What will be the next step of monetization in eso?

Chilly-McFreeze

Caitsith wrote: »

Chilly-McFreeze wrote: »

Milvan wrote: »

I think that ESO is monetized a lot already: paid - and expensive - dlcs and expansions, eso plus, crow store and gambling boxes.

Leaving crates and crown store out of the picture - what is wrong with demanding money for DLCs, Expansions and Subscriptions?

The fact that we have to buy the dlc when we stop our subscription for example to continue to have access to them. And no matter how long we had a subscription.

In comparison, in star wars the old republic, when you sub for 1 month, dlc remains unlocked, you don't have to pay again for continue to have access for that.

If you sub for one month, you get just as much crowns in adition to the eso+ perks as you would have recieved for using the same money to buy them directly (at least under some conditions). You could very well put the money (you already spend on your sub) to good use buying the DLCs with the subscription-crowns.

And please don't put up with SWTOR. This game has much more...incentives...to sub than eso.

Malmai

Next step is F2P with P2W...

Cadbury

Malmai wrote: »

Next step is F2P with P2W...

Lot of people already say ESO is F2P lol

swirve

Play Neverwinter and then come back and talk about monetisation...

That game is a joke in comparison to ESO in trying to fleece money out of players.

CiliPadi

swirve wrote: »

Play Neverwinter and then come back and talk about monetisation...

That game is a joke in comparison to ESO in trying to fleece money out of players.

Yeah I tried that game... you can even pay to complete quests.

LOL

alexthomp92

A one hour cp cap increase scroll that raises the cap by 60 points for 800 crowns

Flameheart

I would pay for HDT PE or HDT SMP for my female chars.

If we are on that already, some more scope and customization for the breast and butt sliders would be cool in addition.

Ilithyania

Rather give my money to ZOS then EA

Narvuntien

If you don't want to spend money... don't spend money.
If you are complaining about something you are choosing to be a part of, don't buy crates, don't buy furnishings. Sub if you prefer that method of paying for things.

Kel

Caitsith wrote: »

Since the crown store has been added in game, they're always pushing a little further what we can pay with money.

After crown store, crown crates, expansive limited items, xp scrolls, riding lessons, consumables, housing items that we can pay only with crowns, etc...

Do you think the next step of monetization will be there with the next update? What are we going to have? Do you have any ideas?

There isn't a game out, especially MMO's, that don't try to monetize the player base.
Look at WoW, the biggest fish in the pond.
You buy the base game, you buy each expansion, you are required to pay a sub to play, and, they still have a cash shop. Not to mention the high price of thier services, like faction or race changes and server transfers. You can buy gold in WoW for real money. There were rumors they wanted to add lootboxes (or crates, in ESO's case) to the game.
It's not just a ESO thing. These game companies are a business...the goal is to make money. The choice to participate or not is up to you. But no game today doesn't do this to some degree. If this stuff really bothers you, I have bad news, because you are not going to find a game free of this stuff. It just doesn't exsist in this genre of gaming.

Jade1986

coop500 wrote: »

Chilly-McFreeze wrote: »

Milvan wrote: »

I think that ESO is monetized a lot already: paid - and expensive - dlcs and expansions, eso plus, crow store and gambling boxes.

Leaving crates and crown store out of the picture - what is wrong with demanding money for DLCs, Expansions and Subscriptions?

Even the crown store/crates isn't that bad, it's all cosmetic anyway so just don't buy.

It wouldnt be that bad if there were a way to get cosmetics in game. As is, there are few and far between. Tere are no ways to earn in game haircuts, no in game lipsticks, no in game mounts aside from what we have had since launch, no way to dye your hair in game, the list goes on. Give us a way to earn that in game and the outcry would be a lot smaller.

Elsonso

jabrone77 wrote: »

It's not just a ESO thing. These game companies are a business...the goal is to make money. The choice to participate or not is up to you. But no game today doesn't do this to some degree. If this stuff really bothers you, I have bad news, because you are not going to find a game free of this stuff. It just doesn't exsist in this genre of gaming.

Quite right. I am just waiting for them to come up with a way of making money that does not depend upon exploiting their customers. I yearn for the days when the financial transactions between studio and player were honest and straightforward. Pay for something, get the something.

I mean, seriously, would the game studios be just as excited about loot boxes if that is how they had to get outside investor money for the games they make? Want to add servers? Need to add more end game content? Buy an Investment Box and see what you get? Awww. You only got "10 cases of Coke for the employee break room". Better luck next time.

PS Edit: New! The Investor Box has recently added the "Studio Warehouse" for you to store all those crates of Coke you have.

