Crown store greed.

Prof_Bawbag

Beardimus wrote: »

Another one of 'these' threads. Horror that a Company wants to make money.

The bottom line is that everything in the Crown store is priced considering a 50% discount. When you realise that, you understand that prices are not that bad.

ZOS has around 4 Crown sales a year, around 50% off. And those that are both frugal and patient stockpile Crowns in that time. The most frugal then wait for items to also go on sale for a double dip.

ZOS makes a premium from the Impatient, and that's great. As it supports the game financially for the more frugal of us who spend very little. This also applies to the Crown Crates.

Lastly, the key thing is there's nothing in the Crown store you actually NEED. It's stuff you want.

No one I know is leaving the game due to the Crown store, on the lost of reasons people leave it doesn't factor.

You really think cosmetics help fund the game? I can't fathom out why people still think this. Has anyone noticed an improvement in the game since the prices shot up, since the implementation of CC's and so on? Better servers, better game stability, better PvP experience etc? All cosmetics and CC's do are help push those multimillion pound profits Zenimax post year after year. Just doing what almost every other profit making business does.

I've nothing against the prices as I won't buy if I haven't got the money and as others have alluded to, once the game dies, no one can take those items with them. They're all ultimately useless and worthless. People should really stop deluding themselves that all these massive increases get pumped back into the game. I have seen zero improvements that would make me think that they are. The only thing that probably gets pumped back into the game is a fraction of the money they make from game sales, dlc sales and sub sales.

Jade1986

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

Beardimus wrote: »

Another one of 'these' threads. Horror that a Company wants to make money.

The bottom line is that everything in the Crown store is priced considering a 50% discount. When you realise that, you understand that prices are not that bad.

ZOS has around 4 Crown sales a year, around 50% off. And those that are both frugal and patient stockpile Crowns in that time. The most frugal then wait for items to also go on sale for a double dip.

ZOS makes a premium from the Impatient, and that's great. As it supports the game financially for the more frugal of us who spend very little. This also applies to the Crown Crates.

Lastly, the key thing is there's nothing in the Crown store you actually NEED. It's stuff you want.

No one I know is leaving the game due to the Crown store, on the lost of reasons people leave it doesn't factor.

You really think cosmetics help fund the game? I can't fathom out why people still think this. Has anyone noticed an improvement in the game since the prices shot up, since the implementation of CC's and so on? Better servers, better game stability, better PvP experience etc? All cosmetics and CC's do are help push those multimillion pound profits Zenimax post year after year. Just doing what almost every other profit making business does.

I've nothing against the prices as I won't buy if I haven't got the money and as others have alluded to, once the game dies, no one can take those items with them. They're all ultimately useless and worthless. People should really stop deluding themselves that all these massive increases get pumped back into the game. I have seen zero improvements that would make me think that they are. The only thing that probably gets pumped back into the game is a fraction of the money they make from game sales, dlc sales and sub sales.

Exactly, I would be less negative if all that profit went into hiring new QA, Bug testing, and Design staff...but.....

Elsonso

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

You really think cosmetics help fund the game? I can't fathom out why people still think this. Has anyone noticed an improvement in the game since the prices shot up, since the implementation of CC's and so on? Better servers, better game stability, better PvP experience etc? All cosmetics and CC's do are help push those multimillion pound profits Zenimax post year after year. Just doing what almost every other profit making business does.

I've nothing against the prices as I won't buy if I haven't got the money and as others have alluded to, once the game dies, no one can take those items with them. They're all ultimately useless and worthless. People should really stop deluding themselves that all these massive increases get pumped back into the game. I have seen zero improvements that would make me think that they are. The only thing that probably gets pumped back into the game is a fraction of the money they make from game sales, dlc sales and sub sales.

I also do not think that there is much of a line between the Crown Store and Crown Crates and the game. People think that they are funding ESO when they buy this stuff, and I am not convinced that this is completely true. I am sure that some of the money goes into the game, but I have to think that there are a lot of hands looking for a handout from that money. Microsoft, Sony, Valve, Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax Media, and the various investors probably come before ZOS, and who knows how much of that ZOS actually spends on ESO.

Zamuro

why do i see a thread from 2017 on the first page? LUL btw u are right and it seems nothing has changed for 2 years. still the milking is real. i wish *** was a bit cheaper, i would have bought a lot of things. cheaper=more ppl buying. maybe give us an option to exchange currency for crowns like other games?

Kikke

Uhm... Just dont buy stuff from ingame cash shops if it's such an issue on your wallet.

Banana

Spend ya money how ever ya like people. I'm still waiting for that 100 ping pack.

miteba

This topic is old but still insightful ...
After re-reading the thread i wonder if @Raideen still plays ESO.
I gave him an insightful before and today i would give an agree and an awesome too, if i could, 'cause our crown store IS greedy.

