Just ZOS silence is hurting the game

RazielSR · January 2015

Not the 6 month subscription removal,nor the australian stores thing,not a random user posting problematic topics,not a youtube video explaining why ESO is going f2P.

JUST ZOS SILENCE.

They are even letting people create topics that are against forum rules. They are simply looking at this rumours like if it was nothing? I find this really disrespectful. And I can't understand how a serious company is letting talk in their own forum about something that hurts the game.

Would you let people say that your house is for sale and let them put for sale stickers if it was not true?

This is a complete mad situation. Easy to solve,if ZOS wants to.

Rologue · January 2015

Maybe they want to lead by example... U know... Be silent about the matter.

Ourorboros · January 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K80CIQPwruU

RazielSR · January 2015

Rologue wrote: »

Maybe they want to lead by example... U know... Be silent about the matter.

So do you really think is better like this? Great.

Brasseurfb16_ESO · January 2015

Bah, the removal of the 6 month subscribtion is probably a new strategy used to make free publicity. In about 2 or 3 months, that option will probably come back and they'll send a note saying they listened to our valuable feedback and thus are adding back the option into the subscribtion models.

Harleyquincey · January 2015

Yes, frankly I do think so as well. Why? Because it's about leading by example. I do that with co-workers which are new to my job field as well and if I had children, I'd do the very same with them. There has been more than enough statements about the topics before the latest gossip showed up. If it was the same with me, why would I bother to reply? Rumours will always circulate and there's nothing you can do against it unless you'd frantically repeatedly state the same as you already did. That's simply silly and actually would set a bad example that I can be bullied into statements.

I don't know if this is the reasoning behind not stating the very same as has been stated repeatedly already - but if it was me, this would be the reason why I would not reply further.

It's not like it matters anyways, any model can be set up very nicely, this includes b2p and f2p. Those who do not think so simply will not have seen such a model work nicely and hey, that's whose problem? Exactly. Not mine. I trust that ZOS will do whatever is best for the game because so far, they have done so (except maybe for giving in to whinery a bit too much but oh well, that's still okay and I can see where it's coming from).

RazielSR · January 2015

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

Bah, the removal of the 6 month subscribtion is probably a new strategy used to make free publicity. In about 2 or 3 months, that option will probably come back and they'll send a note saying they listened to our valuable feedback and thus are adding back the option into the subscribtion models.

I see it strange,but it could be...Well,but what about stopping the f2p thing? Just saying NO,ITS NOT GOING F2P.
I dont see a good strategy the way it is now.

fromtesonlineb16_ESO · January 2015

RazielSR wrote: »

Easy to solve,if ZOS wants to.

And just how do you think ZOS can 'easily' resolve it?

Who do you expect to say what?

Several MMOs in the past have been through this scenario .. LOTRO, Rift, SW:TOR .. most of them had official denials, all of them went F2P in the end.

What credence would you put ot a 'green' denial?

Brasseurfb16_ESO · January 2015

RazielSR wrote: »

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

Bah, the removal of the 6 month subscribtion is probably a new strategy used to make free publicity. In about 2 or 3 months, that option will probably come back and they'll send a note saying they listened to our valuable feedback and thus are adding back the option into the subscribtion models.

I see it strange,but it could be...Well,but what about stopping the f2p thing? Just saying NO,ITS NOT GOING F2P.
I dont see a good strategy the way it is now.

Because if you give an answer like "No, the game isn't going F2P" most people stop speculating and you stop the communication stream going on the internet. Have you seen how many articles have already been published since they removed that subscribtion model?

Giving an official answer would remove the speculations (edit : at least a good part of it)going on about the game and remove the interest of game journalists publishing articles (for free) about their game.

RazielSR · January 2015

Harleyquinceyeb17_ESO wrote: »

Yes, frankly I do think so as well. Why? Because it's about leading by example. I do that with co-workers which are new to my job field as well and if I had children, I'd do the very same with them. There has been more than enough statements about the topics before the latest gossip showed up. If it was the same with me, why would I bother to reply? Rumours will always circulate and there's nothing you can do against it unless you'd frantically repeatedly state the same as you already did. That's simply silly and actually would set a bad example that I can be bullied into statements.

I don't know if this is the reasoning behind not stating the very same as has been stated repeatedly already - but if it was me, this would be the reason why I would not reply further.

