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https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/668861

ZO$ you killed the whale !

  • DuskMarine
    DuskMarine
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    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    DuskMarine wrote: »
    JJBoomer wrote: »
    More and more it appears as though the game or the studio is in serious financial trouble. There is no other reason why the monetization is this aggressive. I've said it before, but it's gotten to the point where it feels malicious.

    But we have to ask ourselves, if this is aggressive, and malicious monetization, then why do we continue to help perpetuate this by continuing to play?

    i buy all their stuff cause there is no aggressive monetization in this game or even malicious monetization. reason being nothing in this game is pay to win if it was pay to win maybe then it would be but its not. everything in the crown store is purely cosmetic or supporting them by buying the next expansion in the game.

    now surely yall want some examples of it if i think this game isnt well heres some. ALMOST everything EA has ever made has those types of microtransactions and most still do(even after the giant controversy). TROVE a game created by trion where practically you can buy stuff to augment your stats and buy emblems to make your damage go upwards of 300% or higher. DESTINY 2 and their EVERVERSE system where is the only real place to get better vehicles and the only way to get your hands on exotic ghost shells.

    all of those form what aggressive or malicious monetization is zenimax doesnt do anything along these lines in any way shape or form.

    But ZoS is starting to lock all major content behind expansions mostly now, and all mounts/pets/costumes behind pay walls as well, rather than in game achievements and such you know like actually playing the game to obtain things rather then just keep spending your irl $

    still doesnt hold anything that makes it malicious or aggressive monetization. the mounts do nothing for you, costumes do nothing for you, pets are not like the ones in wow they do nothing for you they are all cosmetic. also major content being behind expansions has been a thing in rpgs for the longest time its nothing new to any of us who have been playing for as long as we can remember for big companies. its expected because why would they not monetize it. theres so many games that made you have to buy an expansion or another game entirely to get to the next part of the story or major content they decided to add to it but waited for another game. its something we all have to deal with. its not like im paying for godlike armor or godlike weapons that give me max stats........paying for expansions are no issue.
  • DoctorESO
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    How much money do you have to spend, and in what time period, to be considered a whale?
  • DuskMarine
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    DoctorESO wrote: »
    How much money do you have to spend, and in what time period, to be considered a whale?

    a whale drops thousands to tens of thousands a year
  • DoctorESO
    DoctorESO
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    DuskMarine wrote: »
    DoctorESO wrote: »
    How much money do you have to spend, and in what time period, to be considered a whale?

    a whale drops thousands to tens of thousands a year

    That's a lot of money to spend on in-game items.
  • Cpt_Teemo
    Cpt_Teemo
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    DuskMarine wrote: »
    DoctorESO wrote: »
    How much money do you have to spend, and in what time period, to be considered a whale?

    a whale drops thousands to tens of thousands a year

    Or that guy that spent 30k in just one day on SC
  • Cpt_Teemo
    Cpt_Teemo
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    DuskMarine wrote: »
    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    DuskMarine wrote: »
    JJBoomer wrote: »
    More and more it appears as though the game or the studio is in serious financial trouble. There is no other reason why the monetization is this aggressive. I've said it before, but it's gotten to the point where it feels malicious.

    But we have to ask ourselves, if this is aggressive, and malicious monetization, then why do we continue to help perpetuate this by continuing to play?

    i buy all their stuff cause there is no aggressive monetization in this game or even malicious monetization. reason being nothing in this game is pay to win if it was pay to win maybe then it would be but its not. everything in the crown store is purely cosmetic or supporting them by buying the next expansion in the game.

    now surely yall want some examples of it if i think this game isnt well heres some. ALMOST everything EA has ever made has those types of microtransactions and most still do(even after the giant controversy). TROVE a game created by trion where practically you can buy stuff to augment your stats and buy emblems to make your damage go upwards of 300% or higher. DESTINY 2 and their EVERVERSE system where is the only real place to get better vehicles and the only way to get your hands on exotic ghost shells.

    all of those form what aggressive or malicious monetization is zenimax doesnt do anything along these lines in any way shape or form.

