Crown store greed.

Raideen

Mureel wrote: »

I cannot stand when people blame others for their own actions. No one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to buy vanity or convenience items.

I am not blaming anyone for my actions. My point is that games who's cost is greater than the return do not entice people to stick around. I left those games because the fun to expense ratio was off balance.

Cold hard fact. I spent 300x more in wow than I did those other games, and I never felt it was a rip off. In fact I often spent money on transfers, character renames, and the occasional store item. They offered an INCREDIBLE value that the other games did not. This game so far does not offer that value I am looking for either. Based on the low amount of people playing this game, I would have to say the same goes for many.

Mureel wrote: »

The World doesn't owe you anything.

I don't recall asking the world to give me anything in the first place. I also do not recall asking you for your lazy opinion.

Mureel wrote: »

Nothing about this game is P2W. No one is 'draining your wallet' but you.

It's easily arguable that consumables are pay to win. They offer boosts for money. That seems to be the very definition of "pay to win" to me.

Secondly, not everyone plays the game the way you do. Some people like to collect, some like to RP. Why are the collectors and the role players the ones who are forced to heavily monetize this game? The outfit selection in game is paltry (also not advertised), their are FOUR mounts you can get in game with gold, ZERO from drops (also not advertised). Its almost as if ZoS offers the "MMORPG" hook with their advertising, but when you actually buy the game you find out you have to spend more if you collect or RP. Personally I think they should continue in their direction and start selling rare drop tokens in loot crates in order to run dungeons. Seems fair to me and perfectly inline with how the game is modeled.

As far as "draining my wallet". I assure you my wallet is fine because I know how to keep from spending in games like this. I leave games with cash shops because ultimately they do not represent a good value for my money (which I already stated but somehow you missed).

Mureel wrote: »

Get a spine and be responsible for yourself.

If you cant say something nice, don't say anything at all.

Raideen

MoTeets wrote: »

Gambling ??

Crown store is only a problem to some people, if they buy !

Don't buy, problem solved.

This video explains some of the reasons. Not every one has the ability to stop. Gambling is an addiction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WxcGYvvgJo

Ardan147

Sigtric wrote: »

There's not a single item found in the crown store you absolutely have to have excepting maybe the DLCs and if you want those you're going to pay for them one way or another. That said you're complaining about greed over non essential items. You don't have to buy them.

Banker and merchant are probably the closest. You don't absolutely need them, but having them makes your life SO much easier.

Dapper Dinosaur

5000 crowns apiece for gimped merchants and bankers that can't be customized in any way.
3000+ crowns for "limited time" mounts that are a reskin of a pre-existing one.
5000 crowns for VERY easy to collect motifs like dwemer and xyvkin.

This company is GOUGING, and if we consumers ever want it to change, we need to start boycotting.

Raideen

Dapper Dinosaur wrote: »

5000 crowns apiece for gimped merchants and bankers that can't be customized in any way.
3000+ crowns for "limited time" mounts that are a reskin of a pre-existing one.
5000 crowns for VERY easy to collect motifs like dwemer and xyvkin.

This company is GOUGING, and if we consumers ever want it to change, we need to start boycotting.

At the 1500 crowns for $14.99 USD rate those items you listed would roughly be:
$50.00 USD apiece for gimped merchants and bankers that can't be customized in any way ($100.00 USD for both).
$30.00 USD for "limited time" mounts that are a reskin of a pre-existing one.
$50.00 USD for VERY easy to collect motifs like dwemer and xyvkin.

So much for "microtransactions".

At this rate ESO is gearing up to be a high end luxury item (in the price, not in the product).