It's not like it matters anyways, any model can be set up very nicely, this includes b2p and f2p. Those who do not think so simply will not have seen such a model work nicely and hey, that's whose problem? Exactly. Not mine. I trust that ZOS will do whatever is best for the game because so far, they have done so (except maybe for giving in to whinery a bit too much but oh well, that's still okay and I can see where it's coming from)

I could understand your point if this was not a company selling a product. Do you see companies allowing romours that can hurt their product? No,you always have somebody that will make an statement saying no,its not true and this is why.

This is not like gossip. This is about money and respect to the people buying their product. Tomorrow one could say they will shut the servers in 6 months and I guess it would be normal too.

I think your example does not match with a company selling a product.

And another question. Why is ZOS being the blanket for such rumours?

fromtesonlineb16_ESO · January 2015

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

RazielSR wrote: »

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

Bah, the removal of the 6 month subscribtion is probably a new strategy used to make free publicity. In about 2 or 3 months, that option will probably come back and they'll send a note saying they listened to our valuable feedback and thus are adding back the option into the subscribtion models.

I see it strange,but it could be...Well,but what about stopping the f2p thing? Just saying NO,ITS NOT GOING F2P.
I dont see a good strategy the way it is now.

Because if you give an answer like "No, the game isn't going F2P" most people stop speculating and you stop the communication stream going on the internet.

History of several MMOs shows you're just plain wrong.

RazielSR · January 2015

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

RazielSR wrote: »

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

Bah, the removal of the 6 month subscribtion is probably a new strategy used to make free publicity. In about 2 or 3 months, that option will probably come back and they'll send a note saying they listened to our valuable feedback and thus are adding back the option into the subscribtion models.

I see it strange,but it could be...Well,but what about stopping the f2p thing? Just saying NO,ITS NOT GOING F2P.
I dont see a good strategy the way it is now.

Because if you give an answer like "No, the game isn't going F2P" most people stop speculating and you stop the communication stream going on the internet. Have you seen how many articles have already been published since they removed that subscribtion model?

Giving an official answer would remove the speculations going on about the game and remove the interest of game journalists publishing articles (for free) about their game.

Sorry, but I dont agree with this. It is mad to want your product being badmouthed just to see people talking about it. That would be a cheap way for an amareur company with no structure,not an strategy for a company like ZOS and a franchise like TES.

andreasv · January 2015

I don't understand how it can hurt their product. The game is still available, servers are up, subscriptions can be purchased, updates are coming out, players are online enjoying the game. And nothing will change regardless of them making a statement or not.

If they are going F2P or B2P they'll let you know well in advance and everyone can decide whether to continue playing or not. And prospective players who are waiting for these options, are no potential customers anyway. Right now it's still P2P. So please stop these posts demanding statements!

Sotha_Sil · January 2015

At this point, I just think that the people caring about communication left already months ago and the ones left are people still believing in the game and patient enough to wait.
-> ZOS knows they can make us wait and they do it because they have nothing to lose at this point.

Syntse · January 2015

Like in other threads said. Zos latest statement is that ESO is not going f2p that was while back but still I don't see why they would need to restate that every week when question if it's going f2p pops up.

6 month sub was addressed by saying it was not popular and 1 and 3 months are more popular. Even bit disputable they have given answer. And I think this only applies to people renewing sub after pause or starting sub. Those who are already in 6 months sub plan will continue to be so, need to check this of course once my 2nd 6 months runs out.

Not sure how it is Zos responsibility to address why some shops in Australia returns unsold copies and timecards of ESO. Anyway this has been also answered being just getting rid of excess stock. Maybe in preparation to some bundled copies or so who knows.

Also not sure how much better anyone would feel if there would be statement 'For time being ESO is not going F2P' and next month it could. Either they do not say anything and continue current sub model or they will announce in some near future change of plans. Until then we just have to wait.

Please do continue posting new threads about f2p, it's so much fun to read about the same things in new topic every day.

Harleyquincey · January 2015

RazielSR wrote: »

And another question. Why is ZOS being the blanket for such rumours?

Well.. there is a very long story about this. It involves hilariously inflated expectations, an angry Joe, copied-from-that-press articles and a lot of whinery in combination with a huge fanbase and thus an immense spotlight of interest. Don't worry. Other MMOs had the same, like.. SW:TOR and its "dead populace" issues after the launch. People always want to point out bad things because it's so much easier to act cool on the interwebz if one slanders something, disregarding if one is capable of doing so (an angry Joe comes to mind who's never been into MMOs...), if there is reason for it (there's quite some news reports coming to my mind right now) or if there's any common decency left (and now I'm thinking about some special people I've got to know whose sole job is slandering not-their-own-MMOs). So hey, it ain't that new, special or shocking really.