    But ZoS is starting to lock all major content behind expansions mostly now, and all mounts/pets/costumes behind pay walls as well, rather than in game achievements and such you know like actually playing the game to obtain things rather then just keep spending your irl $

    still doesnt hold anything that makes it malicious or aggressive monetization. the mounts do nothing for you, costumes do nothing for you, pets are not like the ones in wow they do nothing for you they are all cosmetic. also major content being behind expansions has been a thing in rpgs for the longest time its nothing new to any of us who have been playing for as long as we can remember for big companies. its expected because why would they not monetize it. theres so many games that made you have to buy an expansion or another game entirely to get to the next part of the story or major content they decided to add to it but waited for another game. its something we all have to deal with. its not like im paying for godlike armor or godlike weapons that give me max stats........paying for expansions are no issue.

    Ok, well what's the point of collectors still playing the game once they obtained all motifs, patterns, recipes in game and have nothing else to collect? Why bother having it all cash shop only content, and also I never have played any MMO so far that has locked a base crafting skill line behind an expansion ever, even if WoW did it before I started WoW after they changed it thankfully.
  • DuskMarine
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    DoctorESO wrote: »
    DuskMarine wrote: »
    DoctorESO wrote: »
    How much money do you have to spend, and in what time period, to be considered a whale?

    a whale drops thousands to tens of thousands a year

    That's a lot of money to spend on in-game items.

    hundreds of thousands is alot but whales normally are thousands to tens of thousands.
  • Lylith
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    Runefang wrote: »
    That makes ZOS Ahab and you what? A Moby D...

    let's remember, ahab died.


  • Nemesis7884
    Nemesis7884
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    Zos may want to read up on the laffer curve
  • Cpt_Teemo
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    Lylith wrote: »
    Runefang wrote: »
    That makes ZOS Ahab and you what? A Moby D...

    let's remember, ahab died.


    Ahab was also a bomb with a virus called Silent Night

  • Lylith
    Lylith
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    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    Lylith wrote: »
    Runefang wrote: »
    That makes ZOS Ahab and you what? A Moby D...

    let's remember, ahab died.


    Ahab was also a bomb with a virus called Silent Night


    yeah, that one failed too, didn't it?
  • Cpt_Teemo
    Cpt_Teemo
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    Lylith wrote: »
    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    Lylith wrote: »
    Runefang wrote: »
    That makes ZOS Ahab and you what? A Moby D...

    let's remember, ahab died.


    Ahab was also a bomb with a virus called Silent Night


    yeah, that one failed too, didn't it?

    Yeah Vin Diesel disabled it
  • TheUndeadAmulet
    TheUndeadAmulet
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    You're a single whale in an ocean. Don't think ZO$ will care
    DuskMarine wrote: »
    Arundo wrote: »
    I have to admit I’m a whale when it comes to cash shops in games. In most MMO’s I play I spend good amounts of euro’s to get those nice cosmetics. Furthermore I’m a collector and due to that whenever I see something I need to get it. Did this in other games like WoW, GW2, SWTOR and ofcourse ESO. With ESO I managed to get all stuff until the crown crates and even with the crown crates, the first two seasons I got all items eventually because you actually could even if your RNG sucked. But ZO$ being greedy added more items and added items you could not get through the gems so basically you had the chance (a very big one) to not get everything before the season was over.

    Which meant as collector I could not get everything anymore. Because of this I have been spending less money on the cash shop then before, this whale got killed. So I made an analysis from my expenses from the account page and holy *** I spend over 4000 euro’s on ESO. But the good thing is that ever since the change to the way ZO$ is trying to grab more cash I spend less and less on ESO. So I would like to thank ZO$ for this, got cash to spend on other games which do not throw me under the RNG bus.

    Below my spend euro's on ESO on crowns over the years per quarter:

    nexbmf.png

    i have no problem with anything zos has done and im a major whale in this game. they have only done right by us in many ways. but one thing you have to understand a mega rare mount shouldnt be buyable with the gems. thats like going to the casino and hitting the jackpot its meant to feel like an accomplishment. but i have the ability to whale out on 3 games not just eso, starcraft 2, and also monster hunter but i whale out extensively on the games cause i enjoy their direction. the monetization of this game isnt even remotely predatory which is nice imho but after playing anything owned by ea you tend to feel that way with a game like eso.

