Official Discussion Thread for “ESO Heads to Consoles June 9th”

elfodemente

P3ZZL3 wrote: »

kelly.medleyb14_ESO wrote: »

ZOS_JasonLeavey wrote: »

Sub cancelled thanks for charging me hundreds of dollars to do your beta testing for you for a year.

Quite a clever business plan really. Charge you to test rather than pay a tester and then chuck it out P2P.

so *** true... i feel like s**t!!

magnumXopus

What about those of us who are already in the middle of a 180-day subscription? I am paid through May. Do I get store credit for the fee I'm paying over the F2P cutoff?

lord_dal

fancy way of saying f2p, thats it for me, bye bye

Karraxx

Seems to me that it's not going completely free to play as you still have to pay the $70 to get a copy of the game, looks like you just don\t have to subscribe after buying

Lazrael

Wow. While I think that the subscription model was the wrong move from the start, you guys built expectations and made promises, and now you have shown that you really are all talk. Now you're completely changing your pre-established policy for the console launch. Which makes for no wonder that pc gamers are now calling you out, saying the the pc edition was nothing more than beta for console.

CodexMMO

Please don't be Pay 2 Win and please, no limited time edition items that are only released once.

Arandul

I'm ok with this game becoming f2p if it finally means the servers will be upgraded to compensate for more players... also more players. I've played plenty of fun free to play games, and as long as subscribers aren't penalized, which it seems they wont be, then more power to ZOS, but the day I have to participate in micro-transactions as a subscriber to progress is the day I call it quits, I'll keep my sub up as long as that isn't the case. Anyways, rather than assume the worst I'll hope for the best and see how things are when this all finally happens.

mtmech

Unbelievable... WTF
Edit: Sorry put that in the wrong place

v2war

On march 17 i'll give away all my gold to level 1 noob and say goodbye to the game with broken heart

Casdha

After watching the Twitch video it looks like nothing will change for me, but I can see it will be a faster road to PvP for those with a subscription. Other than that, it doesn't really affect my style of play that much. I am curious to see if DLC will come out at a pace to warrant a subscription though.

On a side note, I do see (and feel) how folks could see this as we have been paying to perfect the game for console and now that it is ready they (ZOS) are going to do what they planned on all along. However, I still feel as if I got my moneys worth. It just depends on the rate of how often DLC comes out and what changes are done down the road as to how long I keep my sub. I'm not planning on dropping just yet.

Auldjohn

I have no problem with monthly subscription -- if my existing investment of time and money transfers to "Unlimited". OTO, I'm NOT in favor of a Gold Store -- microtransactions are anathema.

I still prefer the PvE aspects of ESO since I'm a long-time Elder Scrolls player. PvP works for me ONLY if the LFG tool becomes truly functional in the World not just combat area and large dungeons.

ZOS: Will my existing six-month subscription which expires in May be transferred to an ESO+ account, or will I stay as ESO, adding Update 6? The transition from ESO to Tamriel Unlimited is confusing.

Disappointed but hopeful player from Arena to ESO then Unlimited?

Raeshlavik

Well darn.

I just came back after a few months off...

I came back because this was one of the few MMOs left with a bit of a paywall between a decent, enthusiastic community and the vast hordes of "freebs" that roam the ravaged wasteland of the Internet.

Seriously, go hang out on a 'free to play' or 'buy to play' MMO for a weekend - that's all it takes to see what is coming. Especially with a PvP focussed MMO like this; it will be wall-to-wall trash talking munchkin in no time.

You know that excellent reputation xbox live has for witty repartee and thoughtful introspection is because of the user base Zenimax is running to with arms wide.

Welcome to the new Tamriel!

I want to stress that I understand this decision from the business perspective - cash shops make revenue, good revenue even... This is because cash shops appeal to the player who has no investment into the game/world/story and just wants to reach the next theoretically larger number - be that level, gear score, guild points, or PvP rank - and is willing to pony up for this.

I think the general research points to a nearly 4:1 increase in sell-through with cash shops because the user shows up and drops about a hundred dollars on average in the 60 days they exist in game. So $100 in 2 months with the end result being an inactive account that does not consume server resources, or a $15 a month account that takes eight months to reach that $100 and costs a bit of that income to support?

It is easy math.