Skullstachio

But at least they won't be on the receiving end Like Electronic Arts did when there was that "Player Outrage" about how players could be given an Unfair Advantage by preordering the highest edition of Star Wars Battlefront II which gave players access to powerful star cards or even quicker access to powerful heroes such as Darth Vader, but I'm not gonna go there completely.

but the point is, most of the Fundamentals gained from most of the transactions made in ESO mostly go towards keeping the NA and EU Servers Running Across all platforms amongst other things, because if they did not have enough funding, they would have to shut their servers down and there would be a lot of players who RP in it who would be saddened or even frustrated about one of their favourite past-times shutting down due to lack of funds. not just RP'ers but there are those who actually enjoy this game as a whole as well.

LadyAstrum

JasonSilverSpring wrote: »

It is simple economics. Supply and demand. Supply is unlimited here so it is all about demand. I am sure they have plenty of data by now. If they half the price of something they need to sell twice as many to break even. Maybe they would, maybe not.

Why is it greed to charge what people are willing to pay for something? ZOS is a for profit company, not a charity.

For the amount of time I have put into the game my initial purchase price and even ESO+ are a bargain. These cosmetic and convenience items help fund the game and keep the entry cost low.

People like you would say the same thing even if mounts were 30,000 crowns, crown crates 40,000 crowns each, and houses 140,000 crowns.

There must come a point where people must see they are being ripped off. I guess some people deserve to be milked like cash cows.

Elsonso

LadyAstrum wrote: »

JasonSilverSpring wrote: »

It is simple economics. Supply and demand. Supply is unlimited here so it is all about demand. I am sure they have plenty of data by now. If they half the price of something they need to sell twice as many to break even. Maybe they would, maybe not.

Why is it greed to charge what people are willing to pay for something? ZOS is a for profit company, not a charity.

For the amount of time I have put into the game my initial purchase price and even ESO+ are a bargain. These cosmetic and convenience items help fund the game and keep the entry cost low.

People like you would say the same thing even if mounts were 30,000 crowns, crown crates 40,000 crowns each, and houses 140,000 crowns.

There must come a point where people must see they are being ripped off. I guess some people deserve to be milked like cash cows.

If you replace "break even" with "meet their goals" then the top quote is pretty good.

Yes, the same thing applies even when mounts are 30,000 Crowns and houses are 140,000 Crowns, if they are successfully selling those things at those prices.

There is always a price point where someone thinks that they are being ripped off. Always.

Dapper Dinosaur

If Zenimax would just reduce the prices of their purely cosmetic items and ditch these garbage crown crates, they would likely see significantly increased sales. I'm sure there's some marketing team setting these insulting prices (20+$ for a reskinned mount when other game companies charge that much or less for AN ENTIRE FUNCTIONAL GAME THAT TOOK INFINITELY MORE WORK AND COST), and clearly they're managing to sell enough for them to keep setting the prices this high, but they really need to just TRY lower prices and watch the sale count go through the roof. Would it not be better to make roughly the same amount of money with lower prices but higher sales and customer satisfaction?

Storymaster

Appleblade

My POV is I like to carefully craft a character’s theme and look, from class/race to mount and pet. You know... the RP part of RPG. Limited time offerings and random loot crates are useless to this effort.

I have an ice themed character I’d like to give the ice horse, but I can’t. Everyone argues ZOS needs to make money, and that’s fine, but I feel like I’m sitting here saying “take my money” and they’re saying “nah.”

Stonyfoot wrote: »

You can't always get what you want.

Or they could take my money and sell me what I want. Your quote makes a fine song lyric, but in this context it’s a missed business oppurtunity.

Raideen

Appleblade wrote: »

My POV is I like to carefully craft a character’s theme and look, from class/race to mount and pet. You know... the RP part of RPG. Limited time offerings and random loot crates are useless to this effort.

I have an ice themed character I’d like to give the ice horse, but I can’t. Everyone argues ZOS needs to make money, and that’s fine, but I feel like I’m sitting here saying “take my money” and they’re saying “nah.”

Stonyfoot wrote: »

You can't always get what you want.

Or they could take my money and sell me what I want. Your quote makes a fine song lyric, but in this context it’s a missed business oppurtunity.