    I see we have a lost cause...

    https://youtu.be/Tu3rwf27VRE
    XBOX NA 1000+ CP
    PC NA 400+ CP
    nerf ping please
  • DuskMarine
    DuskMarine
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    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    DuskMarine wrote: »
    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    DuskMarine wrote: »
    JJBoomer wrote: »
    More and more it appears as though the game or the studio is in serious financial trouble. There is no other reason why the monetization is this aggressive. I've said it before, but it's gotten to the point where it feels malicious.

    But we have to ask ourselves, if this is aggressive, and malicious monetization, then why do we continue to help perpetuate this by continuing to play?

    i buy all their stuff cause there is no aggressive monetization in this game or even malicious monetization. reason being nothing in this game is pay to win if it was pay to win maybe then it would be but its not. everything in the crown store is purely cosmetic or supporting them by buying the next expansion in the game.

    now surely yall want some examples of it if i think this game isnt well heres some. ALMOST everything EA has ever made has those types of microtransactions and most still do(even after the giant controversy). TROVE a game created by trion where practically you can buy stuff to augment your stats and buy emblems to make your damage go upwards of 300% or higher. DESTINY 2 and their EVERVERSE system where is the only real place to get better vehicles and the only way to get your hands on exotic ghost shells.

    all of those form what aggressive or malicious monetization is zenimax doesnt do anything along these lines in any way shape or form.

    But ZoS is starting to lock all major content behind expansions mostly now, and all mounts/pets/costumes behind pay walls as well, rather than in game achievements and such you know like actually playing the game to obtain things rather then just keep spending your irl $

    still doesnt hold anything that makes it malicious or aggressive monetization. the mounts do nothing for you, costumes do nothing for you, pets are not like the ones in wow they do nothing for you they are all cosmetic. also major content being behind expansions has been a thing in rpgs for the longest time its nothing new to any of us who have been playing for as long as we can remember for big companies. its expected because why would they not monetize it. theres so many games that made you have to buy an expansion or another game entirely to get to the next part of the story or major content they decided to add to it but waited for another game. its something we all have to deal with. its not like im paying for godlike armor or godlike weapons that give me max stats........paying for expansions are no issue.

    Ok, well what's the point of collectors still playing the game once they obtained all motifs, patterns, recipes in game and have nothing else to collect? Why bother having it all cash shop only content, and also I never have played any MMO so far that has locked a base crafting skill line behind an expansion ever, even if WoW did it before I started WoW after they changed it thankfully.

    diablo 3 did locked an npc behind it granted its not mmo level of huge but its still quite a big world. diablo 3 did lock behind reaper of souls a few things. a few games do lock behind pay walls certain contents to make it worth getting. every game has done it at least once some have actually made them part of the base game(much like eso is doing morrowind and stuff behind that besides warden). so you dont want to buy it just wait problem solved. to each their own on what they do but this game doesnt do anything predatory when it comes to monetization.
  • DoctorESO
    DoctorESO
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    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    DuskMarine wrote: »
    DoctorESO wrote: »
    How much money do you have to spend, and in what time period, to be considered a whale?

    a whale drops thousands to tens of thousands a year

    Or that guy that spent 30k in just one day on SC

    Really? Is there a thread on this?
  • Smasherx74
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    Jerkling wrote: »
    stop blaming a company for trying to make money or the way they do it

    Did you intend to just attack the OP? Because I don't intend to simply sit by while you make statements that the point of this thread contradicts.


    1) He's a costumer he can criticize the product he paid for all he wants, as a matter of a fact he has more justification to criticize it than anyone else.

    2) He's shown how at least with him, their current market strategy has lead to a decrease of sales from him. The only reason why if any sale increases have occurred is simply because of increased population. More people = More sells so the obvious thing to do would be to increase prices (by decreasing % of specials and adding RNG boxes)

    3) If his intention is for ZOS to get more money to make a better game, then his concern for their current market policy is sound. He's shown that their policy has decreased the amount of money he spends on the game. Obviously they've went overboard with their attempt at price gouging. A better solution to make more money could possibly be to revert back to our original specials and decrease loot boxes and paywalls.


