Could we go back to a subscription model?

spartaxoxo

I'd quit. I'm happy to subscribe when subs are optional, but I despise pay to play games.

ixthUA

If ESO changed to sub-only, it would loose almost all players from 2nd and 3rd world countries, as 11-15 usd/month is way above what people can pay there.
I do not know which mode is more profitable, but with much less players there would be difficulties doing dungeons and trials, due to much bigger lack of players.

Kiralyn2000

Jack-0 wrote: »

All this fuss over the crown store…I remember when ESO had a mandatory subscription to be able to play. Why can’t we go back to that, ditch the crown store and predatory methods of getting players to open their wallets, turn all the cosmetic stuff into in-game rewards, and everyone’s a winner?

Just to point out - subscription MMOs these days have cash/cosmetic shops, too. You're not going to escape it.

fizzylu

Rohamad_Ali wrote: »

Once you go down the dark patch of loot boxes and store items, forever will it dominate your mmo path.

Wish we never had a store and stayed a sub based mmo too.

Yeah, and I honestly believe they make more money off of the current setup and know they will never go away from it just because of that. I see people in guilds and sadly even some friends drop hundreds just on crown crates a month. Players doing stuff like that has to more than make up for the small amount of people who don't pay for the sub.

zaria wrote: »

Sub games now also has premium items at least WOW has same with EVE oline, I guess FF 14 to.

Difference is, at least in FFXIV and WoW's case, they still have significantly more in-game rewards that can be earned. Their premium items are also way more reasonably priced and they definitely don't paywall convenience items that are even seen as somewhat mandatory to have for a smooth gaming experience (assistants).

laniakea_0

Jack-0 wrote: »

All this fuss over the crown store…I remember when ESO had a mandatory subscription to be able to play. Why can’t we go back to that, ditch the crown store and predatory methods of getting players to open their wallets, turn all the cosmetic stuff into in-game rewards, and everyone’s a winner?

How many people actually don’t subscribe for the craft bag, crowns and dlc access anyway? Would it upset that many people vs how many would be overjoyed to be able to earn good in game rewards? Can these micro transactions really be so successful compared to a standard sub?

after I bought the game? no, thanks!

Monte_Cristo

XxCaLxX wrote: »

Treeshka wrote: »

If they go back to that majority of the people will just go away and never ever come back.

Ppl that spend money on this game already sub so what ppl would go away wouldn't hurt ZoS anyway. I don't think making subscription mandatory is the answer but they were already losing ppl before and even more now with the crown debacle so I'd say now is the time to do something before it gets too late.

So, people buying the chapters and crowns to buy dlc aren't spending money on the game?

Finedaible

I fear ZoS is past the point of no return concerning returning to a subscription model. If it meant that the predatory gambling would go away and quality content returned I would absolutely go back to a subscription-only model again. But lets face it, they already got a taste of those gambling profits and they're never going back. The thing that disgusts me most is that even after going to a 'free-to-play' model, the ESO+ subscription is pretty much mandatory anyway in the current state of the game because it was deliberately designed to fill your inventory with random, non-stackable fodder.

XxCaLxX

thehilanderb14a_ESO wrote: »

XxCaLxX wrote: »

Ppl that spend money on this game already sub so what ppl would go away wouldn't hurt ZoS anyway.

It’s not that simple. If too many people leave, and the population becomes TOO sparse, you start to lose paying subscribers as well because it gets too hard to find groups and such.

It’s a balancing act.

As my post said. I don't believe mandatory subscription is the answer. Nothing about it is simple. The game is already losing a lot of player and with them relying mainly on the ppl that are subbing right now how long will that keep the game out of maintenance mode? If they aren't scrambling to find a fix for this then maybe I'm wrong and they aren't hurting that bad. I guess my biggest question is, is why are other games with similar stores and purchasable currency not experiencing fraudulent behavior as well? Idk the full details but by what others are speculating it seems like something that could be done on any game but that's speculation and could be something different entirely. I just don't wanna see ESO go any further downhill but if they aren't working their asses off to fix something then maybe the community shouldn't care either.

disintegr8

I held off starting ESO until they dropped the subscription model. Funny enough, as soon as I could reasonably afford it, I subbed. I know the game is cheap enough to buy these days but buying a game should allow you to play it.