That said, I will be moving on. I'm too old and my time is too limited to have much tolerance for freeb shenanigans in my escapist entertainment venue.

Good luck in your endeavor!

BlueIllyrian

“Our fans are our biggest inspiration, and we’ve listened to their feedback on the entertainment experience they want,” said Matt Firor, Game Director of The Elder Scrolls Online.

For the life of me I can't find that feedback anywhere on the forums, but since Mr. Firor said that it must be true.

lysylya

I suppose it was expected.
Still sad though. F2P is never better for the player.
I hope they facilitate the ability to add many more people to ignore, increase the caps on the Cyrodiil instances, and come up with something other than hats to warrant the generally useless 'shop'.

Mouseattigan1

I believe a bit of perspective is necessary.

The game's announcement of buy-to-play is interestingly timed with the release of the console-edition of the game. There is a reasonable (and actually justifiably *good*) explanation for this.

For an Xbox and Playstation player, you need to pay for the game. Then you need to pay for your internet bill. But in addition to this, you also need to pay for Xbox Live Gold or Playstation Plus.

Now, this has been controversial from the get-go of the knowledge that this MMO would be released onto consoles. People don't want to pay two subscriptions for one game.

Chances are that Microsoft and Sony (which ZOS was trying to negotiate with to remove the Xbox Live Gold/PS-plus requirement) refused to budge on this, requiring their players to pay extra to get the exact same content as us PC/Mac players.

The only other reasonable alternative to this is to drop the subscription requirement and move ahead with a model they had already planned with from the beginning, in case things fell through: a hybrid model that still requires you to purchase the game, but once purchased is accessible in totality (which is similar to buying a single-player, Elder Scrolls title -- you get the whole game with a single purchase).

Aside from this, there is also the fact that they had always intended to include an in-game store, which usually entails real-world cash or an in-game variant that you earn or purchase. This was not their 'merchandise store' as many people may have thought it was.

Even further still, there are complaints that we have been 'beta testers' from the beginning. Please, re-educate yourselves on how a beta test works. If this were true, then every time Blizzard launched a major expansion or gameplay update (or any game/developer pulling the same move) we should have been screaming and crying over having beta-tested for that, too.

You are a beta-tester when you *test* new content that is not available to the public. You usually have to sign documentation expressly forbidding you from speaking about the content you see. As far as I can tell, we haven't been testing anything that wasn't given to us at launch. Unless you're on the PTS server.

One final note. I am proud that Zenimax had decided to go this route. But, as always, I wish Zenimax was more forthcoming. They are notoriously bad about explaining their decisions and reasons, leaving players like myself and my wife to have to explain to the common folk.

~ Mouse'attigan & Primal

Azurhaea

Took the words right out of my mouth Mouseattigan1.

Now I know some will be highly disappointed at this change. I've played F2P games like LOTRO and MapleStory for e.g and I never found any issues with them, honestly. To me, I will pay sub still as long as I can afford it, and I am just happy I will be able to play the basic game when I can't afford the sub on occasion. I believe we should at least give this decision a change before turning tail and running on the assumption that "Oh no it's gonna be F2P/P2W, that automatically bad, 'm out". Just my two cents

TheFisherman

The disappointment continues.

We had hopes this game would give the Elder Scrolls fans what they were longing for - the possibility to share the outstanding gaming experience of their favorite games with friends.
But we overcame the incomplete group mechanics and kept playing.

Until today we could at least say that the number of characters with immature names and hurtful coloured armor was kept to a minimum. I fear that these days will soon be over.

Let us hope, that this decision was the only way to keep this game alive and that the current players, who were determined to spend their cash every month to get a game that will be worth it in the end, will be rewarded.

If the Elder Scrolls fans leave the game and hordes of F2P players roam the land, Tamriel finally has fallen in the hands of the enemy of mature gaming.

yanchen

Hmmm, here is a question. Can I play my pc character to PS4?

Mightylink

It's good there finally doing this, now I can come back to the game with the copy I bought months ago but never renewed.

Smaxx

yanchen wrote: »

Hmmm, here is a question. Can I play my pc character to PS4?

There'll be some transfer possibility later on.

Merlin13KAGL

Well damn.

One of the first places a Poll would have actually been useful - one from ZoS, that is.