    Jerkling wrote: »
    if you are dumb enuf to throw money at them for pets, mounts, houses, cosmetics and all that useless and utterly pointless crap you deserve to be taken advantage of.



    In the real world, there is a little country called America that is the largest consumer based economy in human history. People who buy things like "pets, mounts, houses, cosmetics" and all that stuff contribute to the overall economy. It's thanks to the abundance of consumers that we have multiple fronts where people can spend their money on different products. Ultimately what happens is instead of having a single sector flourish, you see everything overall flourish. The same exact principle applies to MMO economies. Again, in the real world, there are countries that have deployed command and control economics, which essentially is where the government predicts what they should focus all their resources towards developing assuming the consumers will want that in an abundance. Places like Venezuala for example, they focused all their efforts towards oil. Guess what happen? Agriculture and infrastructure dried up. Soviet Union did pretty much the same thing, Saudi Arabia, same thing. We can list countless examples of why the point you're trying to get at is bad for business. Without consumers like the OP, we would not have multiple DLCs coming out every year. We wouldn't be able to experience the game we have now because ZOS would have less resources, and you can't expect a cow to have it's buddy be milked in it's place and produce the same amount of milk as them both combined.


    (For ZOS staff because this guy likely will not like what I have to say and will flag me for baiting/politics, this is simply a counter argument to his points about the economics behind consumerism. I'm using real life economies as examples, in no way am I being political, thanks for understanding)
    Edited by Smasherx74 on May 10, 2018 5:13AM
    Master Debater
  • Vhozek
    Vhozek
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    Notice how the MMO genre is has been on the brink of destruction for some time yet everyone is making an MMO. Do you know why? Because it's a quick buck and whales like to give more than a quick buck to dress up their characters.
    𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆, 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝘀. 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴.
  • Mureel
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    Jerkling wrote: »
    Arundo wrote: »
    I have to admit I’m a whale when it comes to cash shops in games. In most MMO’s I play I spend good amounts of euro’s to get those nice cosmetics. Furthermore I’m a collector and due to that whenever I see something I need to get it. [...]
    you are the problem, not ZOS!
    carrot-motivation-300x207.jpg

    stop blaming a company for trying to make money or the way they do it (unless it's actually hurting people or the environment). if you are dumb enuf to throw money at them for pets, mounts, houses, cosmetics and all that useless and utterly pointless crap you deserve to be taken advantage of.
    it's people like you why mmo's are this way today and developers seem to spend more time and resources on bunny ears for the ingame shop instead of real content, so you get to have that 9,99,-EUR thrill that last for 5 minutes.

    What do you propose then, for a game to make money? It's a business after all, not your Mom.

    Why should everything be free?

    I understand this mentality far less than I do buying what you want in game (or anything in life).

    People buying the base game for 20 bucks aren't really a benefit to anyone but themselves; and given the level of 'give us X for free' not even themselves, really.

    Money has to come from somewhere.

    If I were those people who don't want to buy anything or pay a sub, I'd just pipe down and enjoy my free ride.
  • Wayshuba
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    JaZ2091 wrote: »
    I don't understand the appeal of collecting game items thru a RNG pay wall; however, I do see why they continue doing so. There's probably thousands just you, I can't imagine the killing they are making and I don't blame them for continuing this path even though its a shame.

    The problem is, as EA has painfully found out, that as you continue down the path of aggressive monetization you eventually alienate the customer base - and then it is hard to get them back.

    Gaming companies just can't seem to help themselves. They find a formula that works and then, rather than leave that system be since it is working, they keep pushing the envelope - at least until they cross into the territory of customer resentment.

    Unfortunately, I have reached the same point with ZoS but for different reasons. As the prices in the Crown Store have moved from "microtransactions" to major purchases (think $100+ houses and ridiculously overpriced outfit slots) and systems in game are being designed more and more about how to turn them into mobile F2P transactions (think outfit costs - hey, they only game with a store cost to CHANGE your clothes - and the coming grinds for jewelry crafting), I too have become soured on supporting ZoS outside my ESO+ membership.
  • Wayshuba
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    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    ZOS has poor sales ethics. Poor sales ethics will make your cool customers leave, and get replaced with scumbag customers.

