Anyone else worried about the Micro transactions that are looming?

Pang

korwinthale wrote: »

Well a horse for a regular subscriber is 17000 gold or you can pay money. That isn't a vanity item its a game mechanic altering item honestly.

Its the same horse though just different colors. Its when you can buy items in the store that are more powerful and can't get them by any other means it becomes an issue.

thedemiseraphb14_ESO

The cash and imperial horse are understatted so they aren't forever horses to have, you can put 49 upgrades on a horse, these start with lower stats so they will never be as good as 49 points added to a high cost in game gold horse, so no threat.

As for other cash shop items, nothing has been stated in regards to items etc being on there like weapons and such. And they have said that they are looking to the player economy etc. So I don't have any concerns

Thete

Gohlar wrote: »

Check your economics son. I do pay my own way and I was back in 2004 too. I suspect you weren't. The fuel comment really gives it away,

Well, let's look at the official stats rather than what I paid then and now as it's verifiable. Average cost in 2004 was £3.91. Average price now is £5.98. QED.

If you're going to make things up, at least make sure it is something that can't be checked.

mithrendiel

Honestly, this whole argument is silly. Some people (myself) would honestly prefer to spend RL money on in game items instead of spending hours grinding out in game cash. Others would rather earn it in game. There are options for both kinds of people here, and I, for one, am grateful for that.

Perhaps it's a age thing. I know if I were in college, and living pay check to pay check, I might be bummed out that I couldn't afford the most bad ass version of the game, but I don't think I'd complain about it. I'd just grind like mad in game. Since I'm not in college, and have an abundance of money and not as much time, I am grateful to the devs for providing options for me to get my horse early on in the game, as well as play any race in any faction.

To be honest, I think it's fantastic that the Imperial edition of the game actually offers some in game benefit. I could care less about maps, statues, cds, etc that you normally get in collectors editions. I'd MUCH rather pay extra to have cool items in game. I think the devs partially based their decision on what to offer from beta surveys. There were quite a few questions in those surveys about what would have he most value for people in collectors editions. And it feels like a stunning success to me. I've never been quite as thrilled with my purchase of a collectors edition as I was with ESO. Well done devs!

So to summarize: There is nothing "game breaking" about getting a horse early or being able to play any faction. I am not going to be able to kill you faster, or even level much faster than you because I have a horse. If you want a horse, either grind for it in game, or buy it with real life money. But most importantly, don't criticize the devs for providing options, or players for choosing to acquire items everyone can get in the way they prefer.

silent88b14_ESO

Nope. Not worried.

Korah_Eaglecry

Left_Hand wrote: »

What worries me about the item store is that it launched with the game with items already on sale. This kind of approach means that they are planning to develop the store as one of their income focuses and who knows what they will be adding if the sub numbers dont turn out as they expect.

In subscription games i'm against any kind of ingame store that is not selling solely services like character renames and transfers. Even cosmetic items should be exclusively something that you get ingame.

Not going to lie. I dont blame them. BioWare convinced themselves theyd be up there competing with WoW because they had VO Storylines. A year later they were going F2P and from then on out had to heavily rely on the Cash Shop for profits because Subs werent doing it.

Planning for the worst as an individual? Good.
Planning for the worst as a company? Greedy. Amirite?

Gohlar

Korah_Eaglecry wrote: »

Left_Hand wrote: »

What worries me about the item store is that it launched with the game with items already on sale. This kind of approach means that they are planning to develop the store as one of their income focuses and who knows what they will be adding if the sub numbers dont turn out as they expect.

In subscription games i'm against any kind of ingame store that is not selling solely services like character renames and transfers. Even cosmetic items should be exclusively something that you get ingame.

Not going to lie. I dont blame them. BioWare convinced themselves theyd be up there competing with WoW because they had VO Storylines. A year later they were going F2P and from then on out had to heavily rely on the Cash Shop for profits because Subs werent doing it.

Planning for the worst as an individual? Good.
Planning for the worst as a company? Greedy. Amirite?

Pretty much this. I think they know F2P is inevitable and already have systems in place. The race is on to get as much money as they can in the 1st year based on people's hopes. We fall for it over and over again for some reason.

MyForumName

mithrendiel wrote: »

Honestly, this whole argument is silly. Some people (myself) would honestly prefer to spend RL money on in game items instead of spending hours grinding out in game cash. Others would rather earn it in game.

Funny use of words there, grinding and earning. I find if a game feels like work and grinding I move on to other games. Often times games improve in two years and I return. I don't sit around feeling forced to grind that doesn't sound very fun. Paying into a system that thought grinding was the fun or normal would be like throwing good money after bad. Reward good creators decisions [to you] and don't others.

When I play good mmo's I don't feel like I'm working or grinding to earn something I feel like I'm enjoying my leisure time in an mmorpg pursuit and that goes towards perks like horses and things when and if I earn enough to get them. In fact, I'd dare say the reward when you do finally "earn" something in game is sweeter and more enjoyable then if I just take my real world money and buy it. It'd be kinda like if I wanted to be a golf pro in real life but bought my number one position and trophy with cash.

SuperScrubby

I would have to say that I don't like micro transactions in a game especially one that I'm paying for. However it's something that has evolved along with the MMO genre. Mainly due to the success the Eastern MMO's have had with this method. So it was only a matter of time for Western developers to jump on the band wagon in an attempt to maximize their profits.

So while I don't like it, ultimately a company has to make money and sometimes it requires a company to be greedy. But as long as it doesn't affect the balance of a game like vanity items then I'm fine. If that allows them to reinvest more money into the game for faster bug fixes, more content, etc. then I think everyone wins.