Was really hopeful this was going to become what it should have been. Tolerated the side sales for stuffed animals and miscellaneous other things, but never expected it would be the primary source.

(By that, I mean income not from subs - I realize the cash shop will have in game stuff)

As a die hard TES fan, I first apologize to the Devs. I'm certain, for some of you, this was your passion - hoping it could be a true chapter rivaling TES standalones.

Realize this was not your choice and feel your pain from the opposite side.

The good news is, you have this Dev time on your resume.

The bad news is, you have this Dev time on your resume.

Though a technicality and owned by the same parent company, I'm glad that Bethesda stayed the heck out of this venture.

If you insist on following this path, at least have the courtesy to take ES out of the title. Don't tarnish an excellent series by a quick business decision.

Second, while this may be a push to get "subs" (new purchases) immediately, I cannot imagine it making more in the long run than what your dedicated's would be willing to pay.

Just WoW...much as it pains me to say that - they still have a monthly, they make a damn fortune.

Now it's like buying a $20,000 car for $50,000 because it comes with a free tank of gas...

Been defending you from the get-go. Thanks for making us look like fools.

Little advice on integrity as a business: People will respect you more if you screw them while being honest about it than if you don't screw them while being deceptive.

I'll give you one last benefit of the doubt and see how you handle the implementation. Guess we'll go from there.

You'll forgive me if my faith is not exactly strong at this point.

Nikolas

Shame on you ZOS, you took a game world with a rich History and downgraded it to an Online Store... Amateurism or pure Greed, you deserve an achievement for this epic fail.... GZ

boogie95

nananana hey hey hey good bye

Nikolas

boogie95 wrote: »

nananana hey hey hey good bye

lol if that was for me.... Im not going anywhere.... I have more than 60 days left in my account and since I cannot play Elder Store Online I will play the forum game, making fun of them on every post they make After all, its a service I already payed... I loved the "Nanana" part since its a perfect example of the community when f2p (not a difference with "b2p" for me) starts. Happy bargains on your online store Boogie

eventide03b14a_ESO

YOU LIED TO US! AGAIN!! ZOS really doesn't care about the franchise and more importantly about us, the players. It's really about the bottom line isn't it? Not even a shred of integrity left. I am so disgusted with this news.

Put your money with your mouth is guys. Show them we want better than this.

eventide03b14a_ESO

Arandul wrote: »

I'm ok with this game becoming f2p if it finally means the servers will be upgraded to compensate for more players... also more players. I've played plenty of fun free to play games, and as long as subscribers aren't penalized, which it seems they wont be, then more power to ZOS, but the day I have to participate in micro-transactions as a subscriber to progress is the day I call it quits, I'll keep my sub up as long as that isn't the case. Anyways, rather than assume the worst I'll hope for the best and see how things are when this all finally happens.

Seriously?? When has a F2P model ever made a game better in terms of quality? Now all they are going to do is spend their time making BS that they can put behind a paywall. If they haven't cared about the stability of the game or functional updates yet, why would they suddenly start caring about it now. I have unsubbed because there is no way in hell I am going to continue to bankroll their console development for the next 5 months while they completely shaft those of us that have been paying them all this time. It's literally one thing after another and I am so sickened that I supported and defended this game when it was still in beta and beyond that. Matt Firor isn't losing any sleep on his piles of cash that he took from us under false pretenses.

*Edit, you guys want a good TES game buy Skyrim and check out all of the wonderful, free, and comparatively stable mods you can download for it.

Surragard

I read in the FAQ that we will still be able to pay $20 for a console version with a character transfer as PC/Mac players from July 2014. Still wondering how that works with Imperial Characters though. If I have an Imperial character on PC and want to transfer, can I do that since I'll have a standard version of the Xbox One client?

tbmorrisonb14_ESO

Hey Zenomax (Jason), a few short questions.
1) I have 8 toons, will all their bank and toon inventories transfer to the console?
2) Will I need an active Premiere membership time of account transfer?
3) What, if any, aspect of guild leader/bank inventory will transfer?

Fair_Astrea

Free to play means that you can download and play a game without ever buying a premium. In this scenario, you still have to buy the game, and then buy into the areas you want to go to with the "memberships." How is that F2P? Do you guys not understand how this is working?

randolphbenoit

Will players on PC play with those on xBoxOne or PS4