    Whales will keep buying regardless, but they'll lose out on the majority of the common folk

    Most people are on a budget. Whales are rare drops. Yes there will always be the chance of netting some whales, but there's way more small / medium fish in the sea. IMHO there should be a focus on sustainable / long term / ethical selling / positively acknowledging consumers on budget.

    Ever watch some of the industry presentations on monetization? Far too much focus on the 5% or less considered "whales". I have always said the same to myself - why are they spending so much time on how to monetize that 5% rather than figuring out how to capture more of that 95%?

    So far, they only thing the industry seems to have come up with to try to get that 95% is forced monetization through painful game play experiences if you don't spend. So what do they get, people spending even less because they become resentful at being forced/coerced into spending.

    Seems the whole business model is as fragile as a wet paper towel.
  • forwardbias83
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    Won't mention the game, but if you think ESO is a pay to win game, you are wrong. I know a game where if you want the edge, it will cost you over $2,000. For the best gear, that is 2K, for the top refines, gems, recasts, another 2K.4K in total. Free to play, but I quit after learning their trap... There is another game out there, where for around $17000, you can be the best of the best. There was also a news article about someone playing such a game, they payed 100,000 dollars for a virtual space station. So I stick to games with a sub, if I do invest in things like crates, limit it to $100 a year, I also am ESO+ so I get some crowns to spend, but I limit myself. At least the crates in this game are not a requrement, just cosmetic stuff, but in other games, if you want to be endgame, you have to sink hundreds, even thousands of dollars into gambling crates for that top equipment, which if you don't have that equipment, the top guilds don't want you. So if you think a $30 mount is bad, trust me, some of those games out there, where you have to put $2K, $4K or more on a credit card just to compete. I used to play a $15 a month sub game. I have no problem even paying $30 a month. But some of these games, so called free to play, will rob you. They may say they are free, but in just a year, you could end up paying 1K, 2K or more in micro transactions. This game might have such transactions, but equipment wise, you have to do the dungeons to get set pieces, and there is no shortcut in the store to get that equipment faster. So trust me, if you think ESO is another pay to win cash grab, you are wrong.
  • Wayshuba
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    Mureel wrote: »
    Jerkling wrote: »
    Arundo wrote: »
    I have to admit I’m a whale when it comes to cash shops in games. In most MMO’s I play I spend good amounts of euro’s to get those nice cosmetics. Furthermore I’m a collector and due to that whenever I see something I need to get it. [...]
    you are the problem, not ZOS!
    carrot-motivation-300x207.jpg

    stop blaming a company for trying to make money or the way they do it (unless it's actually hurting people or the environment). if you are dumb enuf to throw money at them for pets, mounts, houses, cosmetics and all that useless and utterly pointless crap you deserve to be taken advantage of.
    it's people like you why mmo's are this way today and developers seem to spend more time and resources on bunny ears for the ingame shop instead of real content, so you get to have that 9,99,-EUR thrill that last for 5 minutes.

    What do you propose then, for a game to make money? It's a business after all, not your Mom.

    Why should everything be free?

    I understand this mentality far less than I do buying what you want in game (or anything in life).

    People buying the base game for 20 bucks aren't really a benefit to anyone but themselves; and given the level of 'give us X for free' not even themselves, really.

    Money has to come from somewhere.

    If I were those people who don't want to buy anything or pay a sub, I'd just pipe down and enjoy my free ride.

    There are other ways to do it that will both allow a company to make money AND not make the customers feel like they are being used or systems are being designed just to empty their wallets.

    Look at Fortnite's business model as an example. Not a single RNG crate in that game yet it is out earning almost all other games on the market at the moment. Items are all direct purchases and are priced from about $4 to $20 max.

    No RNG, No $100+ items, etc. And they have much more than 5% of their customers spending money on the game. Why? Because they treat them with respect for their purchases and have NOTHING that forces a customer to buy something (not artificial grinds offset by purchases, no in game system designed to be expensive to drive purchases, etc.).

