You managed to say it in a way that was far more polite than I am capable of right now. When this game was in beta I posted on multiple forums that were reporting on the game and reviewing it. There was so much negativity and criticism and I staunchly defended it. I too feel like a fool now for supporting it.Merlin13KAGL wrote: »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.
Fair_Astrea wrote: »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?
Nope, there will be 6 Megaservers: one for each version (XBO, PS4, PC/Mac) in the EU, and US respectively. This was communicated in the same thread on the German boards, where an admin actually cares to answer questions.randolphbenoit wrote: »Will players on PC play with those on xBoxOne or PS4
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
Fair_Astrea wrote: »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?
tomayto, tomahto
This game isn't Skyrim. It's not even close to being as good as Skyrim.Well, I have to say I was initially just horrified by this announcement. Now, with a little time to think about it, I believe the choice to go B2P was largely to appease the console market. The biggest issue with appeasement, in this case, is that TES appeals to a niche market. It's no fault of the developers that Skyrim became outrageously popular, but I think it is unrealistic to expect every TES game to sell so well. In my opinion, the devs were making the game they wanted to play, when they made TES games in the past (see Paradox Interactive), but the popularity of Skyrim has caused them to, perhaps, start considering the game everyone wants to play (see Electronic Arts). Well not only do TES games appeal to a niche market, but MMORPGs appeal to a niche market, so with TESO, the devs are aiming at a niche within a niche. Sure, all the Skyrim "fans" are going to wail about the subscription, but a MMORPG implies a commitment in time and (in many cases) money that the vast majority of gamers are unwilling to commit. This transition to a B2P system, however, feels somewhat like a betrayal to the niche within a niche.
Again, I imagine, more than (perhaps) disappointing sales and subscriptions (and I'll touch on that a little later), TESO went B2P to get the most out of the console release. Console players have the additional expense of their platforms' various premiums to play games online. It might be a lot to ask for a console gamer to pay a subscription, plus the online premium, and also pay for DLC/et cetera. I understand the move (all betrayal aside) from a simplified business standpoint.
I think the subscription wasn't the largest factor to dissuade sales. I have read several times that nearly 5 million players participated in the beta program. That's 5 million players who were theoretically interested in TESO, but in my opinion (though I couldn't possibly suggest a better way to stress test the servers), the beta was simply an atrocious product. I feel like a great many of the 5 million beta testers probably had the unjustified opinion that it was somehow a representation of the boxed product. I believe the beta did much more to hurt sales than any subscription price. The numbers I've read, though I admit I have no idea as to the reliability of these numbers (but would be quite interested in hearing the actual numbers from a ZOS employee) were 5 million beta tested, only about 1.25 million bought the game at launch, and about 775k have active subscriptions at the time of the B2P announcement. Again, there is no way to verify these figures are accurate whatsoever.
The niche within a niche created the best community it has ever been my pleasure to be apart of. The people who play the game want to be there so much they pay to be there. The mega server was an inspired thought as well. To put the PvXers with the RPers has truly made TESO a unique experience, in addition to being a very special game to begin with. The same can't be said for WoW. Even with their subscription fee, the community in WoW is overwhelmingly dominated by negative people. In my opinion, one of the reasons why TESO was such a unique community experience, is that the ERSB rating, the higher than average system requirements, and subscription fees kept it (by my estimation) a majority adult community. The worst community I have ever experienced is far and away the community for League of Legends, which, in all fairness is not a MMORPG, but still should stand as a warning for the type of player a game may attract when it has zero cost to play. I think, however, the League of Legends cash shop is a great model.
Which brings me to the crown shop. When I read about this, I wasn't /mad, I was just /disappointed. The trick is to surprise the players of TESO by not making a mess of this. The flood of children and teenagers after console release will be more than happy to buy ridiculous ornaments (please be sure to capitalize on major holidays), pets, and mounts. Embrace the micro transaction but please don't abuse it. I think, aside from cosmetics, appropriate crown store merchandise would be subscriber boosts, that one could buy by the day, week, or month, to grant a 10% bonus to XP, inspiration, gold acquisition etc. This could stack with the subscriber bonus as well. The things I'd prefer not to see include anything that can be crafted, or consumables that have better stats than crafted comparatives. Also please don't sell anything that has durability. Armor skins would be awesome, but armor itself would be devastating, in my opinion. The armor skins could even come with small bonuses for leveling purposes. Also, make the crown shop available by website, or from a merchant or building in the game. Limit the marketing to e-mails and login screens, please do not make the crown shop intrusive by adding an option to access it from the corner of your screen, or have a barrage of windows appear when you log into the game.
As of right now (in these early theoretical stages of implementation), I don't see any problems with the current ideas for the B2P model, but there is a lot of potential for harm here. I sincerely hope we don't lose the members of the community whom so endear this game to me. I sincerely hope that the game is not ruined by this transition. And I sincerely hope the game maintains enough subscribers that the devs don't feel compelled to offer P2W type advantages in the crown shop to bolster revenue. Thank you ZOS for finally coming out and telling us. Thank you to anyone who actually read this post!
Yours truly,
-Kruz gro-Gorgh
Fair_Astrea wrote: »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?
eventide03b14a_ESO wrote: »This game isn't Skyrim. It's not even close to being as good as Skyrim.
I love MMO's as much as the next guy but if I wanted to play WoW I would. I wanted a TES MMO. ESO barely qualifies.Cervanteseric85ub17_ESO wrote: »eventide03b14a_ESO wrote: »This game isn't Skyrim. It's not even close to being as good as Skyrim.
That is your opinion, I know I am enjoying this game 10x times more then I did Skyrim. Playing with yourself can only be fun for so long IMO
eventide03b14a_ESO wrote: »I love MMO's as much as the next guy but if I wanted to play WoW I would. I wanted a TES MMO. ESO barely qualifies.Cervanteseric85ub17_ESO wrote: »eventide03b14a_ESO wrote: »This game isn't Skyrim. It's not even close to being as good as Skyrim.
That is your opinion, I know I am enjoying this game 10x times more then I did Skyrim. Playing with yourself can only be fun for so long IMO
<lots of insightful stuff>
<lots of insightful stuff>
+1 awesome, couldn't be said better and without getting rude while explaining that you're...dissatisfied:)
I agree with pretty much everything you said, so do a lot of other people I think - we really like the game, but their attitude is really, REALLY uninspiring.
XDragonDoomX wrote: »"We've listened to our customers" ..... obviously you havent
And what will happens to those who owned the previous copy? Do they still have to pay subscribtion? If not, then good but if yes then i'll say "F**k you guys!"