Malamar1229

I'd offer a cash reward to sell out players using cheats with proof, and also a prize award for players who can provide hard proof and feedback on exploits and how to fix them.

Kel

lordrichter wrote: »

jabrone77 wrote: »

It's not just a ESO thing. These game companies are a business...the goal is to make money. The choice to participate or not is up to you. But no game today doesn't do this to some degree. If this stuff really bothers you, I have bad news, because you are not going to find a game free of this stuff. It just doesn't exsist in this genre of gaming.

Quite right. I am just waiting for them to come up with a way of making money that does not depend upon exploiting their customers. I yearn for the days when the financial transactions between studio and player were honest and straightforward. Pay for something, get the something.

I mean, seriously, would the game studios be just as excited about loot boxes if that is how they had to get outside investor money for the games they make? Want to add servers? Need to add more end game content? Buy an Investment Box and see what you get? Awww. You only got "10 cases of Coke for the employee break room". Better luck next time.

PS Edit: New! The Investor Box has recently added the "Studio Warehouse" for you to store all those crates of Coke you have.

I'm not saying it's right, or that it isn't exploitation of the player base. I'm saying it exsists everywhere, not just in ESO, and MMO's in particular. It's even creeping in single player games like Shadow of Mordor and Starwars.
The Genie is out of the bottle, and the only way to put it back is to not participate. But until the laws change, this is the landscape we have to deal with.
My point is that it's not just confined to ESO.

FloppyTouch

Changing the name of dlc to something else so the can sell it for 40$....

Wait nvm they did that

Chilly-McFreeze

FloppyTouch wrote: »

Changing the name of dlc to something else so the can sell it for 40$....

Wait nvm they did that

Do you need to pay real money for expansions in WoW, SWTOR, GW2, etc? Or are they obtainable via "in-game" currency?

Elsonso

jabrone77 wrote: »

lordrichter wrote: »

jabrone77 wrote: »

It's not just a ESO thing. These game companies are a business...the goal is to make money. The choice to participate or not is up to you. But no game today doesn't do this to some degree. If this stuff really bothers you, I have bad news, because you are not going to find a game free of this stuff. It just doesn't exsist in this genre of gaming.

Quite right. I am just waiting for them to come up with a way of making money that does not depend upon exploiting their customers. I yearn for the days when the financial transactions between studio and player were honest and straightforward. Pay for something, get the something.

I mean, seriously, would the game studios be just as excited about loot boxes if that is how they had to get outside investor money for the games they make? Want to add servers? Need to add more end game content? Buy an Investment Box and see what you get? Awww. You only got "10 cases of Coke for the employee break room". Better luck next time.

PS Edit: New! The Investor Box has recently added the "Studio Warehouse" for you to store all those crates of Coke you have.

I'm not saying it's right, or that it isn't exploitation of the player base. I'm saying it exsists everywhere, not just in ESO, and MMO's in particular. It's even creeping in single player games like Shadow of Mordor and Starwars.
The Genie is out of the bottle, and the only way to put it back is to not participate. But until the laws change, this is the landscape we have to deal with.
My point is that it's not just confined to ESO.

Lemmings. They will follow their biological urge to migrate, often to their own peril. The moral of the story here is that just because it is popular for the studios to go in this direction does not mean that it is the right direction. It might just be a bunch of studios marching in solidarity to their own peril. Companies like EA and Bethesda, who have an interest in survival and solid base upon which to do so, are following studios that are "do or die" and are willing to take the risk that peril as the end of this path. We have not reached the end of the path, yet, but apparently EA and Bethesda think there is no peril here.

The studios see this as an exciting new avenue. It is why I bring up Investment Boxes. It is one thing for them to introduce loot boxes to their games. For them it is all goodness. It is another thing entirely if they have to deal with loot boxes being forced upon them by their financial partners. This is why I suggest that they would be a lot less excited about loot boxes if their investors started using them.

FloppyTouch wrote: »

Changing the name of dlc to something else so the can sell it for 40$....

Wait nvm they did that

I will buy a lot of Chapters before I will buy a Crown Crate. At least the Chapters are sold and purchased in a straightforward manner. I can see what I am getting, I know what I am spending, and I can decide whether it is worth it.

Defilted

With all the blow back from the EA loot crates, companies are going to have to re-think how they approach this. Does not mean they will not move froward with loot boxes, just means they will come up with an new way of doing it that makes you feel more positive about it.

Prof_Bawbag

Difficulty sliders and the likes. We'll soon get an empty shell of a game and have to pay extra for things we once took for granted. I mean, those people at Zenimax, Capcom, Ubi etc need something to feed their kids with and those multi million dollar profits ain't gonna cut it.