    Likewise, Fortnite has found a formula that works for them and keeps their customers happy so they stick with it - rather than continually find a way to extract more from their customers by designing the game to try and FORCE them to spend.

    SWTOR and BFII have killed the golden goose with aggressive overmonetization. Fortnite continues to thrive with fair monetization. ZoS has chosen to follow the SWTOR model now, rather than adopt the Fortnite one. So we know where this will eventually end up, but it will still be a while from now.

    I contend more gaming companies should follow the Fortnite model than the EA model. Fortnite makes more money overall, has a larger percentage of customers purchasing, and has customers happy with their purchases.
  • Jerkling
    Jerkling
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    @Jerkling I am on a marketing team for a billion dollar company and I can tell you, seeing statistics of marketing strategies are VERY useful. Although this post is just one example they have presented to ZOS, there are many more out there. Finding trends that actually hinder a buyer is ZOS's problem, not the buyer. As you can see, the buyer is willing to spend a large amount of money and presenting their discomfort as to why a strategy they changed is actually causing them to spend less. I also float that boat and since the Radiant Apex mounts were introduced, I have spent less on crown crates.

    It's not so much blaming ZOS's for them spending money. It's more or less one statistic from one buyer and what has caused them to spend less and why.

    This should be a simple understanding even for someone who is not on a marketing team.
    @Kuramas9tails

    i think you're missing my point. the OP was complaining about ZOS adding more items to the crown crates item pool which would lead to him spending more money if he/she was to get all the items available, calling ZOS greedy. but you can not blame a company for trying to make more money by refining strategies that worked. and it obviously worked great to far since the OP was happy to throw thousands of Euros at them.

    No doubt ZOS isn't/wouldn't be happy losing a cash cow like that, but i'm confident ZOS has capable people in their marketing/economics team who know how to utilize a inverse demand funktion. ;)

    Mureel wrote: »
    What do you propose then, for a game to make money? It's a business after all, not your Mom.

    Why should everything be free?

    I understand this mentality far less than I do buying what you want in game (or anything in life).

    People buying the base game for 20 bucks aren't really a benefit to anyone but themselves; and given the level of 'give us X for free' not even themselves, really.

    Money has to come from somewhere.

    If I were those people who don't want to buy anything or pay a sub, I'd just pipe down and enjoy my free ride.
    @Mureel

    maybe you should read again what i actually wrote and not assume/imply what i might have meant, because at no point am i saying anyone should get anything for free. i'm actually one of the last ones to ask for free stuff, but i'd rather have actual content (new zones, quest, dungeons etc) than useless pets and all that idiotic cosmetic nonsense that the majority seems to like so much.

    btw, even if i were enjoying this game for free i'd still be a benefit to others as i'd make this game feel more alive and active. a concept you might not yet have heard of or thought about, but it's important for a game that players feel there is a vibrant community invested in it.
    Edited by Jerkling on May 10, 2018 10:19AM
  • Chadak
    Chadak
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    A little greed and a little good sense go a long way.

    A lot of greed and no sense gets hoisted on its own petard and left in a ditch to rot.
  • Charliff1966
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    Wayshuba wrote: »
    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    ZOS has poor sales ethics. Poor sales ethics will make your cool customers leave, and get replaced with scumbag customers.

    Whales will keep buying regardless, but they'll lose out on the majority of the common folk

    Most people are on a budget. Whales are rare drops. Yes there will always be the chance of netting some whales, but there's way more small / medium fish in the sea. IMHO there should be a focus on sustainable / long term / ethical selling / positively acknowledging consumers on budget.

    Ever watch some of the industry presentations on monetization? Far too much focus on the 5% or less considered "whales". I have always said the same to myself - why are they spending so much time on how to monetize that 5% rather than figuring out how to capture more of that 95%?

    So far, they only thing the industry seems to have come up with to try to get that 95% is forced monetization through painful game play experiences if you don't spend. So what do they get, people spending even less because they become resentful at being forced/coerced into spending.

