A new angle on Plex (perhaps)

In the CCP accounts there is a line in called Deferred Income.  In accounting terms, Deferred Income is where CCP has received cash but the sale relates to a future period.  A good example is someone who pays up front for 6 months of subscriptions - CCP will only recognise portion of the sale as each month passes.

Plex, i suspect, could fall into this camp:

1. Someone buys plex for $15.  So the accounting entry is CCP receives $15 in cash and also has $15 Deferred Income (so far all Balance Sheet items);
2. Then that plex is used to extend game time by 1 month so CCP then recognises the sale of $15 and cancels the $15 Deferred Income (so now CCP can recognise the $15 on the Profit & Loss account as revenue)

In the CCP accounts there used to be one line called Deferred Income but since the end of 2013 it is now split into:

• Subscriptions
• In-game purchases not yet consumed
• Sale of goods not yet delivered

It is clear what "Subscriptions" is.  I am not sure what "Sale of goods not yet delivered" is - but it is a small amount so we can safely ignore it.  I greatly suspect "In-game purchases not yet consumed" are Plex that have been created but not yet used and/or Aurum that has been bought but not yet used.  I.e. Plex sitting in hangers or on the market for sale + Aurum that is sitting in peoples accounts.  Unless there is something else players can pay real money for?

Below is the relevant part of the CCP accounts:

Deferred Income	2012	2013	2014 H1
Subscriptions	3,964,814	4,359,823	4,297,855
In-game purchases not yet consumed	1,067,512	2,108,158	2,302,098
Sale of goods not yet delivered	198,376	137,791	52,214
	5,230,702	6,605,772	6,652,167

If we focus on the line "In-game purchases not yet consumed".  At December 2012 it was $1.1m, at December 2013 it was $2.1m and at June 2014 it was $2.3m.

Now, if i make the rash assumption that Aurum is spent immediately it is acquired then the value of Plex in the game doubled during 2013 but has only increased by 10% in the six months to June 2014.  If i then make the assumption that the price of Plex is $15 (i know, there were discounts etc) then at December 2012 there was 71,000 Plex in the game, in December 2013 there was 141,000 Plex in the game and as at June 2014 there was 153,000 Plex in the game.

In some ways this does not add much to the debate on the price of Plex though it does suggest only a net 13,000 additional Plex were created in the last six months (= Gross creations of Plex less Gross usage of Plex).

That may mean holders of Plex have slowed down their buying (i.e. not so much of an increase of Plex sitting in hangers or on the market) or the creators of Plex have slowed down their creation (i.e. less people creating Plex by paying the $15).

Given the price of Plex has been rising i suspect it is the supply of Plex that has slowed.  I suspect that people buy the Plex to create the ISK and as the price of Plex gives more ISK then less Plex need be bought.

Unfortunately for us, there is not much narrative with the CCP accounts and so I can only make assumptions at this stage.  In the Prospectus issued in June 2013 there was much more detail.