Explorers Pack in Crown Store - say it ain't so!

MrGhosty · March 2015

After finding out the Imperial armor wasn't unique only to those who had paid extra I pretty much expect this. Couple with the fact that no game company in recent memory has kept their "exclusive" pre order dlc exclusive. What they mean to say usually is "timed" exclusive which honestly I'm okay with.

If this leads to more content and the continuation of the game I have already sunk a year of my time into I say go for it.

golfer.dub17_ESO · March 2015

Making a mountain out of a molehill as per usual.

Pre-order bonuses often become available to everyone, and to be blunt I think exclusivity is a stupid concept to begin with. You aren't a special snowflake for buying a game early or subscribing for longer.

"We're mad because ZoS lied to us."

Yeah, right. Nonsense. You're mad out of some misplaced sense of entitlement.

And contrary to what you might believe I am one of the people who pre-ordered the game, so take as many personal shots as you want. I'm not someone who is "whining because I didn't get the exclusives".

Iluvrien · March 2015

golfer.dub17_ESO wrote: »

Yeah, right. Nonsense. You're mad out of some misplaced sense of entitlement.

Nice.

golfer.dub17_ESO wrote: »

And contrary to what you might believe I am one of the people who pre-ordered the game, so take as many personal shots as you want. I'm not someone who is "whining because I didn't get the exclusives".

I only need to take one. You don't get to decide what annoys other people. The change does not annoy you, that does not precluding it from annoying other people.

Varicite · March 2015

Lethal_Instinct wrote: »

Oh and for the complainers about being "lied to"--you really need to get over it. They make a statement to try to appease you then realize it is not worth it to the potential player base they could earn by offering it.

They made a smart move not listening to the whiners. They are a business and need to make money. Lose some, gain more > please the few who are making this a big deal when it's not.

Ok, NOW I'm out.

*gets up from floor and kicks mic away*

Of course, and nothing you said makes it okay to mislead your customers. Not sure what your point was, except to repeat the situation that we already know occurred.

What's done is done and there's not going to be any changing it. Doesn't mean that I won't at least call them out in a forum thread about it.

In the grand scheme of things, it's pretty much nothing at all, but at least I feel better having spoken my mind.

/shrug

Pentegarn · March 2015

Varicite wrote: »

Pentegarn wrote: »

I know the Explorer's edition was supposed to be a bonus for pre-order, but it is what it is.

It is a flat-out lie, and just the latest one in a very long string of lies told to us by Zenimax.

That is my problem.

Yeah, pick that one sentence out of my entire post...lol

So what is this tantrum all about? It's obvious that no matter what, or how many valid points anyone makes here, you are simply going to ignore them, and refuse to consider them. So what is it? An "I told you so"?

I've not looked at the Adventurer's pack on the cash shot, as I've not had a chance to log in yet. But as far as I can see, Zen/ESO hasn't "lied", as you've been repeating like a broken record. First off, it's the Adventurer's pack, not the Explorer's. I'm not sure what in all is included in the Adventurer's pack, but the Explorer's pack included other bonuses, however trivial. Not just the ability to play any race, in any alliance. And if they offer that particular feature in the Adventurer's pack, it still doesn't make it a lie.

In many, many games, there are different "packages" these days. Some are sidegrades, some upgrades. Upgrades tend to offer everything lower tier packages offer, and then some. Sidegrades take many forms. One of them is generally the same package value as another, but with some substitutes or tweaks.

So, it's doesn't seem to me that Zen/ESO lied at all. And as I said in my original post (the rest of it that you cut from your quote), my buddy and I got the Explorer's edition from Amazon. That's because there are a lot of copies of the pre-order Explorer's edition still out there being sold by businesses that purchased bundles of them. So, even if ESO did offer the Explorer's edition in the cash shop, I'd be fine with it as it would most likely bring in and keep more players than it would lose to a few players that might tantrum and quit over it. And the profits from the sales would benefit the game and it's players. It doesn't hurt the game like Pay-to-Win and possibly other items would.

Laerania_ESO · March 2015

Lethal_Instinct wrote: »

Oh and for the complainers about being "lied to"--you really need to get over it. They make a statement to try to appease you then realize it is not worth it to the potential player base they could earn by offering it.

They made a smart move not listening to the whiners. They are a business and need to make money. Lose some, gain more > please the few who are making this a big deal when it's not.

Ok, NOW I'm out.

*gets up from floor and kicks mic away*

I'm sure many others share YOUR way to make money but I'm sure many others (the honest ones) do care if the mmo company they are giving their money says something and does otherwise.

Ysne58 · March 2015

I really wish they would start trying to be more honest. They owe us an apology for pulling this switch and bait. Any player in any alliance should have been available to everyone from the start for free, not a store item.

Gidorick · March 2015

Ysne58 wrote: »

I really wish they would start trying to be more honest. They owe us an apology for pulling this switch and bait. Any player in any alliance should have been available to everyone from the start for free, not a store item.