Hoped they would have a different approach by now, but that means they are having the results they wish.
Anyway i would never quit the game because of crown store, unless if it sold p2w items (which is not the case)

wnights

Most prices are outrages. I only buy items of I really really want ( usually cosmetics). I never buy mounts ( except that Jester horsey) or pets because they are pretty useless. At least these days you can farm gold for most things

Crown store exclusive houses are just on a different level of overpriced. Not only are they kinda meh, you always have that stupid 700 cap that doesn't even allow to decorate them nicely

DR4GONFL1

So out of the first 32 or so subjects listed in forums under CROWN STORE & ESO PLUS the only ones that ZOS will comment in are the ones discussing the greed of the crown store....

Acrolas

DR4GONFL1 wrote: »

So out of the first 32 or so subjects listed in forums under CROWN STORE & ESO PLUS the only ones that ZOS will comment in are the ones discussing the greed of the crown store....

Post moderation ≠ developer comments

Quantact

I don't believe in the "Don't like it? Don't buy it." defense because effective marketing influences your choices, probably more than most of us would like to think.

That said, having been a patron of the Crown Store and Crown Crates for a long time and having a sizeable ESO inventory has given me perspective.

Anybody who's on here for any length of time will probably buy SOMETHING. But you have to look at your own history of what you use. There is a sharp difference between something you buy on impulse and something that you need, insofar as "need" can be possible for cosmetics in a fantasy-based game. Is the item you're considering something you'll actually use a lot, or is it spur-of-the-moment? In my case, I REALLY cooled my jets on the Crown store because by this point I have a Collections tab that has a lot of stuff I don't use. So now, if I look at something, no matter how "limited time offer" it is, I will only buy it if I can see myself using it. If you can get to that point and buy only what you 100% will use, you'll still spend money but it'll be less money and while your collection will grow slower, it'll be worthwhile.

Expecting a business to "stop with its greed" is to expect it to go out of business. You can't control ZOS, but you CAN control yourself.

Lostar

I'd invite anyone to defend a digital house costing as much as $130 USD in crowns.

What factors detract from Zenimax changing their business model from more expensive = less will buy it to less expensive = more will buy it AND be less likely to regret it while feeling as though they got their money's worth?

Itacira

This is left open in a tab on my web browser so I can share it the moment a thread like this one passes by :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNjI03CGkb4

I'll also add :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPHPNgIihR0

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S-DGTBZU14

Hellmasker

Hmm, let me drop a vid here aswell... Might be more lighthearted and funny, but at the very core, it shows the wrongdoings aswell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPN0qhSyWy8

TelvanniWizard

Hellmasker wrote: »

Hmm, let me drop a vid here aswell... Might be more lighthearted and funny, but at the very core, it shows the wrongdoings aswell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPN0qhSyWy8

Awesome!

Pops_ND_Irish

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.

The World doesn't owe you anything. Nothing about this game is P2W. No one is 'draining your wallet' but you.

Get a spine and be responsible for yourself.

This is great ! I totally agree !
Someone with common sense

Michae

Pops_ND_Irish wrote: »

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.

The World doesn't owe you anything. Nothing about this game is P2W. No one is 'draining your wallet' but you.

Get a spine and be responsible for yourself.

This is great ! I totally agree !
Someone with common sense

And I don't. What now?

This tired argument with really simplistic take on what the problem exactly is. The games trying to nickel and dime you at everything overall are just less enjoyable. Half the fun in getting some cosmetic item is the effort you take to unlock it. Monetising everything is just exhausting in the end, especially if you have items only obtainable through rng. I don't buy lootboxes, but I'm still going to complain about them as I see them as scummy business practice. And don't pretend that cosmetics don't matter. Cosmetics are the real endgame in an mmo, everone wants to look unique and to express themselves through their character. Aesthetics are important just as much as gameplay mechanics. And to lock that much of the content not only behind paywall, but behind rng mechanics is just plain disrespectful toward the customer base. Sure, ZoS doesn't owe me anything but that doesn't mean they are beyond critique.

Pops_ND_Irish

No content to game, just cosmetics. Cosmetics do not use mechanics.
You can look spectacular, but have no clue how to play the game. Ugly sword, or shiny sword, it's all in how you use it.
I sometimes buy, sometimes not. Either way I enjoy the game.

Again, your choice to buy or not.

yodased

@Raideen This quote

Look I get it. A company needs to make a profit. But what is more important to you. Gouging your current customers until they say they have had enough and quit which results in you preying on new blood, or maintaining a healthy relationship with your customer base which grows your customer base organically because of happy clientele?

Is your disconnect. Long term value in this game doesn't seem to be the metric they care about. They want influx of users and they want return users, but getting small chunks out of large amount of people is not it.

Their actions are evidence that you are pretty spot on with your assessment of their motives. Get in, get out. That's an OG classic.