The main harm that would come from bringing back mandatory subscription is a drop in population. PVP will be emptier, and you'll have trouble filling groups for trials and dungeons. The game is already losing players, no need to make it worse.

CrashTest

No.

Ragnarok0130

While I would really enjoy returning to a subscription model so we can actually earn cool things in game I'm afraid that ZoS has become addicted to whales frequenting the crown store so it's a certainty that we'll never go back to the subscription model. Having a hybrid sub/Buy2play model seems to be the direction that most MMOs are taking nowadays if they don't go full F2P.

ixthUA

Finedaible wrote: »

The thing that disgusts me most is that even after going to a 'free-to-play' model, the ESO+ subscription is pretty much mandatory anyway in the current state of the game because it was deliberately designed to fill your inventory with random, non-stackable fodder.

Craft bag is not mandatory, i play without it just fine. Writs is the only thing i cannot do, but they aren't mandatory either.

AcadianPaladin

I have subscribed for several years - with the understanding that future downloadable content came with the sub. When Zenimax parsed downloadable content into the terms 'DLC' vs 'Chapter' and dropped 'Chapters' from ESO+ I lost a great deal of trust and confidence in Zenimax and it still burns me even now. I certainly considered quitting over that. The change proposed by OP would be a much more flagrant 'pull the rug out' on those who do not subscribe and I imagine a great number of players would quit in anger.

I don't see or trust any evidence that returning to sub only would be any more successful than it was when ESO launched.

ESO is about the only game I play and I play it a lot. So a sub makes perfect sense for me. For those who play many games and/or don't play ESO a great deal, a sub may very well not make sense. My point is that not everybody's gaming needs are the same and more flexibilty is a good thing. Taking away choices is not a good thing.

Farin_nith

I only bought eso when it didn't have a subscription model.

Those are predatory as sin.

$60 game plus at least 15 dollars a month if WOW and Ff14 are anything to go by.

Yet eso's crown store that is completely optional and is never shoved in your face is somehow more predatory than a forced subscription model.

ArchMikem

geonsocal wrote: »

what the heck, are you like a shareholder or something...

you control what you buy...that should be a good thing...

That's not how digital goods work though, nothing we purchase is really ours, our access can be revoked at any time for any reason, it's part of every ToS agreement, or at least I know it's Microsoft's, that's why I insist on having a physical disk of every game. Buying a digital license doesn't mean the game is yours forever.

Elsonso

Subscription MMO is the best model. This is mainly because the games that can't survive in that environment are probably better off not surviving. It frees up developers and resources to make better games. When games have cosmetic cash shops, or depend on loot box schemes, it gives live support to mediocre games to prop them up and keep them alive. Those developers could have moved on to what might have turned out to be a better game.

AlterBlika

I don't feel like paying for a game that I don't play every day. I have all dlcs and chapters purchased, and tbh I don't care much about craft bag. I like that I can play from time to time and not be charged because I already paid for all the content. If it becomes mandatory I'd just quit

Hapexamendios

I'm paying for plus now. If a subscription requires anything beyond what I pay now or has less benefits, it's a no go.

phaneub17_ESO

There's plenty of free to play games out there to spend my time. I sub for 1 month at a time, 2 to 3 times a year only to clear out my storage of crafting mats when they're completely filled. If ESO goes back to mandatory subscription, I would first delete my companion guide out of spite and quit the game.

SilverBride

Free games have to make money somehow to keep running. Very few players never spend money on something.

rpa

If the game could do sub with no store model without legal meltdown, I'd be fine with that. But pay for content, mandatory sub to play the content you paid for and on top of that buy any rewards you would like from store would be a no to thank you.

Kappachi

Jack-0 wrote: »

All this fuss over the crown store…I remember when ESO had a mandatory subscription to be able to play. Why can’t we go back to that, ditch the crown store and predatory methods of getting players to open their wallets, turn all the cosmetic stuff into in-game rewards, and everyone’s a winner?

How many people actually don’t subscribe for the craft bag, crowns and dlc access anyway? Would it upset that many people vs how many would be overjoyed to be able to earn good in game rewards? Can these micro transactions really be so successful compared to a standard sub?