It's a legitimate game, story mechanic. I, for one, love the fact that we have alliance specific races. I personally believe that, moving forward, it should only be the subscribers that should be able to make any race in any alliance, while not taking away from those that currently are able.

But whatever... I think putting it in the crown store is a good compromise between the camps of thoughts.

Imryll · March 2015

Pre-order bonuses/bonuses for purchasing a game from a specific retailer are often later made available for general download. I can't imagine how experienced gamers would assume that such items would remain exclusive for all time, under changing circumstances--and as someone who pre-ordered the Imperial edition, I'm happy to see others being given access to the opportunities I've enjoyed.

Varicite · March 2015

Pentegarn wrote: »

- Snip -

I didn't quote the rest of your post because it was completely irrelevant to what I was saying. And also, because of length.

It's really pretty cut and dry for me.

Said one thing. Did another thing. Yep, that's called "lying".

All of the rest is simply justification for lying, why they did it, how the world works, etc. I know all of that. I've been around the block, lol. It doesn't really matter, though.

I don't have a problem w/ why they did what they did, nor was I naive enough to believe that they wouldn't. I'm just disappointed that instead of simply being straight w/ their player base, ZOS decided to mislead us. Again. And again. And again.

I'll say it again, because it seems to be getting completely lost in this tirade of "BUT REASONS!!":

Just to avoid further misunderstandings, I don't have a problem w/ others having the bonus. I have a problem w/ being lied to.

Make no mistake, I have a problem w/ being lied to about most things. Not just video games.

Imryll wrote: »

I can't imagine how experienced gamers would assume that such items would remain exclusive for all time, under changing circumstances

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Since the Explorer’s Pack was only available as a pre-order bonus and was not sold on our website, it will not be moving to the Crown Store.

This quote from January about whether the Explorer's Pack bonuses would be on the Crown store probably has something to do w/ players "assuming" that it wouldn't be on the Crown store. That, and the fact that they never once mentioned that they were changing their mind about this.

The only assumption that was made was that ZOS might actually do what they said, and yes, I was quite foolish for thinking there was any chance of that w/ their track record.

Gidorick · March 2015

lol. I don't care about being lied to... as long as it benefits the GAME. ESO has a LONG way to go to achieve what it can achieve. Whatever it takes to get there.

But... I don't think we were lied to. Was it sneaky and underhanded? Perhaps, but that's how things go now-days. Not just with games. With everything.

Shinozuka · March 2015

I don't see the problem. You can get the explorers pack codes a for that matter other stuff like that pig pet code on ebay and other sites if you want. Why shouldn't ZOS offer theses services.

Kalfis · March 2015

The any race any alliance thing shouldn't have been a pre order bonus. Everyone should have access to it no matter what.

It's a ridiculous restriction. It was universally unpopular.

Stop being upset over something that does nothing but benefit the game.

Also the treasure maps are worthless

UrQuan · March 2015

Kalfis wrote: »

Also the treasure maps are worthless

When I saw that this was available in the Crown Store I thought "hey, I can get another set of treasure maps!" Then I thought "wait, why would I want to do that?"

starkerealm · March 2015

Imryll wrote: »

Pre-order bonuses/bonuses for purchasing a game from a specific retailer are often later made available for general download. I can't imagine how experienced gamers would assume that such items would remain exclusive for all time, under changing circumstances--and as someone who pre-ordered the Imperial edition, I'm happy to see others being given access to the opportunities I've enjoyed.

It's less common with MMOs. With most games the preorder incentives do go into general circulation eventually, but for MMOs it's a lot more common for weird little preorder goodies to remain exclusive.

So, the Scuttler. The idea that the any race/any alliance bonus would never be distributed again was probably a little naive, though. Since that is a major functionality item.

Humor · March 2015

As someone who has played through the Beta's, Pre-Ordered, here are my thoughts!

"Meh....: *Shrugs shoulders, and pressed the back button*.

AngryNord · March 2015

It isn't so.
Pretty certain at least. AFAIK this is a typical kind of 'starter pack' that tends to be a common offer in BTP/FTP type MMOs.

Mikoto · March 2015

I rather have it on the crown store since there's a ton of third party sites selling the codes so really the 'special' factor was already gone from day 1.

AngryNord · March 2015

AngryNord wrote: »

It isn't so.
Pretty certain at least. AFAIK this is a typical kind of 'starter pack' that tends to be a common offer in BTP/FTP type MMOs.

Meh... It actually IS the explorer's pack, I see now... :-(

Loyheta · March 2015

Honestly.... never should have locked us to factions. Just scum-bag nickle and diming. I was pretty pissed off after being repeatedly told that the only way I could play my argonian on AD was to pre-order the game just to have this happen.

Amsel_McKay · March 2015

Loyheta wrote: »

Honestly.... never should have locked us to factions. Just scum-bag nickle and diming. I was pretty pissed off after being repeatedly told that the only way I could play my argonian on AD was to pre-order the game just to have this happen.

Yeah that is the issue, I would not have pre-ordered if not for the explorer pack... I would have waited for the game to be out a while first before I bought it, so I pre-ordered thinking it would be a one time only thing... then we find out NAAAHHHH we will make it available to all thanks for pre-ordering sucker!