    Seems the whole business model is as fragile as a wet paper towel.

    Or the 5% is spending far more then the 95% together will be doing.
  • Jayman1000
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    DoctorESO wrote: »
    How much money do you have to spend, and in what time period, to be considered a whale?

    I know this is mobile but still

    eedarwhales.jpg

    Edited by Jayman1000 on May 10, 2018 10:05AM
  • Wayshuba
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    Wayshuba wrote: »
    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    ZOS has poor sales ethics. Poor sales ethics will make your cool customers leave, and get replaced with scumbag customers.

    Whales will keep buying regardless, but they'll lose out on the majority of the common folk

    Most people are on a budget. Whales are rare drops. Yes there will always be the chance of netting some whales, but there's way more small / medium fish in the sea. IMHO there should be a focus on sustainable / long term / ethical selling / positively acknowledging consumers on budget.

    Ever watch some of the industry presentations on monetization? Far too much focus on the 5% or less considered "whales". I have always said the same to myself - why are they spending so much time on how to monetize that 5% rather than figuring out how to capture more of that 95%?

    So far, they only thing the industry seems to have come up with to try to get that 95% is forced monetization through painful game play experiences if you don't spend. So what do they get, people spending even less because they become resentful at being forced/coerced into spending.

    Seems the whole business model is as fragile as a wet paper towel.

    Or the 5% is spending far more then the 95% together will be doing.

    Unfortunately, the game companies that are trying to get more even spend across the base are proving the 5% focus on whales wrong. Fortnite is just one example.

    Also look at post above this. Killer Whales represent 1% of customer base whereas Minnows represent 43%. Killer Whales average $100/month spending where Minnows represent $5/month. Per million players, that means Killer Whales bring in $1,000,000 versus Minnows bringing in $2.15 million. So who exactly should you focus on?

    Fortnite understood this and has instead opted on focusing on the Minnows, but getting them to spend more than $5/month. Thus avoiding loot crates, offering seasonal battlepasses for $10, and having store items direct purchase and at no more than $20 max. And they are killing it as a result.

    Who is ZoS targeting with $15 outfit slots, $100+ houses and $50 motifs? Sure not the Minnows. So are they intentionally making it so only 1%-4% of their customers are interested in purchasing from the store? Not a healthy way to run a business.

    ZoS should look at Fortnite's successful business model rather than try and duplicates SWTORs which ended up really hurting that game overall.
    Edited by Wayshuba on May 10, 2018 11:18AM
  • Vahrokh
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    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    DuskMarine wrote: »
    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    DuskMarine wrote: »
    JJBoomer wrote: »
    More and more it appears as though the game or the studio is in serious financial trouble. There is no other reason why the monetization is this aggressive. I've said it before, but it's gotten to the point where it feels malicious.

    But we have to ask ourselves, if this is aggressive, and malicious monetization, then why do we continue to help perpetuate this by continuing to play?

    i buy all their stuff cause there is no aggressive monetization in this game or even malicious monetization. reason being nothing in this game is pay to win if it was pay to win maybe then it would be but its not. everything in the crown store is purely cosmetic or supporting them by buying the next expansion in the game.

    now surely yall want some examples of it if i think this game isnt well heres some. ALMOST everything EA has ever made has those types of microtransactions and most still do(even after the giant controversy). TROVE a game created by trion where practically you can buy stuff to augment your stats and buy emblems to make your damage go upwards of 300% or higher. DESTINY 2 and their EVERVERSE system where is the only real place to get better vehicles and the only way to get your hands on exotic ghost shells.

    all of those form what aggressive or malicious monetization is zenimax doesnt do anything along these lines in any way shape or form.

    But ZoS is starting to lock all major content behind expansions mostly now, and all mounts/pets/costumes behind pay walls as well, rather than in game achievements and such you know like actually playing the game to obtain things rather then just keep spending your irl $

    still doesnt hold anything that makes it malicious or aggressive monetization. the mounts do nothing for you, costumes do nothing for you, pets are not like the ones in wow they do nothing for you they are all cosmetic. also major content being behind expansions has been a thing in rpgs for the longest time its nothing new to any of us who have been playing for as long as we can remember for big companies. its expected because why would they not monetize it. theres so many games that made you have to buy an expansion or another game entirely to get to the next part of the story or major content they decided to add to it but waited for another game. its something we all have to deal with. its not like im paying for godlike armor or godlike weapons that give me max stats........paying for expansions are no issue.