I'd actually see the point in half these monetizations if we were seeing an overall improvement, but it's obvious nothing from the crown crates is going back into the game. Can anyone point to any significant improvements in game that can be attributed to the implementation of CC's and more expensive CS fluff? I can't. It's as it was. I only see Zenimax posting larger profits and none of which will wing their way back to ESO.

I do believe subs and some money they make from the DLC/chapters go towards keeping the servers up and to pay the wages, but the extra cash is going straight into the bank, not the game.

AhPook_Is_Here

I wouldn't mind some in-game ads, if they are cleverly done. Imagine if you've been grinding CP for like 6 hours, how cool would it be if a little imperial bald dood ran up to you and told you how long you've been grinding and asked if you were ready for a little Caesar's pizza, delivered to you now? I think of the stress dog in the Partiot, and how this game could essentially productive the same service, knowing how long you have played, how rapidly you are mashing keys and if maybe your anxiety levels are going up and then offering the right fee service to match your needs. Mashing keys too fast? Have you seen the new shiatsu massage chairs at Costco? And the beauty of all this is you wouldn't have to look at your phone to do the transactions. Wouldn't be a bad idea to link the phone to the ESO app so that more data could be collected by ESO to provide you with better services.

Chilly-McFreeze

AhPook_Is_Here wrote: »

I wouldn't mind some in-game ads, if they are cleverly done. Imagine if you've been grinding CP for like 6 hours, how cool would it be if a little imperial bald dood ran up to you and told you how long you've been grinding and asked if you were ready for a little Caesar's pizza, delivered to you now? I think of the stress dog in the Partiot, and how this game could essentially productive the same service, knowing how long you have played, how rapidly you are mashing keys and if maybe your anxiety levels are going up and then offering the right fee service to match your needs. Mashing keys too fast? Have you seen the new shiatsu massage chairs at Costco? And the beauty of all this is you wouldn't have to look at your phone to do the transactions. Wouldn't be a bad idea to link the phone to the ESO app so that more data could be collected by ESO to provide you with better services.

Uh, no thanks. I'd rather take the crates I don't have to buy instead of someone forcing this adverts down my throat.

Rouven

I'm all fine with the monetization process as long as it does not affect the quality of the game itself. Many opportunities for "world class storytelling" - which is part of zenimax onlines vision - have not been taken.

Examples would be quests for mounts, race- class- or alliance specific. There was a token integration with the houses in terms of requiring achievements to purchase but so many options are lost (clear a bandits nest, settle in a pirates cove). Minimal quests exist for provision recipes, nothing for furniture that I am aware (to craft, some housing items exist as quest rewards). Pets?

If we can find a better balance there that would be great.

Otherwise I'm still happy with the quality of DLC's - in terms of storytelling and rewards such as mementos. Clockwork has comparatively many extra "features" in the quests and rewards quite a few skillpoints.

We have one pop up every once in a while at startup to show features crown store items and that is it - even the icons for the crown store don't blink or shine too much - nothing is in your face constantly ... long story short it could be much worse.

Fleshreaper

They could create billboards along the roads and have companies buy ad space on those billboards. Have Coke/Sprite sponsor in game drinks that have power buffs. Have chain restaurants sponsor food items with powerful buffs. Let stores sponsor in game shops. Walk into Evermore and see a GAP sign, go in and it's a clothing store. Let Bass Pro type places sponsor hunting/fishing tournaments.

Unlikely_Ghostbuster

Cadbury wrote: »

Malmai wrote: »

Next step is F2P with P2W...

Lot of people already say ESO is F2P lol

ESO walks a couple of very fine lines, here...

Yes, it's Free-to-Play -- as long as you sell everything as trash as you don't have the crafting bag.

No, it's not Pay-to-Win -- as long as you don't count crown XP scrolls and the ESO+ XP buff.

I sincerely doubt ZOS is willing to push either of these boundaries any harder than they already have. It may be the case that ESO has reached a point of financial stability with ESO+ subs and the crown store. They recently expanded the size of crown packs from 5500-for-$40 to 21000-for-$150, and I have no doubt players have already bought them.

All ZOS has to do to make more money is loosen the valve on crowns a bit more. They'd make a mint if there was a more significant gain to be had with the larger crown packs. 5500-for-$40 works out to be 137.5 crowns per dollar, while the 21000-for-$150 works out to be 140 crowns per dollar. Hate to say it, but I'd be more likely to by the largest pack they had if the ratio was closer to 150 crowns per dollar (I'd actually buy crown crates and put mundus stones in my house).