No,you always have somebody that will make an statement saying no,its not true and this is why.

They had that. Even before launch and also afterwards. Go dig it up.

This is not like gossip. This is about money and respect to the people buying their product.

You're not talking about a 30.000 bucks sports car but a game. A game that, you know, should be worth it for.. uh.. you know.. the fun? of playing? the game? To me it is. I wouldn't worry about shut down servers by the way. Even Ultima Online has servers running still and that's with a subscription model as well.

I am just not feeling entitled to have an employee explain to me the very same questions over and over and over and over again. Where I work (and we are indeed selling products there) it'd be a copy+paste text by now in the way of

"Dear CustomerXY,

thank you for your concern and bringing it up with us.

We assure you that currently there is no such plans and if this ever changes you will be notified in due time in accordance with our General Terms and Conditions.

Do you have further questions? Please don't hesitate to contact us again or call our hotline.

Your Company."

Would that really make it better for you? A faceless copy+paste reply, set up within 5 minutes of typing, from now on repeated every single time the topic comes up? Because that is exactly how I'd reply if I was in the office and you'd be adressing a concern with our 50+ revenue billion company...

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to annoy you or something, but you brought this up as if it was about a product like a sports car or your electricity company e.g. while it's about a game which already is a lot of fun to play with the answers having been repeated quite a few times in the past.

Maybe ZOS is even planning to change the business model. So what. If it will be done, it will be done and one can either adapt or not adapt. It's not like it necessarily would mean a change of the enjoyment either way.

Tavore1138 · January 2015

As one of those in the middle of a 6 month sub it would simply be nice to know if that will roll forward.

Re: f2p - no company can make a 100% guarantee they will never go down a particular path. The best they could say is that they have no current plans to go f2p or something similar which would just result in a load of articles about how they refused to rule it out for the future.

Normally I am all for communication but I am not sure that can win here.

RazielSR · January 2015

fromtesonlineb16_ESO wrote: »

RazielSR wrote: »

Easy to solve,if ZOS wants to.

And just how do you think ZOS can 'easily' resolve it?

Who do you expect to say what?

Several MMOs in the past have been through this scenario .. LOTRO, Rift, SW:TOR .. most of them had official denials, all of them went F2P in the end.

What credence would you put ot a 'green' denial?

So do you think that an statement by ZOS saying the game is not going f2p have the same effect as not saying a word?

Are u serious?

So then if they say console release is cancelled,that wouldn be true either and will mean console release is gonna happen soon?

Korah_Eaglecry · January 2015

RazielSR wrote: »

Not the 6 month subscription removal,nor the australian stores thing,not a random user posting problematic topics,not a youtube video explaining why ESO is going f2P.

JUST ZOS SILENCE.

They are even letting people create topics that are against forum rules. They are simply looking at this rumours like if it was nothing? I find this really disrespectful. And I can't understand how a serious company is letting talk in their own forum about something that hurts the game.

Would you let people say that your house is for sale and let them put for sale stickers if it was not true?

This is a complete mad situation. Easy to solve,if ZOS wants to.

Pretty sure they havent been silent. They just arent stupid enough to comment on something that shouldnt require a response. And their announcement of Update 6 coming actually mentions their stance on the F2P fearmongering. If you bothered to read all the way to the bottom youd have seen that.

Any sort of reaction from them, whether its a denial or announcement will only serve to hurt them. People will take the denial as a 'oh no theyre on to us' and the announcement will tank investor confidence and subs long before theyd be ready to actually transition.

Their silence on these matters are not indications of anything besides the fact that its not relevant or important to them.

Shinra · January 2015

RazielSR wrote: »

I could understand your point if this was not a company selling a product. Do you see companies allowing romours that can hurt their product? No,you always have somebody that will make an statement saying no,its not true and this is why.

Question - Does it actually hurt their product? I mean, because of the rumor, everybody is talking about eso.That's similar to marketing. for free. And the simple word "f2p" will already attract the attention of many players which aren't playing eso right now.

RazielSR wrote: »

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

Bah, the removal of the 6 month subscribtion is probably a new strategy used to make free publicity. In about 2 or 3 months, that option will probably come back and they'll send a note saying they listened to our valuable feedback and thus are adding back the option into the subscribtion models.

