I See Free to Play on the Horizon

Blade_07

I just keep seeing way to many pissed off people on here and get that bad feeling that Zenimax will be forced to make it free to play. I seriously hope like hell I'm flat out wrong cuz free to play opens the flood gates on those seriously annoying gold spammers!!! And I'm a serious Elder Scrolls fan and would hate to see ESO fail.

cjmarsh725b14_ESO

If you think free to play means a game is a failure, then you don't understand the free to play business model.

sinraven1642

Yeah... they would prolly make more money going free to play. I know that I tend to spend more than 15 bucks a month on a free to play game myself. ^_^

zeuseason

f2p games typically make much more money than subs, but I don't see this game going f2p......but I also don't see a large player base within the next year.

Arsenic_Touch

Sorry chicken little, the sky isn't falling.

babylon

Better not go f2p.

GrimCyclone

cjmarsh725b14_ESO wrote: »

If you think free to play means a game is a failure, then you don't understand the free to play business model.

Sorry, it means it's a failure. They failed to meet the expectations set in their projections so they had to change business models.

Doesn't mean F2P is a failure. Just means the game is.

Blade_07

True, NCSoft(Aion) makes good money with free to play. But it opens the flood gates on gold spamming!

oxygen_boarderb16_ESO

The last f2p game I played, I spent a ridiculous amount of money on without noticing. At least subs are easier to budget. Oh wait, you just want to be a freeloader and not participate in funding the game even if it went free. Gotchya.

mutharex

I see dead people...

Ah it's "too" not "to", if you gonna flame, flame with proper spelling

Blade_07

GrimCyclone wrote: »

cjmarsh725b14_ESO wrote: »

If you think free to play means a game is a failure, then you don't understand the free to play business model.

Sorry, it means it's a failure. They failed to meet the expectations set in their projections so they had to change business models.

Doesn't mean F2P is a failure. Just means the game is.

Indeed....what he said!!!

Tavore1138

Right now I am buying in for a 6 month sub on the basis that it took several months for them to iron out bugs in previous TES games and as of now the core stuff (most quests, PvP, crafting etc) is working reasonably well. No backwards flying dragons and unlike, say, Daggerfall we are able to finish the main quest.

I am playing the game in most of my free time and enjoying it when I don't let myself get distracted by admittedly annoying things like bots and missing achievements.

So I am throwing money down in the hopes that it will not become free to play/pay to win because at that point I'd have to quit.

Catches_the_Sun

I see Free to Pay on the Horizon too. Take this afternoon, for example. I'll be free to play ESO all afternoon. Yaaaaaay.

Seriously though, if you think these Forums are representative of the majority of ESO gamers, you'd be wrong.

mutharex

Blade_07 wrote: »

GrimCyclone wrote: »

cjmarsh725b14_ESO wrote: »

If you think free to play means a game is a failure, then you don't understand the free to play business model.

Sorry, it means it's a failure. They failed to meet the expectations set in their projections so they had to change business models.

Doesn't mean F2P is a failure. Just means the game is.

Indeed....what he said!!!

So are you 'concerned'? I am just trying to classify your type for studies.
Can I send you a short questionnaire?

daneyulebub17_ESO

I see free to play on the horizon

Better get your eyes checked, troll.

Blade_07

I was mostly a free loader on Aion but mainly cuz there store items where way over priced for my taste and budget. But hated the FACT that it then turns into a game of pay-to-win!!! >.<

SantieClaws

I saw LOTRO destroyed by going F2P. Evey little thing became a chance for them to squeeze money out of the playerbase. Totally ruined gameplay and any sense of immersion. Festival quests could only be played more than once if you paid up, the best stats were only available to those who paid more for the relevant tomes, all the best clothing etc was in the store and not available though any means in the game. A game that was once so good now won't even be releasing an expansion this year.

F2P means the game has been handed over to the accountants to pillage and burn as they see fit.

I hope never to see that happen to this game.

daneyulebub17_ESO

wenxue2222b16_ESO wrote: »

I saw LOTRO destroyed by going F2P. Evey little thing became a chance for them to squeeze money out of the playerbase. Totally ruined gameplay and any sense of immersion. Festival quests could only be played more than once if you paid up, the best stats were only available to those who paid more for the relevant tomes, all the best clothing etc was in the store and not available though any means in the game. A game that was once so good now won't even be releasing an expansion this year.

F2P means the game has been handed over to the accountants to pillage and burn as they see fit.

I hope never to see that happen to this game.

Yep. Doubt I'd be here, if Lotro hadn't gone F2P.

Anastasia

Blade_07 wrote: »

I just keep seeing way to many pissed off people on here and get that bad feeling that Zenimax will be forced to make it free to play. I seriously hope like hell I'm flat out wrong cuz free to play opens the flood gates on those seriously annoying gold spammers!!! And I'm a serious Elder Scrolls fan and would hate to see ESO fail.

---

Literally juxtapose that bolded phrase with what we have now.

o-0

When the sky falls, then we will pronounce it. Right now, no one has a crystal ball. Less barking and more wagging please.

sevcik.miroslaveb17_ESO

I rar

oxygen_boarderb16_ESO wrote: »

The last f2p game I played, I spent a ridiculous amount of money on without noticing. At least subs are easier to budget. Oh wait, you just want to be a freeloader and not participate in funding the game even if it went free. Gotchya.

I rarely spend money on free to play games. Those are free, why should I pay for it...

I spent a few cash on APB (20 euro) after I noticed that I had 1100hours in that game. It was my thank you and good bye as well.

