My two week EvE Online trial has come to an end, and now EvE wants me to pay $14.95, each and every month.

Did I have fun? I did. EvE is an exciting, original game. Although the NPC-given missions are fairly cookie-cutter, it’s understood that this is just filler to get you ready for the real game that lives in 0.0 space. EvE doesn’t insist upon leveling or grinding, though there definitely is a grind in the game. But if all you want to do is find rare stuff to mine, you can do that from Day 1 and make a fairly decent living and see a good portion of the universe. But fly your little mining frigate near someone else’s battleship, and soon you’ll be working on the necessary skills to command one yourself.

It comes down to how many monthly fees I want to pay. I am paying for three EQ2 accounts – my two and my son’s – and my money there buys me EQ2; EQ1 (if I ever get it working again); Vanguard (potentially, but it better make itself very different from WoW before I try it again); Gods & Heroes; Pirates of the Burning Sea; quite possibly Star Trek Online; given its EQ heritage, 38 Studios’ effort wouldn’t surprise me if it came on the Station Pass; the Agency; possibly LittleBig World and @Home (unsure if the PS3 stuff uses the Station Pass).

EvE’s monthly fee buys me EvE. That’s all. If they partnered with SOE, or NCSoft, and got more value for their game… then I’d do it. I’d pay that extra money if they were on NCSoft and my fee got me City of Dress-up Dolls, Dungeon Runners, and my favorite game of all time, Auto Assault.

I just can’t afford to play every game I would like to play. EvE Online is a great, influential game. But these days, it isn’t enough to be great – games don’t exist in a vacuum (well…. maybe EvE does…. :P ). There’s a crowded MMO world out there, and people will only be able to afford few of the games they would like to play.

When it comes down to a question of, “would I give up my current game to play your game”, the answer to that question will usually be “no”. When avatar play is added, I may be back for another look.