I see it strange,but it could be...Well,but what about stopping the f2p thing? Just saying NO,ITS NOT GOING F2P.

Maybe they actually don't know it jet if they want to go f2p or not. I mean, not even the console version is released jet and even Zeni will probably have a hard time calculating how many players they will have after console release.

Brasseurfb16_ESO · January 2015

RazielSR wrote: »

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

RazielSR wrote: »

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

Bah, the removal of the 6 month subscribtion is probably a new strategy used to make free publicity. In about 2 or 3 months, that option will probably come back and they'll send a note saying they listened to our valuable feedback and thus are adding back the option into the subscribtion models.

I see it strange,but it could be...Well,but what about stopping the f2p thing? Just saying NO,ITS NOT GOING F2P.
I dont see a good strategy the way it is now.

Because if you give an answer like "No, the game isn't going F2P" most people stop speculating and you stop the communication stream going on the internet. Have you seen how many articles have already been published since they removed that subscribtion model?

Giving an official answer would remove the speculations going on about the game and remove the interest of game journalists publishing articles (for free) about their game.

Sorry, but I dont agree with this. It is mad to want your product being badmouthed just to see people talking about it. That would be a cheap way for an amareur company with no structure,not an strategy for a company like ZOS and a franchise like TES.

Products are beeing bad mouthed no matter what you do. Just look at HotS, every Dota2, Lol nay sayers are badmouthing the game while most of them didn't even try it out yet. That doesn't mean people aren't going to try out the game to make their own impressions out of it. If it was the case, the entire game video industry would be bankrupt.

The game has a lot of different issues that need to be adressed. While you people are all making a fixation on TESO going F2P, you are to busy to talk about more concerning issues about the game instead (like the horrible quest syncing, LFG tools, lack of content, etc).

Realy, someone thinking the game might go F2P is realy the last of their concerns.

Edit : Not to mention going F2P might actualy attract different kind of costumers that are actualy into that kind of business model.

fromtesonlineb16_ESO · January 2015

RazielSR wrote: »

fromtesonlineb16_ESO wrote: »

RazielSR wrote: »

Easy to solve,if ZOS wants to.

And just how do you think ZOS can 'easily' resolve it?

Who do you expect to say what?

Several MMOs in the past have been through this scenario .. LOTRO, Rift, SW:TOR .. most of them had official denials, all of them went F2P in the end.

What credence would you put ot a 'green' denial?

So do you think that an statement by ZOS saying the game is not going f2p have the same effect as not saying a word?

Are u serious?

Entirely, because anyone who thought a denial was worth anything would be deluding themselves, as my examples (and there are others) clearly showed happened in the past.

Turbine, Trion and Bioware vehemently denied their games were going to go F2P, they couldn't say otherwise even though in two cases (Rift and LoTRO) the work on the F2P launch was well advanced even as the denials were being trotted out.

ZOS can do nothing to stop the speculation, so saying nothing is the best they can do: or else admit they ARE going to do it, which would at least be a first to my knowledge.

RazielSR · January 2015

Shinra wrote: »

RazielSR wrote: »

I could understand your point if this was not a company selling a product. Do you see companies allowing romours that can hurt their product? No,you always have somebody that will make an statement saying no,its not true and this is why.

Question - Does it actually hurt their product? I mean, because of the rumor, everybody is talking about eso.That's similar to marketing. for free. And the simple word "f2p" will already attract the attention of many players which aren't playing eso right now.

RazielSR wrote: »

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

Bah, the removal of the 6 month subscribtion is probably a new strategy used to make free publicity. In about 2 or 3 months, that option will probably come back and they'll send a note saying they listened to our valuable feedback and thus are adding back the option into the subscribtion models.

I see it strange,but it could be...Well,but what about stopping the f2p thing? Just saying NO,ITS NOT GOING F2P.

Maybe they actually don't know it jet if they want to go f2p or not. I mean, not even the console version is released jet and even Zeni will probably have a hard time calculating how many players they will have after console release.

As you say,users will lurk but to be lurking does not create cash.
But in the meantime a lot of players will leave because as you all know,they dont want f2p. In fact almost everybody paying now,dont want f2p.
You do the math.

Maybe it is just me who see this as a comete madness and bad for the game. In this case,as it is just me who thinks like this,you can all be happy.