What we should expect is more of the same, however. There will be more DLCs, more non-DLC "chapters" with exclusives like the Warden class, more crown crate seasons, and more housing features exclusive to the crown store.

In the future, fully expect to see:
1. Crown store exclusive wayshrines.
2. Crown store exclusive crafting writ boards and turn-in boxes.
3. Crown store exclusive alchemy reagent gardens.
4. Crown store exclusive playable races (Xivkyn, Nede, etc.).

Additionally, ZOS keeps creating more and more "stuff" for us to chase. There are so many mounts, houses, and other things that were "limited release" when they first dropped. ZOS can easily bank some quick cash simply by putting a few of them into the crown crate gem legendary rewards tab (from time to time -- they still have to be "limited release").

At the end of the day, ZOS has no manufacturing overhead to re-release any of the "limited" items we've already seen. There's nothing to stop them from periodically doing so to shore up their coffers.

So there are a LOT of revenue options to exhaust before ESO explicitly goes Pay-to-Win. We need not worry.

billp_ESO

Have pop-up ads in the game that you could pay to not see.

Chilly-McFreeze

Unlikely_Ghostbuster wrote: »

Cadbury wrote: »

Malmai wrote: »

Next step is F2P with P2W...

Lot of people already say ESO is F2P lol

ESO walks a couple of very fine lines, here...

Yes, it's Free-to-Play -- as long as you sell everything as trash as you don't have the crafting bag.

No, it's not Pay-to-Win -- as long as you don't count crown XP scrolls and the ESO+ XP buff.

Just one correction. It is not free-to-play. You have to pay money to purchase teso, therefore it's buy-to-play.

Jade1986

Chilly-McFreeze wrote: »

AhPook_Is_Here wrote: »

I wouldn't mind some in-game ads, if they are cleverly done. Imagine if you've been grinding CP for like 6 hours, how cool would it be if a little imperial bald dood ran up to you and told you how long you've been grinding and asked if you were ready for a little Caesar's pizza, delivered to you now? I think of the stress dog in the Partiot, and how this game could essentially productive the same service, knowing how long you have played, how rapidly you are mashing keys and if maybe your anxiety levels are going up and then offering the right fee service to match your needs. Mashing keys too fast? Have you seen the new shiatsu massage chairs at Costco? And the beauty of all this is you wouldn't have to look at your phone to do the transactions. Wouldn't be a bad idea to link the phone to the ESO app so that more data could be collected by ESO to provide you with better services.

Uh, no thanks. I'd rather take the crates I don't have to buy instead of someone forcing this adverts down my throat.

Add an option to murder the advertiser

Unlikely_Ghostbuster

Chilly-McFreeze wrote: »

Unlikely_Ghostbuster wrote: »

Cadbury wrote: »

Malmai wrote: »

Next step is F2P with P2W...

Lot of people already say ESO is F2P lol

ESO walks a couple of very fine lines, here...

Yes, it's Free-to-Play -- as long as you sell everything as trash as you don't have the crafting bag.

No, it's not Pay-to-Win -- as long as you don't count crown XP scrolls and the ESO+ XP buff.

Just one correction. It is not free-to-play. You have to pay money to purchase teso, therefore it's buy-to-play.

Yes, I should have been more thorough in my use of the term -- I was using it as a shorthand way to say that ESO is now free to play without a mandatory subscription. It was implied by the crafting bag addendum, but yes, it's less confusing to be more specific.

Of course, one would think everyone who reads/posts here is acutely aware they had to buy the game, first. It's not impossible for a non-player to read the forums, but how probable is it, really?

Which will be yet another revenue source, come to think of it. While it's true the base game is currently on sale for $10, there is a "gold" edition with the first four DLCs included. Odds are good ZOS will continue to bundle DLCs into other editions as well. We'll likely see a diamond edition in 2018 that includes all DLCs + Morrowind.

Elsonso

Chilly-McFreeze wrote: »

Unlikely_Ghostbuster wrote: »

Cadbury wrote: »

Malmai wrote: »

Next step is F2P with P2W...

Lot of people already say ESO is F2P lol

ESO walks a couple of very fine lines, here...

Yes, it's Free-to-Play -- as long as you sell everything as trash as you don't have the crafting bag.

No, it's not Pay-to-Win -- as long as you don't count crown XP scrolls and the ESO+ XP buff.

Just one correction. It is not free-to-play. You have to pay money to purchase teso, therefore it's buy-to-play.

Just take out the hyphens. Free to play. No one can deny that.

kylewwefan

WTB: Essence of Get Güd