This is my issue as well, as well with my girlfriend. She likes to theme her outfits, style, mounts, pets, houses etc for all her toons. I have been asking the question. "How come the collectors and the RP crowd are focus targeted to monetize this game?".

vamp_emily

I've seen a lot of complaints from the pro scam box players, and many of them say things like "GEEZ.. what is wrong with a company trying to make money".. blah blah blah.

If that is the case, why don't the companies in RL start charging 20 dollars a gallon for gas, 200 dollars for internet services, and why don't we increase all our expenses. Remember those are companies too, they need to make money. We don't need cars, we can just walk everywhere. Right? Who really needs central air? why not increase our power bill so the power company can make more money, increase property tax, food, and everything else. lower our wages, we don't need money, right?

The only way this gaming practice is going to change is if we all stick together, but that will never happen. I really feel sorry for the players that fell into the "I must have that mount" trap.

JasonSilverSpring

lordrichter wrote: »

LadyAstrum wrote: »

JasonSilverSpring wrote: »

It is simple economics. Supply and demand. Supply is unlimited here so it is all about demand. I am sure they have plenty of data by now. If they half the price of something they need to sell twice as many to break even. Maybe they would, maybe not.

Why is it greed to charge what people are willing to pay for something? ZOS is a for profit company, not a charity.

For the amount of time I have put into the game my initial purchase price and even ESO+ are a bargain. These cosmetic and convenience items help fund the game and keep the entry cost low.

People like you would say the same thing even if mounts were 30,000 crowns, crown crates 40,000 crowns each, and houses 140,000 crowns.

There must come a point where people must see they are being ripped off. I guess some people deserve to be milked like cash cows.

If you replace "break even" with "meet their goals" then the top quote is pretty good.

Yes, the same thing applies even when mounts are 30,000 Crowns and houses are 140,000 Crowns, if they are successfully selling those things at those prices.

There is always a price point where someone thinks that they are being ripped off. Always.

In my quote when I say break even I meant bring in same revenue as before lowering crown cost. I fully agree that they are not just breaking even financially. Though none of us knows if they are meeting their sales goals.

But I still stand on my comment. If they get enough people buying at a price point they will keep it there. If they are not satisfied then they will adjust.

Only ZOS knows how many are buying. It might well be a much larger number than those protesting on the forums.

Hokiewa

vamp_emily wrote: »

I've seen a lot of complaints about the pro scam box players, and many of them say things like "GEEZ.. what is wrong with a company trying to make money".. blah blah blah.

If that is the case, why don't the companies in RL start charging 20 dollars a gallon for gas, 200 dollars for internet services, and why don't we increase all our expenses. Remember those are companies too, they need to make money. We don't need cars, we can just walk everywhere. Right? Who really needs central air? why not increase our power bill so the power company can make more money, increase property tax, food, and everything else. lower our wages, we don't need money, right?

The only way this gaming practice is going to change is if we all stick together, but that will never happen. I really feel sorry for the players that fell into the "I must have that mount" trap.

Competition in a free market. You basically argued against yourself as a business determines price points that will maximize profit while remaining competitive to others in the same industry. Comparing a video game to life essentials is rather silly. Though central air, the fastest internet, the latest cell phone, cars etc... are choices, not essentials. Though a vehicle in an area not supported by public transportation is an exception

MerkzM8

Crown Crates only offer cosmetic items and less powerful consumables. So tell me, is it Zenimaxs fault for providing these crates or is it the morons who keep buying them. You do not require ANY and I repeat ANY of these items to have an enjoyable experience in the game. Why is Zenimax under blast for providing these crates even though you are personally deciding to purchase them. They aren't mind controlling you. They don't have your family hostage. The fact that you are spending $75 dollars a month on this game is no ones fault, but your own.

While yes, I do not agree with the crown store antics, however all I do to combat it is to not purchase from it. Why would you bash the system then continue to purchase. If you really want the system to change, how about you stop being impulsive. There is absolutely no point in complaining about it on the forums, yet still continue to offer financial gain for zenimax by purchasing from the crown store.