Only time it doesn't is when a company is trying to milk its player base by adding pay to win. I understand the value of money differs from person to person, I am a firm believer that just because you have money doesn't mean it should buy you more power or influence. While that's not true in real life, I'd hope that in a video game that holds true to a large extent. Even if I have the discretionary income to spend on a game, doesn't mean I want to feel like I'm being squeezed for money to stay competitive. It detracts from the whole platform that has been thrown around here that it's about "immersion" and "equality".

While I'll admit I bought the Imperial edition to be able to get the mount and the race, I bought it at a discount otherwise I would have bought the standard. But having a horse at launch compared to those that didn't isn't considered game breaking, but it is game altering. It allows people who paid a greater potential avenue to clear content at a quicker pace which is what some people are saying. I whole heartedly agree. While this may not have been commonplace in the past, it is certainly now, it's how they do penetrate that population that's willing to spend more on a game compared to the college student that's living month to month. It's purely economics and while I can't say I love the idea, it is one that I can live with.

Saera

When you go to Disneyland, you pay for use of the park. We can relate to buying the game ESO. A t-shirt and hat etc which is a vanity item, which is only for looks, is not included in your cost to use their park. D you get upset because they have a cash shop to buy vanity items such as shirts and hats? No, because after all it is a business, they have to make money. For those that purchase month long passes to disney to use disney anytime they want for the month, which we can say is like a sub, unlimited access to their park for a month = a sub in eso for a month, they still have to pay for vanity items like shirts, hats etc... its basic business.

I do not feel it will hinder any ones game and if people want to spend extra money on something extra for their game, they can, who am I to judge on how someone wants to spend their money, and in ESOs case, if it does not give them an advantage like better gear then what you can get in game etc, then no harm done, its just a vanity item.

Saera

Left_Hand wrote: »

What worries me about the item store is that it launched with the game with items already on sale.

Where is this store? AS far as i know it has not launched yet, so how could there be items already on sale in it.. I am a confused citizen here

VertigoTX

It's not a big deal. The horse is inferior to the ones you buy for 17k+ of in game gold. They are also a different color, so we can all tell who got one with cash and who got one by earning 17k_ gold.

Basically, they are giving you the option to have a slightly faster travel option in the early levels in exchange for cash instead of time (play time to earn gold). I don't see an issue with it. If the horse were better than what you can earn with play time, I'd be bothered.

Zakua

I am looking forward to even more from the store. Vanity items galore, I want A LOT of em .
New pets, mounts,weapons, apparel looks.

I mean you couldn't really buy an unfair set of armor unless they stuffed it full of traits and enchants, doubt they'd do that (well I'd hope they wouldn't).
But it would be cool to be able to buy a new armor look that you applied to the armor you craft. Doing this would only allow the armor to be as good as your BS skills.

Same goes for weapons. if you bought a new sword from the store it would simply be the look/geometry you purchase. It wouldn't be the PWN damage 6000 with 10k ps AOE, it would simply make your lvl 22 one handed sword look different.

Sounds fun to me and I am a total *** for new shinny stuff so open the gates

Now of course (well in my opinion) those who shop the store should not be the only ones who can get there hands on these items...it needs to be available somehow ingame via quests or drops..

daneyulebub17_ESO

Oh, yes! Can we get a big flashy STORE icon in the GUI, and promises that there will be no pay to win items, followed closely by the INEVITABLE loose definition evolving as to just what pay to win means. Just like in other games like LotRO?

Oh, and let's have the bean counters constantly pushing the developers to make more buffs, travel scrolls, and "available only this week" horses they can sel, until the game feels like a cheesy cell phone game. Yes, yes, yes!!!! That will keep me subscribing! Micro-transactions aren't a slipper-slope cancer that ruin games and siphon the developers time by having them focus on short-term profit fluff, while destroying the player's sense that effort and skill matter when people can just spend more money. No siree!

Oh, can we get a version of ESO that plays on Facebook too? That would be awesome!

Zakua

Well you don't have to be mean and condescending just because I think it'd be cool to be able to buy vanity items.

I am genuinely excited about the game and having a great time, I don't want game breakers just as much as the next player so try not to be so mean.

Regarding the siphon of Devs time to create vanity items...probably not going to happen. I do not think the Devs that work with the games code/performance/backend have much if any involvement with design/modeling of the assets that go into the game, most of the time these are two separate departments. Now of course they would have to be involved in some part of the implementation of an asset but I do not think the entire Dev group comes running to insure a new hat gets put into the game. I could be wrong but..

clairefunb16_ESO

I bought standard edition, it cost me £35. At the time, imperial was £70. Twice the price. I couldn't afford that, but have just happily spent £10 on a horse to make up for the only thing I wanted from the imperial edition. I realise I could try to earn 17k in game, but as a crafting character I don't have much to sell at the moment, and I'll upgrade this horse to hold more, which is useful for a crafter. I'm only playing for this first 30 days - to start with - I might come back to it later in the year once the growing season is mostly over, or at least a bit less hectic! April I can scrape through with free time, May? None!

SO my first month I'd rather not grind out 17k just to buy a horse, I'd rather spend the real life cash to enjoy the game for this first month. I'm not sure how this ruins ESO for everyone else, but...I guess...I'm sorry? I honestly didn't realise that my happiness at being able to actually get hold of an in-game horse without so much boring in game grinding was going to spoil everyone else's game. Sorry again.

Vikova

As long as you aren't able to buy gear with better stats, I have no issue with it. If someone just wants to look a little prettier, it's no skin off my nose.