seriously behind in a critical technology for today's MMORPGs: pandas.

So how is CCP trying to compete with Blizzard, whose release of Mists of Pandaria this week mocks CCP's technological backwardness?  They are reaching back in time and running a live event in advance of Eve Online's winter expansion and the integration of DUST 514 into the New Eden universe.  CCP's live events tend to run for weeks as the player base experienced in the run-up to the Incursion expansion released in November 2010. 

CCP doesn't just come out and state a live event is planned or underway.  They tend to leak the news out to various outlets.  I know that one place was Tech 4 News, which published clues that a live event was about to begin.  A few hours later the Angel Cartel conducted a raid on the Genesis Vaults on Oddelulf III in Molden Heath.  During the fighting capsuleer pirates aided the Angel Cartel and the anti-Angel forces were unable to thwart the raid.

Defending forces began to plan for the next Angel attack on the second of the Genesis Vaults sites.  The site originally was believed to be on Yishinoon II in Derelik, but that information was questioned as why would the Matar Society for Natural Preservation run a site in Ammatar space?  Further inquiries discovered the true second location on Bogelek II.

For those unaware of the planet, Bogelek II is a temperate planet in the Akaimamur constellation of Heimatar.  Located in a system with a security status of .4, the system boasts one station operated by the Gallente Aliastra corporation.  The station 4 jumps from the nearest outlet to high security space only has refining and repair facilities.  At this time I can't tell you if the station has a celestial object suitable for use as a destination for an instawarp destination when leaving the station.  While I've operated in the area, that was a couple of months ago and I've forgotten because I just went ahead and made a bookmark for the purpose.

If past history holds form then Oddelulf and Bogelek are just the first shots fired in the live event.  I expect the live event to extend through the launch of the winter expansion, which historically is the last week in November or in early December.  If CCP wanted to integrate DUST into Eve, then I can't think of a more epic way to do so than through a live event.