Dragath

doesn't matter if loot boxes are p2w or not.
p2w doesn't matter.
ultimately, it's not about winning, it's about feeling good. that feeling is the reason people want to win. the same feeling can be obtained by getting something new, something shiny.
buying a new pair of boots isn't p2w, but it can feel just as good as winning a match of football or whatever.
it doesn't matter what's in the box, it's the reason behind the box that is the problem.
preying on the weak.
it's all talk when someone says "just control yourself", but that's not real life works for a lot of people.
casinos and gambling are not made for people that can control themselves. neither are loot boxes.
if we adopt this "if you are too weak to control yourself, then it's your own fault" mentality, things will go down very quickly.
as a community, we should stand together and help each other.

Stormahawk

I think it's pretty clear that new Crown store content is geared towards the "whales" of the game, aka the 1% of players who probably represent 50% of Crown store sales (such as buying 1,000+ Crown Crates). I feel like that's the direction of the game at this point. New collectibles obtained through gameplay and achievements are purposefully limited to entice that small percentage of players to spend lots. Cheap costumes and pets are also mostly removed from the Crown store at this point. The most recent item added to the Crown store is a ~$130 home.

So what happens when the majority of the playerbase feels alienated due to this? Eventually people get fed up and leave. Then the big spenders start to leave too because their friends left, and the game goes into a death spiral since the current business model relies on the 1% of players to keep it alive.

....Then there is also the whole issue of having almost no cosmetic rewards in game (mounts/costumes/pets/etc) for completing content since the Crown Crates and $130 homes replace that. No rewards means no exciting goals to work towards to, and ESO loses players that way too.

Korah_Eaglecry

Turelus wrote: »

When ESO went B2P it was a pretty fair compromise to have a cash shop added.

I'm still fine with it being there as the game is a B2P model and ZOS/Zenimax want to make money.

However it has since its launch gone towards models and behaviours which are not consumer friendly and more based around the kind of avarice you see from big publishers in AAA gaming these days.

My grumble points are:

• The steady increase of pricing and always pushing the bar a little higher.
• The overwhelming number of limited edition items.
• Crown Crates (a business model which is never about the consumer)
• The addition of non-gem items into crates.

Outside of those I have very little issues with the Crown Store being within the game and selling items.

I also don't really believe it's the fault of ZOS as a whole but more likely pressure from their publisher (Zenimax Media) as we've also seen a negative turn from Bethesda this year more focused on money than consumer happiness.

And to caveat on this. It seems everything is in some fashion a LTO. Theyve added costumes, pets and mounts that were advertised as normal additions to the store only for a few months later to have it removed entirely. The Falkreath Thane costume for example was released in August along side of the Horns of the Reach DLC. But by the beginning of October the item was already removed from the store and unquestionably bound for a future Crown Crate.

It seems they cant sustain any sort of variety of choices in the Crown Store without 1/4th of it being trash and another being items they yanked off of the normal Crown Store.

Pops_ND_Irish

Raideen wrote: »

MoTeets wrote: »

Gambling ??

Crown store is only a problem to some people, if they buy !

Don't buy, problem solved.

This video explains some of the reasons. Not every one has the ability to stop. Gambling is an addiction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WxcGYvvgJo

Hehe same as the other thread.
People spend thousands on informercial stuff too. Is that gambling ? thats an addiction Geez
Its a game. Dont buy !

Raideen

MoTeets wrote: »

Raideen wrote: »

MoTeets wrote: »

Gambling ??

Crown store is only a problem to some people, if they buy !

Don't buy, problem solved.

This video explains some of the reasons. Not every one has the ability to stop. Gambling is an addiction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WxcGYvvgJo

Hehe same as the other thread.
People spend thousands on informercial stuff too. Is that gambling ? thats an addiction Geez
Its a game. Dont buy !