Then I spent around 30 euro on war thunder after few hundreds flight hours.

But no other F2P game saw my money. I am willing to pay only to say thank you for good time with your game. Which happens after hundreds of hours.

F2P mmos are no go for me. Usualy those turn into pay to win.

oxygen_boarderb16_ESO

They might turn it in to Korean style gambling F2P. MMM I love gambling on loot boxes.

Blade_07

I'm proud to say that FFXI is still a pay to play game after over12 years old! And its 99% gold spammer free!!! I see my self going back to it pretty soon. Not gunna leave ESO but I'm just gunna open my accounts back up so I can play a game with a HUGE amount of depth and challenge! You really gotta know your *** in that game or you will be lost. You must really know how to play your class well and be geared correctly to be any good in that game. Not a game for WoW babies!

Jeremy

Blade_07 wrote: »

I just keep seeing way to many pissed off people on here and get that bad feeling that Zenimax will be forced to make it free to play. I seriously hope like hell I'm flat out wrong cuz free to play opens the flood gates on those seriously annoying gold spammers!!! And I'm a serious Elder Scrolls fan and would hate to see ESO fail.

After many years of playing MMORPGs: I believe one of the main issues with this genre is the developers do not have to just please the individual player. They also have to please all of that individual player's friends, relatives, and of course the infamous girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband.

That's because it's an online multi-player game. People tend to play these types of games so they can play with other people they know. And I've become convinced this is why MMORPGs oftentimes have to water-down their gameplay and challenge in an effort to appeal to the broader masses. Because there is always that one person or group of people within every social circle that doesn't particularly like challenging gameplay or RPG games in general.

In other words: MMORPGs are becoming more like a form of social media. They are no longer about the RPG elements that once defined the genre. So ironically and in many ways, the strengths of Elder Scrolls that many RPG veterans will appreciate could wind up being its weakness.

mutharex

Blade_07 wrote: »

I'm proud to say that FFXI is still a pay to play game after over12 years old! And its 99% gold spammer free!!! I see my self going back to it pretty soon. Not gunna leave ESO but I'm just gunna open my accounts back up so I can play a game with a HUGE amount of depth and challenge! You really gotta know your *** in that game or you will be lost. You must really know how to play your class well and be geared correctly to be any good in that game. Not a game for WoW babies!

And we should care because.... ?

ThePonzzz

F2P doesn't mean what you think it means. Everything would just shift to microtransactions. Releases like Craglorn would be pay-for-expansions.

Now, I wouldn't be opposed to a $9.95 subscription. Right now, that's what I feel like things are worth.

nerevarine1138

I see another useless thread about free-to-play right in front of me.

This horse is dead. It has been beaten into a barely-recognizable pulp. I mean, it might be a cow for all I can tell. But it's dead.

The game isn't going free-to-play anytime soon. And speculating as to whether it's going to change is pointless trolling.

Falmer

It doesn't need to go F2P, but they can simply reduce the initial client cost perhaps should they need more customers.

I only ever tried SWTOR because it didn't cost me anything to try it and see if I liked it. After a few days, I ended up subscribing to it for many months.

They can keep the subscription, just allow people some free trials to see if they like it.

oxygen_boarderb16_ESO

Jeremy wrote: »

Blade_07 wrote: »

I just keep seeing way to many pissed off people on here and get that bad feeling that Zenimax will be forced to make it free to play. I seriously hope like hell I'm flat out wrong cuz free to play opens the flood gates on those seriously annoying gold spammers!!! And I'm a serious Elder Scrolls fan and would hate to see ESO fail.

After many years of playing MMORPGs: I believe one of the main issues with this genre is the developers do not have to just please the individual player. They also have to please all of that individual player's friends, relatives, and of course the infamous girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband.

That's because it's an online multi-player game. People tend to play these types of games so they can play with other people they know. And I've become convinced this is why MMORPGs oftentimes have to water-down their gameplay and challenge in an effort to appeal to the broader masses. Because there is always that one person or group of people within every social circle that doesn't particularly like challenging gameplay or RPG games in general.

In other words: MMORPGs are becoming more like a form of social media. They are no longer about the RPG elements that once defined the genre. So ironically and in many ways, the strengths of Elder Scrolls that many RPG veterans will appreciate could wind up being its weakness.

Couple this with the fact that the real gaming community is spread across so many different games, you have a storm of "gamers" who really aren't. They want to be, they think they are, and they play games, but in the end. We know.

randerson187_ESO

Blade_07 wrote: »

I just keep seeing way to many pissed off people on here and get that bad feeling that Zenimax will be forced to make it free to play. I seriously hope like hell I'm flat out wrong cuz free to play opens the flood gates on those seriously annoying gold spammers!!! And I'm a serious Elder Scrolls fan and would hate to see ESO fail.

When was the last time to saw non-pissed off people on a MMO forum. Those of us that like/love the game don't post about that because we're too busy playing it.

SantieClaws

When was the last time to saw non-pissed off people on a MMO forum. Those of us that like/love the game don't post about that because we're too busy playing it.

I'm posting because I am at work and this is as near to my fix as I can get while I am here

GreySix

Blade_07 wrote: »

I just keep seeing way to many pissed off people on here and get that bad feeling that Zenimax will be forced to make it free to play.

A bit of perspective may assist here: Those who post on forums on this are a tiny fraction of the player base. Most players likely don't know a forum even exists.

Those who post on forums like this also tend to be the "elite" players, vice the vast majority of player base that is made up of casual players.