They want you to buy the game, buy the expansion, play the expansion, drop a few hundred dollars in the crown store while the expansion (chapter whatever) is live and then leave.

From what I can see this is to make it more difficult to remember the fact that you spent 100 or 200 or 300 on the last season. If you walk away from the game, get rid of the dopamine receptors trained to fire when you hear the login music and then come back, you are now getting new hooks in you. You can see the bright and new shiny things and they can market to you in this suggestible time.

ZOS is dirty, underhanded and pretty open about what it does and what it expects from you. I enjoy their game enough to continue to play it and really there isn't anything else out there right now that scratches the same itch, so they know they have a lot of us MMO junkies on a addiction loop, they just don't care.

Pops_ND_Irish

yodased wrote: »

@Raideen This quote

Look I get it. A company needs to make a profit. But what is more important to you. Gouging your current customers until they say they have had enough and quit which results in you preying on new blood, or maintaining a healthy relationship with your customer base which grows your customer base organically because of happy clientele?

Is your disconnect. Long term value in this game doesn't seem to be the metric they care about. They want influx of users and they want return users, but getting small chunks out of large amount of people is not it.

Their actions are evidence that you are pretty spot on with your assessment of their motives. Get in, get out. That's an OG classic.

They want you to buy the game, buy the expansion, play the expansion, drop a few hundred dollars in the crown store while the expansion (chapter whatever) is live and then leave.

From what I can see this is to make it more difficult to remember the fact that you spent 100 or 200 or 300 on the last season. If you walk away from the game, get rid of the dopamine receptors trained to fire when you hear the login music and then come back, you are now getting new hooks in you. You can see the bright and new shiny things and they can market to you in this suggestible time.

ZOS is dirty, underhanded and pretty open about what it does and what it expects from you. I enjoy their game enough to continue to play it and really there isn't anything else out there right now that scratches the same itch, so they know they have a lot of us MMO junkies on a addiction loop, they just don't care.

Good excuse, cannot find another MMO. FFXIV and WoW are out there.

yodased

Pops_ND_Irish wrote: »

yodased wrote: »

@Raideen This quote

Look I get it. A company needs to make a profit. But what is more important to you. Gouging your current customers until they say they have had enough and quit which results in you preying on new blood, or maintaining a healthy relationship with your customer base which grows your customer base organically because of happy clientele?

Is your disconnect. Long term value in this game doesn't seem to be the metric they care about. They want influx of users and they want return users, but getting small chunks out of large amount of people is not it.

Their actions are evidence that you are pretty spot on with your assessment of their motives. Get in, get out. That's an OG classic.

They want you to buy the game, buy the expansion, play the expansion, drop a few hundred dollars in the crown store while the expansion (chapter whatever) is live and then leave.

From what I can see this is to make it more difficult to remember the fact that you spent 100 or 200 or 300 on the last season. If you walk away from the game, get rid of the dopamine receptors trained to fire when you hear the login music and then come back, you are now getting new hooks in you. You can see the bright and new shiny things and they can market to you in this suggestible time.

ZOS is dirty, underhanded and pretty open about what it does and what it expects from you. I enjoy their game enough to continue to play it and really there isn't anything else out there right now that scratches the same itch, so they know they have a lot of us MMO junkies on a addiction loop, they just don't care.

Good excuse, cannot find another MMO. FFXIV and WoW are out there.

So that entire thing you read and you take it as some sort of excuse? Did you actually read what I wrote or you said, here's a post from Yoda I disagree with the premise so I will provide no rational thought and type some words.

I said specifically there is nothing out there that scratches the same itch as ESO, not that there was not another MMO in existence. I am aware of and tried several other games, if you must know and none of them I enjoyed as much as this one.

Again, not really sure how you read anything as an excuse. I gave you my reasoning for being here even though I understand what they are doing.

What's yours?

Michae

Pops_ND_Irish wrote: »

No content to game, just cosmetics. Cosmetics do not use mechanics.
You can look spectacular, but have no clue how to play the game. Ugly sword, or shiny sword, it's all in how you use it.
I sometimes buy, sometimes not. Either way I enjoy the game.

Again, your choice to buy or not.

Of course cosmetics matter. People care about graphic design and aesthetics very much, that's why some of the older games are unpleyable to many. That's why new games strive to have better graphics and cooler looks. That's why the hardest content in ESO rewards cosmetics. And if you're saying you don't care about your character's looks I must say either you are in very mariginal minority in this player base or you are lying.

Pops_ND_Irish

If you want to play the game, you buy it., the expansions also. Thats all they would like you to do, not expect you too.
They expect nothing, it's your choice. Crown store is an option. So you do not have to buy anything to play.