It's over your head.

Pops_ND_Irish

Raideen wrote: »

MoTeets wrote: »

Raideen wrote: »

MoTeets wrote: »

Gambling ??

Crown store is only a problem to some people, if they buy !

Don't buy, problem solved.

This video explains some of the reasons. Not every one has the ability to stop. Gambling is an addiction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WxcGYvvgJo

Hehe same as the other thread.
People spend thousands on informercial stuff too. Is that gambling ? thats an addiction Geez
Its a game. Dont buy !

It's over your head.

Common sense is over MY head ? Just enjoy the game instead of finding something wrong every time you turn it on.

heaven13

I got this game at the end of 2015. I played nonstop for months and went on to purchase ESO+. I have no problems spending money for things I want and, as a general practice, I have no issue with the idea of the crown store. That said, I think the prices are outrageous and the crates are awful.

I have multiple alts with different stories because I enjoy doing the RP in an RPG, even if I'm just doing it in my head. That is why I bought ESO - the RPG element rather than the MMO one. Mounts and pets that fit each character's design, outfits that work with it (and hide the ugly armor), etc. However, I do a real cost conversion in my head. Since, as Raideen said, these items will never have worth outside of this game and cannot be transferred or refunded, etc, I have to assess the value of what I'm getting against the cost. Crown crates are an absolute no for me because there is absolutely no way to assess the cost for an item due to the random luck of the draw. If I want something, I should be able to see a direct price and decide if I want to purchase it outright, not bet my luck on RNG (which is pretty poor).

IMO, nothing should be more than a one month sub cost except in very rare circumstances. And absolutely NOTHING should ever cost more the the cost of buying the game. There are still people complaining years later that the cost of the Mass Effect 3 DLC is more expensive that the cost of the trilogy combined now due to Bioware points. And that's DLC. What the crown store here is giving you are digital cosmetic items (in most cases) with no added gameplay. You could argue that housing is not just cosmetic and neither are the limited banker/merchants you can purchase but even so, none should be more than the cost of the game itself.

Last Christmas, I considered by the Stalhrim Frostcaster motif. I didn't even though I had the crowns because the cost was too high when broken down (2000cr for motif + 5 mimic stones, + additional crowns to craft any more items). A continual crown cost was required to make more than 5 items in that particular style. No thanks. I'm not sure if they've changed that since or not, but I'd guess no.

I left a couple months after that. It's not all the fault of the crown store but it did play a part in my decision to take a break. I see things haven't changed much; the Stalhrim Frostcaster motif is coming back to the store soon, as well as a limited time Christmas mount (which is beautiful and perfect for one of my characters - would be more perfect if said accessories could be toggled off for year round use but I'm cynical enough to believe that ZOS will release one without them as a separate, additional cost item).

Not sure how regular I will be in game or how long I will stay; a lot of people I played with have left for similar reasons so it stands undecided what my future in this game holds.

Appleblade

MerkzM8 wrote: »

You do not require ANY and I repeat ANY of these items to have an enjoyable experience in the game.

I agree with you except on this point. Some players, like me, think there’s more to an RPG than bashing the heads of enemies and pushing comically oversized Ayleid buttons in dungeons. We enjoy kitting out our characters to match a complicated back story or just a simple theme. This goes back to the D&D table top era.

StrawberryKitsune

Stormahawk wrote: »

....Then there is also the whole issue of having almost no cosmetic rewards in game (mounts/costumes/pets/etc) for completing content since the Crown Crates and $130 homes replace that. No rewards means no exciting goals to work towards to, and ESO loses players that way too.