    Ok, well what's the point of collectors still playing the game once they obtained all motifs, patterns, recipes in game and have nothing else to collect? Why bother having it all cash shop only content, and also I never have played any MMO so far that has locked a base crafting skill line behind an expansion ever, even if WoW did it before I started WoW after they changed it thankfully.

    They keep playing because the next patch / crown item etc. are new collector item and they want to hoard it all and forever.
  • Vahrokh
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    Cpt_Teemo wrote: »
    You're like a baby whale. :tongue: I know players who spend 10k+ a year.

    or 30k in just a day

    https://www.pcgamer.com/meet-a-fan-who-has-spent-30000-on-star-citizen-ships/

    I've spent several thousands too, did not make a video or an announcement about it though :p
    Star Citizen was and is the dream game, the AAA title founded entirely by its playerbase.

    So we can finally have a proper game, no shortcuts taken, no editor "choices" or censorship, no restrictions because of deadlines or other shareholders sharks sheanigans.

    Spent thousands, would do again, perhaps more.
  • Mureel
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    Jerkling wrote: »
    @Jerkling I am on a marketing team for a billion dollar company and I can tell you, seeing statistics of marketing strategies are VERY useful. Although this post is just one example they have presented to ZOS, there are many more out there. Finding trends that actually hinder a buyer is ZOS's problem, not the buyer. As you can see, the buyer is willing to spend a large amount of money and presenting their discomfort as to why a strategy they changed is actually causing them to spend less. I also float that boat and since the Radiant Apex mounts were introduced, I have spent less on crown crates.

    It's not so much blaming ZOS's for them spending money. It's more or less one statistic from one buyer and what has caused them to spend less and why.

    This should be a simple understanding even for someone who is not on a marketing team.
    @Kuramas9tails

    i think you're missing my point. the OP was complaining about ZOS adding more items to the crown crates item pool which would lead to him spending more money if he/she was to get all the items available, calling ZOS greedy. but you can not blame a company for trying to make more money by refining strategies that worked. and it obviously worked great to far since the OP was happy to throw thousands of Euros at them.

    No doubt ZOS isn't/wouldn't be happy losing a cash cow like that, but i'm confident ZOS has capable people in their marketing/economics team who know how to utilize a inverse demand funktion. ;)

    Mureel wrote: »
    What do you propose then, for a game to make money? It's a business after all, not your Mom.

    Why should everything be free?

    I understand this mentality far less than I do buying what you want in game (or anything in life).

    People buying the base game for 20 bucks aren't really a benefit to anyone but themselves; and given the level of 'give us X for free' not even themselves, really.

    Money has to come from somewhere.

    If I were those people who don't want to buy anything or pay a sub, I'd just pipe down and enjoy my free ride.
    @Mureel

    maybe you should read again what i actually wrote and not assume/imply what i might have meant, because at no point am i saying anyone should get anything for free. i'm actually one of the last ones to ask for free stuff, but i'd rather have actual content (new zones, quest, dungeons etc) than useless pets and all that idiotic cosmetic nonsense that the majority seems to like so much.

    btw, even if i were enjoying this game for free i'd still be a benefit to others as i'd make this game feel more alive and active. a concept you might not yet have heard of or thought about, but it's important for a game that players feel there is a vibrant community invested in it.

    Just because I utterly disagree with you does not mean I do not comprehend what you're saying.

    People who do not sub/buy anything are freeloaders and the rest of us pay their way.

    If we're cool with that, then the rest of ya need to just chill and mind your own business about what we buy or don't buy.

    Finally: I prefer quality of people, over quantity of them. I think most people would prefer to have a few close friends than be in the company of several jerks.

    Also, if Fortnite is so awesome, well off ya go! The truth is simply that this is BETTER. Isn't that why you're here?

    Also, it's 'infer' not imply.
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