Tell that to people that get blown up in PVP, or who get to name a jump point, or get a cap-ship, or a space station. You can win in both games, SC is P2W and has been from the start, even more so now that we have AC to "play". CIG is directly selling power to the player base, ED has not since KS, and even then the power jump from a sidewinder to a Cobra is nothing compared to the power jump from an Aurora to just a Hornet, nvm to the larger ships. Also FD does not let you buy weapons, while CIG do, starting out in a poorly fitted cobra with very little founds is in no way comparable to starting out in a Hornet or larger ships with a ton of credits, and ships that can be sold, to outfit your ship with. Not even counting just purchases those fittings directly.
You also have to look at the scale of the games, ED will never be fully explored, meaning that if you want to explore you will always have that option. This is just not true in SC, who ever spends the money now will have a massive advantage in exploration over those that don't. SC also has stations to capture, the guilds that spend the money will have massive advantages over those that don't, same for Capital ships.
CIG is making its money selling power and player advantages. Just wait, when the FPS module comes out, you will be able to buy guns in the cash shop.
To address these points one by one, as there is an awful lot of assumptions here ...
When you refer to "people that get blown up in PvP", are you referring to AC or the persistent universe? AC is a part of the whole and can't be used to judge anything other than graphics and the flight model. In the persistent universe, there will be a match-making system. Why would the match-making system match you with people who are in far more powerful ships? I'm not saying it won't happen, but it's obvious to anyone who cares to think about it that a match-making is about keeping things close to equal. Looking at this closely, the more relevant point would be to ask, What do those people who've bought the huge ships actually do, since their match-making pool will be much smaller? Cruise about looking cool, I expect.
Why would a more expensive ship allow you to find and thus get your name on a jump point? Because you have a racing ship, perhaps, that is very fast? Also much flimsier and difficult to fight with, upping the risk. I'd expect that using an Idris to find new jump points would be slow and tedious but very safe. Am I missing some aspect of this?
Capital ships and space stations? I don't know how these will figure into the scheme of things, and neither does anyone else, so there's no point to make here. Are you suggesting the scenario that 10 hornets could be fighting over a space station, then an Idris turns up and slaps them all down? Again, match-making should avoid this. I also expect a certain amount of rock-paper-scissors, with such things as Idris captains ting themselves when a group of bombers turn up.
I don't really understand your point about SC being P2W now that there is AC to "play", and the strange comparison between Aurora and Hornet. Of course there are going to be ships that are better at dog-fighting, but they'll also be poor at other things. Again, AC is part of the game, not the whole game. Surely you realize that the Aurora has more cargo space than the Hornet, so has a different focus in the overall game? Why would you expect it to be equal in combat? Different horses for different courses.
They let you buy weapons? Where exactly? The only weapons on the store are for in-game credits. I think?
You have a point with the scale of the games, but it's hard to say how much of a point. I still have trouble visualizing how SC will work with 200 systems and hundreds of thousands of people and only a limited number of *things* to find. I'm skeptical that they can pull it off and make a huge game, but I'll judge this properly when there's more info the persistent universe.
Your stuff about guilds is badly thought out. Whenever a large group of people band together, they always have an advantage, whether they can buy advantages with real money or not. The only solution is another large group of people. So, inevitably, these two subsets end up creating their own meta-game within the game - perhaps fueled by money, yes, but they are only going to be crapping on each other's parade, so why would anyone else care? This is just what happened in EVE, but instead was about time invested rather than money.
The only authentic problem with P2W will be the cowardly gankers, if they find flaws in the match-making system. But every game, including Elite, will have those. Whether they are created via money or obsession. It is the way of things. Why would you expect SC to be any different?
In short, ask the question of P2W when there's something more tangible to judge. Honestly, comparing Elite and SC at the moment is like comparing a small, tasty apple with a picture of a non-existent, juicy orange.
P.S I'd love to see the numbers on how many people had bought starter ships compared to how many people had pledged further on the more expensive ships. I have a feeling that it will be a very small percentage that don't have a 300i, Hornet or Aurora. Yet that small percentage is also probably the most vocal and rabid.