So calling them dirty and underhanded, is not valid.

yodased

Michae wrote: »

Pops_ND_Irish wrote: »

No content to game, just cosmetics. Cosmetics do not use mechanics.
You can look spectacular, but have no clue how to play the game. Ugly sword, or shiny sword, it's all in how you use it.
I sometimes buy, sometimes not. Either way I enjoy the game.

Again, your choice to buy or not.

Of course cosmetics matter. People care about graphic design and aesthetics very much, that's why some of the older games are unpleyable to many. That's why new games strive to have better graphics and cooler looks. That's why the hardest content in ESO rewards cosmetics. And if you're saying you don't care about your character's looks I must say either you are in very mariginal minority in this player base or you are lying.

Oh they care, but they don't feel compelled to purchase. I understand the argument they are making even if it is presented in a rough and tough wrapper.

The entire point of the crown store is for exclusivity, its a luxury. The problem is the playerbase look at is as required because it exists.

There are so many options in this game without the crown store that if it suddenly didnt exist and all you had was the cosmetics in the game, I doubt anyone would care, but because they exist people feel compelled to buy them especially because its a flex on other gamers.

So why have them and not just sell exclusive luxury items to those who can afford them? Because crown crates just like a lottery give a minuscule chance for those who can not afford the one off purchase to get the thing they can not afford.

Unfortunately these are also usually the people that over reach and wind up filling the coffers of the casino or lottery or video game company with their "small chances".

So everyone is right here not really a reason to be mean to each other, ZOS is a dirty company that uses dirty underhanded tricks and dark patterns of psychology to compel you to purchase their crown crates.

These crown crates are also pretty "useless" for the game other than making you have things that are luxurious. They don't offer you any statistical or logical advantage within the game, but they do offer you an advantage over other players by having something they dont.

My signature isn't in jest, I really believe that you need to weigh what they do vs the enjoyment you have.

It's like going to a strip club, if it's fun for the moment but you feel incredibly dirty afterwards, maybe stop going. If you are ok with the stripper dust and the shower needed after, then enjoy!

Michae

Imagine if they sold dlcs in rng boxes. Selling cosmetics is one thing and gambling is another. I don't buy loot boxes, that doesn't mean I'm ok with them being in game. And nickel and diming their player base, when we know it's not necessary for the game to stay afloat and bring profits is greedy and underhanded. I don't know why you're even defending this.

yodased

Michae wrote: »

Imagine if they sold dlcs in rng boxes. Selling cosmetics is one thing and gambling is another. I don't buy loot boxes, that doesn't mean I'm ok with them being in game. And nickel and diming their player base, when we know it's not necessary for the game to stay afloat and bring profits is greedy and underhanded. I don't know why you're even defending this.

What am I defending? I'm presenting facts

Pops_ND_Irish

Michae wrote: »

Imagine if they sold dlcs in rng boxes. Selling cosmetics is one thing and gambling is another. I don't buy loot boxes, that doesn't mean I'm ok with them being in game. And nickel and diming their player base, when we know it's not necessary for the game to stay afloat and bring profits is greedy and underhanded. I don't know why you're even defending this.

hehehe gambling !

yodased

Pops_ND_Irish wrote: »

If you want to play the game, you buy it., the expansions also. Thats all they would like you to do, not expect you too.
They expect nothing, it's your choice. Crown store is an option. So you do not have to buy anything to play.

So calling them dirty and underhanded, is not valid.

The entire concept of microtransactions are dirty and underhanded in my opinion. No matter the software, the concept of them are not something we even need in the industry and I am in the industry.

Legate_Lanius

The store pricing is really nasty and to be honest doesn't make me confident in ZoS for a near future. Blizzard might have done a lot of wrong things but at least their prices are most of the time fair and square.

Seeing this post is almost 3 years old, I don't see any changes happening anytime soon even with all the threads about it.
Can't wait until governments start to move against lootbox practices though.

Michae

yodased wrote: »

Michae wrote: »

Imagine if they sold dlcs in rng boxes. Selling cosmetics is one thing and gambling is another. I don't buy loot boxes, that doesn't mean I'm ok with them being in game. And nickel and diming their player base, when we know it's not necessary for the game to stay afloat and bring profits is greedy and underhanded. I don't know why you're even defending this.

What am I defending? I'm presenting facts

I was writing to the other guy, you happened to respond before me .

I don't really disagree with you. I mainly have problem with rng boxes as I feel gated off from this content. I'm not going to spend a lot of money in Crown Store, I can buy something here and there as I like to rp with my guild and costumes are neat for that. But locking those things behind rng where the chances are really low and the price isn't so is something I can't ever agree with and hence my critique of it.

PS. And by that logic the whole game is useless. It's all just for fun and I don't understand why cosmetics are ok to nickel and dime while game mechanics are not. I personally enjoy rp much more than dungeons and trials and yet I'm expected to just move on while if it was the other way around people saying "it's optional" would cry foul.