This is the problem I am having at the moment. I am getting bored of completing the quests on different alts for the sake of something to do. For example I completed the main quest (with the prophet) on a second alt and I forgot that all you get is a dye for it and some useless weapon in a crappy set depending on various factors in the quest I won't spoil. Now don't get me wrong the dye is a useful colour and could be worse but why not make the costume you change into to complete the quest the reward? It looks so nice and a true costume that makes you look like the motherf**king saviour of nirn. Why not reward that? No...just reward half baked naff costumes so you can put better more thought out looking ones in the store...:/

MerkzM8

Appleblade wrote: »

MerkzM8 wrote: »

You do not require ANY and I repeat ANY of these items to have an enjoyable experience in the game.

I agree with you except on this point. Some players, like me, think there’s more to an RPG than bashing the heads of enemies and pushing comically oversized Ayleid buttons in dungeons. We enjoy kitting out our characters to match a complicated back story or just a simple theme. This goes back to the D&D table top era.

Understandable, I can see where you're coming from and I honestly wish Zenimax would offer more ways to achieve these cosmetic items. I personally think I system implemented around the lore books and other books would be awesome. For example. if you collect a certain selection of books centred around a specific lore you receive a "blueprint" to create a cosmetic item of that lore type.

Yvarhna

It would be nice if more of the cosmetic type items could be available in-game rather than bought from the Crown Store. I also feel that store items only having a limited time of availability, seems a little harsh to those who are new to this game, or have come back from a break and are just out of luck getting any of those items because of that.

These are just cosmetic items, I see no reason why they can't remain available in store.

Second, the cost for crowns, and to some extent cost of items is very much on the pricey side. For 5000 crowns I am paying around $57 in NZD. Having 5000 crowns for items in the Crown Store does not get you very much. It just too expensive and I can't see any reason why Store items and Crowns needs to be so much.

Lastly, Crown Crates. I could not bring myself to purchase anything for those amounts for something that is RNG based. 15 crates for 5000 crowns? Or for me to pay $20 NZD for only 4 crates that have the potential to have worthless stuff? No thanks.

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying be back playing ESO, but the Crown Store is just something I am not overly in favour for due to the high cost.

Zbigb4life

lordrichter wrote: »

Raideen wrote: »

I am fully willing to pay for a a game, even monthly as I have done for 12 years in another game, but the crown store greed not only turns me off completely but it has always resulted in me quitting a game.

Value or a "good deal" is the secret into keeping people around. If I feel like I am getting my moneys worth I will never have buyers remorse but your crown offerings are extremely expensive for digital content and I am starting to regret playing this game. My GF and I intend on getting Morrowind for Christmas, but if I keep down this path of observation on how greedy you are with crown content it will surely end in a fight with my GF who loves this game as well and has no intention of quitting.

I purchased the adept pack. THAT was a good value and completely worth the money. The Clockwork house...is a joke of a price, as are most of the homes and mounts (ESP mounts).

I would not have as much of an issue if you offered this content in game, but its only accessible through the crown store. Which is starting to feel like if I want to customize a game that is traditionally popular with role playing, I have to empty my wallet at the rate of about 75 dollars a month.

I guess my question is. Is it your intent to limit your income by charging stupid prices for digital content that are a terrible value in and of tehmselves? It would seem to me that eliminating scam crates (which of yours are the worst in regards to drop %) and offering the content you make to be accessable full time, or maybe seasona (winter, spring, summer, fall) I know your design behind this is to force the customers hand with "limited time" offerings so you get their cash fast, but is this not shortsighted due to the fact that for the other 95% of the year you are missing out on selling this stuff to new players?

Frankly I don't know why I am posting this. I know it will fall on deaf ears. I have to imagine you are completely aware of what you are doing and that its all done by design with intent. I guess for me this is some kind of catharisis that I may reflect on for when the crown store takes its toll and I once again leave a game due to greed.

A couple of things, but the most important is that, even though they hear you, they don't hear you. They are not going to change the Crown Store. As much as I would like it, they are not going to do away with Crown Crates. I think that the part of the company that does this (probably ZOS under the leadership of Bethesda) is not really in touch with the average to low end player. They probably think they are, though. Instead, they are in touch with numbers that business analytics gives them, which they enshrine on spread sheets and write fancy formulas to worship them. Most players probably don't contribute much to those numbers.