I don't subscribe, I own all DLC in the game and can't afford a subscription, i buy additional DLCs with gold through player crown traders.

LesserCircle

I started playing ESO in 2015 instead of 2014 and the only reason was because I waited until the mandatory sub went away. I would stop playing if we return to that model.

Danikat

LesserCircle wrote: »

I started playing ESO in 2015 instead of 2014 and the only reason was because I waited until the mandatory sub went away. I would stop playing if we return to that model.

Same here.

I'd played the betas and thought the game was ok, worth the purchase price but not worth paying every month to play. Especially since subscriptions don't work with my limited and erratic free time, I never know how much time I'll have over the next 30 days so I can easily end up paying for months when I barely get to log in. Also Elder Scrolls game have always been games I dip in and out of over years instead of playing through in one dedicated block of time. (Not that I really do that with any game, I've never had a 'main' game that I'm focused on.)

But I kept following news about the game and checking in on this forum, waiting for something to convince me it was worth paying a subscription for. Instead I got the news that they were dropping the mandatory subscription, which removed the problem entirely and I ordered a copy as soon as I finished reading about how it would work. (Then waited a week after it arrived to register my account, so my sign-up date was 16th February and the free month ended just as the switch to buy-to-play started and there was no gap where I was locked out of the game.)

I'm not sure how much I've spent since then but I've bought all the chapters and story/zone DLC (except Necrom which I haven't gotten to yet), numerous crown packs and occasionally subscription time - usually because I want to dye costumes and sometimes to get the cheap crowns and crown store discounts, the other benefits don't interest me.

Elsonso

SilverBride wrote: »

Free games have to make money somehow to keep running. Very few players never spend money on something.

Many free games are free because a small group of players pay for everyone else. The studios chase the whales because it is easier to get money from a few hundred fans than many thousands of ambivalent players. If the masses contribute a penny here or there, all the better.

SickleCider

fizl101 wrote: »

Console would have to pay 3 times to play, pay for the game, pay for online game access (ps plus and xbox equiv) and then the sub

Yes, this. It would just become prohibitively expensive to play.

Gray_howling_parrot

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

Jack-0 wrote: »

All this fuss over the crown store…I remember when ESO had a mandatory subscription to be able to play. Why can’t we go back to that, ditch the crown store and predatory methods of getting players to open their wallets, turn all the cosmetic stuff into in-game rewards, and everyone’s a winner?

Just to point out - subscription MMOs these days have cash/cosmetic shops, too. You're not going to escape it.

I agree - I don’t think you can escape a cash shop BUT the cash shops are MUCH less predatory and not nearly as expansive as ESO.

Gray_howling_parrot

Kappachi wrote: »

Jack-0 wrote: »

All this fuss over the crown store…I remember when ESO had a mandatory subscription to be able to play. Why can’t we go back to that, ditch the crown store and predatory methods of getting players to open their wallets, turn all the cosmetic stuff into in-game rewards, and everyone’s a winner?

How many people actually don’t subscribe for the craft bag, crowns and dlc access anyway? Would it upset that many people vs how many would be overjoyed to be able to earn good in game rewards? Can these micro transactions really be so successful compared to a standard sub?

I don't subscribe, I own all DLC in the game and can't afford a subscription, i buy additional DLCs with gold through player crown traders.

Yea but you can’t do that anymore lol that’s the point of this thread…

Gray_howling_parrot

Elsonso wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Free games have to make money somehow to keep running. Very few players never spend money on something.

Many free games are free because a small group of players pay for everyone else. The studios chase the whales because it is easier to get money from a few hundred fans than many thousands of ambivalent players. If the masses contribute a penny here or there, all the better.

SickleCider wrote: »

fizl101 wrote: »

Console would have to pay 3 times to play, pay for the game, pay for online game access (ps plus and xbox equiv) and then the sub

Yes, this. It would just become prohibitively expensive to play.

I’m surprised it’s not on game pass yet for Xbox at least. Also, the game itself is usually on sale for $10. If you’re using this logic, PC has to pay twice as well. I think a mandatory subscription would be great but I also think they should implement something like the WoW token to allow players to purchase game time with gold to compensate for this.

Narvuntien

I'd quit, I only started playing because there was no subscription. I am a 100% buy to play player