IGN latest article on ESO - To F2P or not to F2P

D2player87

http://m.ign.com/articles/2014/07/18/should-the-elder-scrolls-online-go-free-to-play

Reading this article there are some valid points being raised, but my beef with it is, why is ESO being refered to in such a demeaning manner whilst Wildstar is being compared to wildly successful sub based games like WOW. Is Wildstar really that popular?

Moomins

I have no idea, but it seems to be de rigeur to bash ESO repeatedly...

Vahrokh

Strong Intellectual Property games raise strong reactions.

If you notice, Star Wars, Warhammer, TES lore / IP based games have always attracted insane expectations and then, of course, insane criticism.

Just to talk about ESO: "true, classic hard core" TES / Bethesda fans (the vocal people) did get the shaft. ESO IS dumbed down for the masses, its is way too linear and theme park, puzzles are easier than in Skyrim (not a small feat), people are "arrow driven" to quest locations even in case of hidden items.

Basically many expected a multiplayer version of Skyrim or other Bethesda title, not a "WoW dressed in TES costume". ZoS delivered something in-between of the two extreme positions.
Those who love WoW (for whatever reason) find ESO "non standard" and missing certain features (AH, lots of pets, quick levelling and so on and on) where TES fans miss the single player titles depth and breath.

Result: flames and criticism from both sides. Game reviewers who need to cater to their readers (imo wrong but that's what they do) will reflect the criticism.

Hears_Bright_Colors

A lot of people want to see ESO fail so they can be right about the greatly hyped MMO. "This game is getting a lot of press. If I predict it's downfall, I'll be an amazing, non-comformist, rebel."
But this was an article written specifically to get people to go to comment section and see ads. F2P brings a crowd no community wants to see. Stay the course, ZOS.

frankuguzzb16_ESO

Who cares of IGN, lol.

AreoHotah

After what i saw at Quakecon, this game won't go F2P soon. So many cool things are coming that ppl WILL return. And other will buy it for the 1st time. I'm gonna help Zeni and recommend this game to anyone i can. I just hope they bring all they promised.

Halorin

The onslaught of upcoming content announced in yesterday's Future of ESO, to me, is all the reason why a P2P can still work. I don't think you'll ever see a F2P MMO have that amount of content to look forward to.

Who's to say what was or was not part of the pre-launch development cycle, but I don't think anyone was expecting THAT much stuff on the horizon.

So, no. I don't think TESO should go F2P. We seem to be getting both quality and quantity with the current subscription model. If we can continue to look forward to expansion levels of content on the horizon, I hope the game never goes F2P and the people who don't want to pay 15 bucks a month can just miss out.

Enkil

Problem is ESO for PC released based on the previously announced release date of 4/4/14. Zenimax/Bethesda likes dates like that apparently as Skyrim launched on 11/11/11. If they had pushed the launch date back (like they done with the console), then there wouldn't be all these negative reviews out there. ZOS opted to stick with the original date with bugs, bots, lack of content & balance and everything else that entails so they could utilize the players as testers and for feedback. At about the time the console launches, is when the game will be in an actual release-worthy state. Based on the QuakeCon future ahead panel, I would think that by that point the game will def be worth a sub. I hope it never goes F2P and I doubt it will. Our sub fees are being put to good use it seems.

wrlifeboil

The author apparently didn't do his homework. The article came out after the 775k subs in eso article.

Csub

Wow someone must be bored to write such stuff. I didn't read all, I admit so I won't even comment, but one thing caught my eyes:
"[People] want to play games with their friends. When they travel in packs like this, you need the lowest barriers possible in order to get the biggest success."

Yes, that's what P2P games do. Yes, you have to pay to play, but then there are no barriers. Or you can play a f2p game as a cash shop user and your friend is a free user and want to play together but oh, he doesn't have access to this zone, that dungeon, battleground, quest etc.

No, ESO, should not go F2P and from what I have seen, they don't plan to.

coryevans_3b14_ESO

If what was said at quakecon is to be believed, I have no doubt this game will stay sub based.

Also, IGN is a joke.

Wifeaggro13

D2player87 wrote: »

http://m.ign.com/articles/2014/07/18/should-the-elder-scrolls-online-go-free-to-play

Reading this article there are some valid points being raised, but my beef with it is, why is ESO being refered to in such a demeaning manner whilst Wildstar is being compared to wildly successful sub based games like WOW. Is Wildstar really that popular?

IGN gets money from advertising , All i know is my guilds are seeing people starting to return now after this huge quakecon panel. All of them tried wildstar and most of them chose to play nothing even though they spent money buying wildstar after 2 weeks. Ill take their word over some *** wads at IGN and PC gamer that get paid for their half ass garbage opinions. And i give ZOS a ton of grief for their mistakes, But the first thing they did right was not make a WOW clone.

Id rather play Archeage closed beta then that garbage.

wrlifeboil

coryevans_3b14_ESO wrote: »

If what was said at quakecon is to be believed, I have no doubt this game will stay sub based.

Also, IGN is a joke.

The article was good actually. But given the recently released numbers, really badly timed.

Kayira

Firstly it is IGN. I keep it as that.
Secondly it has the name the Elder Scrolls. From the day it was known as an TES game it was doomed to be critized and slated. If you would have released teh exact same game without any Elder Scroll Lore and had it in a different fantasy world everyone would praise it like Wildstar.
But because everyone has the expectations from the other TES games ESO has been bashed by many, it is a real shame to be honest, because it really isn't such a bad game, there is room for improvement but it has great potential.

NewBlacksmurf

Csub wrote: »

Wow someone must be bored to write such stuff. I didn't read all, I admit so I won't even comment, but one thing caught my eyes:
"[People] want to play games with their friends. When they travel in packs like this, you need the lowest barriers possible in order to get the biggest success."

Yes, that's what P2P games do. Yes, you have to pay to play, but then there are no barriers. Or you can play a f2p game as a cash shop user and your friend is a free user and want to play together but oh, he doesn't have access to this zone, that dungeon, battleground, quest etc.

No, ESO, should not go F2P and from what I have seen, they don't plan to.

It's not all or nothing. The barrier is $14.99. Why not lower the wall to $9.99, $7.99 or $5.99?

Tier the subs to establish value or different access for each tier.

It doesn't have to be $14.99 or free.