The second thing is that I think that people misunderstand their goals. I am pretty convinced that they are not going for mass purchases and maximized sales. I hear many cries in here of "too expensive", and yet, they have only marginally adjusted prices. They don't expect that everyone will buy everything, and so the prices they set are at the top end of the curve. I would imagine they meet their sales goals, or things would be different. Note that this applies to the Crown Store, not Crown Crates.

Crown Crates show all the signs of an enterprise that is not meeting business expectations. I expect that they have some "good ideas" on how to improve them that they will be sharing with us. Sort of like how Crown Crates solved that pesky industry-wide conundrum of how to re-introduce old stuff into a cash store.

• The Crown Store, especially Crown Crates, are here to stay.
• Crown Crates will be "improved" over the next 12 months.
• They are not going to change their prices so that everyone buys the stuff.
• They don't expect that everyone is going to buy Crown Store stuff
• They will be working to drive more people to buy Crown Crates

Therefore, it is OK to be picky. I certainly am. I buy stuff because I see a use. Even limited time stuff gets passed over if I cannot see a use for it. I don't buy everything. I don't buy Crown Crates (I just collect the free ones they give me, unopened). Except for the latter, I suspect ZOS is Ok with this.

Indeed! They won't change it as long as people keep buying them. Won't them removed: stop spending your money on them.

Unlikely_Ghostbuster

To be honest, I believe the major complaint is that the coolest looking stuff is behind a paywall, and in the case of Crown Crate exclusive items, it's behind a paywall with no fixed price -- you can buy crates forever and there's no certainty the mount, costume, or what-have-you will drop.

The other assertion here is that the Crown Store is overpriced, and I agree. The retort to that argument is "well then just don't buy it," to which my response is "I don't."

The "I don't" response is what should motivate ZOS to be a little bit more realistic about Crown Store prices. Simply relabeling the currency as "Crowns" is the same game of using tokens at Chuck-E-Cheese. However, most of us old enough to buy Crowns are also old enough to do the math. We know how much real money these digital items cost, so when it comes to most players and most items, most people aren't going to shell-out the cash for them.

By now, ZOS has all sorts of consumer data to examine to help them set prices more realistically. With zero manufacturing overhead (all production costs are design -- they don't really "make" a new mount whenever one is purchased), it is my belief ZOS is losing out on the largest chunk of the consumer pool.

My wild guess, as the prices are set now, you either spend upwards of $150 USD per year on your ESO+, the "chapter," and Crown packs.... ....or you spend nothing at all. I'm assuming the number of players who spend almost-nothing far exceeds the number of players with wallets so fat they're willing to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars on digital items that only exist as long as the game exists.

There should be more than the two spending tiers. Some brackets between Richie Rich and Orphan Oliver. They could adjust the prices in the Crown Store in such a way that would reduce the number of "ZOS is too greedy" forum posts by 90%.

Consider how much money they would be getting if there was a $50 per year bracket: most of us would not mind dropping $5 (not $30) on a shiny mount, hair style, or costume that perfectly complements our character. Just ask Steam about how much more business they do when games cost $5 instead of $30.

Basically, if they set prices year-round the same way they are when Crown Packs are on sale, if they did away with the awful uncertainty of Crown Crates, and if they had more shiny unlockable items in-game, then they'd never see another one of this forum posts again. Yes, it's a fine line to walk, but it's better than the current format of Porches vs. roller-skates.

Jade1986

This mirrors my feelings alost 100%.

Recently I spent some money for the first time on crowns, and got some crates, after the fact I have this horribly sickly feeling from doing it, and I have realized, even more now than before, how sick and twisted ZoS has to be to focus this hard on the crown store. I am researching more games atm to play, because if this trend continues, ESO + wont get expansions for free anymore, and everything will be gained through the store that is cosmetic. Gamers who want to earn in game stuff be damned.