Brasseurfb16_ESO · January 2015

fromtesonlineb16_ESO wrote: »

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

RazielSR wrote: »

Brasseurfb16_ESO wrote: »

Bah, the removal of the 6 month subscribtion is probably a new strategy used to make free publicity. In about 2 or 3 months, that option will probably come back and they'll send a note saying they listened to our valuable feedback and thus are adding back the option into the subscribtion models.

I see it strange,but it could be...Well,but what about stopping the f2p thing? Just saying NO,ITS NOT GOING F2P.
I dont see a good strategy the way it is now.

Because if you give an answer like "No, the game isn't going F2P" most people stop speculating and you stop the communication stream going on the internet.

History of several MMOs shows you're just plain wrong.

Which games are you talking about? Plain wrong about what? Speculations luring the press and thus making free advertising?

nerevarine1138 · January 2015

To my knowledge, no one has left because they think the game might end up going free-to-play. Mainly because no one with half a brain thinks that.

And as always, didn't you quit? Every time I see you post threads like this, it comes months after your promise to leave the game entirely.

Flynch · January 2015

Madmen go buck wild for rumours and tend to feed their own fires.

Those with level heads tend to wait and see how things unfold.

Take a guess which type of person ZOS would rather have in their community.

RazielSR · January 2015

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

To my knowledge, no one has left because they think the game might end up going free-to-play. Mainly because no one with half a brain thinks that.

And as always, didn't you quit? Every time I see you post threads like this, it comes months after your promise to leave the game entirely.

Why are u always like that? You always follow my posts like a maniac. If you read my posts as you say. You would now why I left AND WHY I WAS BACK AND WHAT I DID WHEN I WAS BACK.

And where am i saying im gonna leave? Please tell me where?
Are u one of those living 4 months ago?
Your post is just stupid and you just want to bash other opinions. In fact your whole life is here in the forum. Get a life,you have more posts in this forum than neurons.

SweetRoll · January 2015

I agree 100% with the original poster. I sincerely hope that all the posters saying "dont be stupid there is no way it is going f2p" are correct, but the silence itself is unnerving. ZOS has been very upfront in the past, and they obviously know this is a big topic, but they refuse to comment. To me it means they are not sure what is going to happen, and that scares me.

TheBull · January 2015

RazielSR wrote: »

Not the 6 month subscription removal,nor the australian stores thing,not a random user posting problematic topics,not a youtube video explaining why ESO is going f2P.

JUST ZOS SILENCE.

They are even letting people create topics that are against forum rules. They are simply looking at this rumours like if it was nothing? I find this really disrespectful. And I can't understand how a serious company is letting talk in their own forum about something that hurts the game.

Would you let people say that your house is for sale and let them put for sale stickers if it was not true?

This is a complete mad situation. Easy to solve,if ZOS wants to.

If they locked the threads people would say "OMG THEY ARE LOCKING THE THREADS!". If the respond and say we have no plans. People will say "PLANS CAN CHANGE". If they say we are not changing model people will say "THEY ARE LYING! TRACKING XP>.."

Best to let it go. That first crop of people screaming have been waiting a year for a change. In the mean time "no publicity is bad publicity". ESO is the most talked about mmorpg on the planet.

nerevarine1138 · January 2015

RazielSR wrote: »

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

To my knowledge, no one has left because they think the game might end up going free-to-play. Mainly because no one with half a brain thinks that.

And as always, didn't you quit? Every time I see you post threads like this, it comes months after your promise to leave the game entirely.

Why are u always like that? You always follow my posts like a maniac. If you read my posts as you say. You would now why I left AND WHY I WAS BACK AND WHAT I DID WHEN I WAS BACK.

And where am i saying im gonna leave? Please tell me where?
Are u one of those living 4 months ago?
Your post is just stupid and you just want to bash other opinions. In fact your whole life is here in the forum. Get a life,you have more posts in this forum than neurons.

As you may have realized, I don't follow your posts. I simply notice when you post a new topic that the vast majority of people disagree with, and I think, "Hey, didn't that guy quit forever ago?"

ZO has taken the mature route here and simply ignored pointless threads. I wish they'd just delete them, but it would only give rise to more pointless threads.

Korah_Eaglecry · January 2015

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

To my knowledge, no one has left because they think the game might end up going free-to-play. Mainly because no one with half a brain thinks that.

And as always, didn't you quit? Every time I see you post threads like this, it comes months after your promise to leave the game entirely.

What does his decision to quit have to do with the topic? Im a bit confused as he has to be subbing to be able to speak on here. So its unclear where youre leading with this..