Xjcon · March 2015

Arunei wrote: »

Xjcon wrote: »

I don't see a problem. I got lucky when I bought my game, I got the explorers pack for 20$ at my local game stop, it was in august 2014 mind you. Anyone who purchases the game should have the chance to buy this and why not the crown store.

Uh, I don't think you got the EP, I think you got the IE. The EP was free with a pre-order, the IE was 20 bucks more. If you DID pay 20 bucks for the EP, then I'm sorry to say you were far from lucky.

Anyways, I'm pretty happy if they're offering the EP in the Crown Store. Why should anyone be upset? So other people can get the pet and maps, big deal. It's nothing that affects the rest of us in any way. The only thing that does affect us is the "Any Race Any Alliance" perk, which only affects us if we have friends or family that want to play in the same faction as us but want to be one of the races in the other factions. So basically it's an affect that's actually positive.

Sorry I meant I bought the game that had EP in it for 20$

BlackEar · March 2015

Listen, you can still buy keys for the explorer pack out there (or atleast you could before Tamriel UL) for under 1 dollar!

Now, if you can buy it from the Crown Store for 1500 crowns (1 months subscription!) then it is actually a BAD DEAL.

I, for one, do not care if they can play any race in any alliance. I always LOVED that about ES. Make your own background. That is what we do.

Kragorn · March 2015

Brandalf wrote: »

Varicite wrote: »

Brandalf wrote: »

Varicite wrote: »

sagitter wrote: »

Explorer's pack can be bought in all e-key sites, everyone got it, so i can't understand why complaining about it.

Because ZOS said they wouldn't. And then they did. Again.

How is this hard to understand?

It's common for pre-order incentives to be sold at some point, ZOS never said they would NEVER offer it through some other means in the future. They said at the time that it was the only way to play any race in any alliance and when that statement was made, it was the truth.

How is that hard to understand?

It's not hard to understand. In fact, I can point to you an entire thread of people arguing against me when I said that it would be on the Crown Store. It was an inevitability from the moment they announced B2P. Of course I recognized that, even if others apparently didn't.

ZOS did actually say that it would not be on the Crown Store. It's quoted above a few times.

You're saying that it was the truth less than 2 months ago when ZOS said:

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Since the Explorer’s Pack was only available as a pre-order bonus and was not sold on our website, it will not be moving to the Crown Store. We’re going to remove this note from the patch notes to avoid any further misunderstandings.

But now it's suddenly not. And that is somehow not a lie. Gotcha.

You're a lawyer or politician, aren't you?

Well technically they didn't lie. The Explorer's Pack is not in the Crown Store. The Adventurer's Pack is though. Yes it's the same thing, and ZOS was deliberately misleading, but they didn't technically lie. Why are people surprised by developers being deliberately misleading at this point? It's commonplace and nothing new. Their PR machines function in much the same way that a political campaign does(as you pointed out).

This action by ZOS is the sort of cynical disingenuousness that one expects from politicians and lawyers.

Yes, I have the EP from pre-order times, no, I don't care in the least it's now available in Store under a different name but with only a trivial change in content so that ZOS can do something they said quite clearly they weren't going to do. You're right, they didn't lie, they were, to use an infamous phrase uttered by a very senior British civil servant in a libel trial in Australia economical with the truth.

What DOES concern me is the moral bankruptcy this move demonstrates: and yes, I'm naive enough to think business morals can and do exist.

Oh, and yes, the guar pet is a damned sight cooler than the scuttler from the EP, whose endless on-the-spot running sound effect drives me to distraction in banks.

AngryNord · March 2015

Kragorn wrote: »

You're right, they didn't lie, they were, to use an infamous phrase uttered by a very senior British civil servant in a libel trial in Australia economical with the truth.

I thought that was Richard Nixon?
(I know it is an insult to Nixon to compare the ZOS administration to him, but anyway...)

wOOOOt_of_SD · March 2015

Nothing to worry about here, move along..

Kragorn · March 2015

AngryNord wrote: »

Kragorn wrote: »

You're right, they didn't lie, they were, to use an infamous phrase uttered by a very senior British civil servant in a libel trial in Australia economical with the truth.

I thought that was Richard Nixon?
(I know it is an insult to Nixon to compare the ZOS administration to him, but anyway...)

Tricky Dicky may well have said that first I guess, he certainly was a master at the art it seems.

darthbelanb14_ESO · March 2015

I am a special snowflake. Any race, any faction was the reason I preordered. Now, with this underhanded rebranding, I feel cheated. I don't want to hear it when they offer up Health Salves that are better than what you can get from crafters. They kept their promise, they're not health potions.

Thevampirenight · March 2015

It does not matter, its good they added this anyway so everyone can have a shot at explorers pack, I got it when I got the game from Walmart last April I think a lot could not get it without getting the boxed version of the game now everyone gets a chance so its better that way they added it to the crown store.

Varicite · March 2015

I disagree. Integrity does matter to me.