mlstevens42_ESO wrote: »There is no urgency. That is my entire point. If you want the item then get the item if you do not then don't. Items in the store are for the most part cosmetic. No one NEEDS cosmetic items. They may look fantastic, might be a piece of meaningless bling to stand in a bank some place and show off but, it is NOT needful. Really so what if person b got the item you didn't does it alter the game at all if they have the Breton cosmetic outfit no...not at all.
Equating this to holding my child hostage is not called for and I do find this comparison to be horribly offensive. These things are not even remotely the same. This is bling digital bling in a GAME. These in game things none of them serve any purpose in the real world at all.
dodgehopper_ESO wrote: »I don't think the next TES game will operate like this. They're using tactics common to a lot of MMO's. I'm not defending that but I do think one has to realize the MMO product is not the same as the standalone series.Wreuntzylla wrote: »khele23eb17_ESO wrote: »CapnPhoton wrote: »I think people often forget that at the end of the day this is a company trying to increase revenue like all companies. Does it really matter if they want to sell things for however long they want? Either you want it and you buy it or you don't and won't buy it. I think of it as an impulse buy like the stuff on the counter when checking out at a convenience store.
This sums it up. If you are in business you understand this statement. Why and how does a company try to make money? Advertising, special or limited offers, etc...this can't possibly be the first time you have every seen this. As for getting fussy about something companies have been doing for a long time, its a bit of an over reaction.
The question is - would you rather have your games made by companies like CD Project Red who strive to earn money by providing the best product possible thus gaining long term customer loyalty or like EA who try to earn money by tricking their customers to buy crap with marketing ploys.
This is the point I was going to make. Elder Scrolls historically has been a niche game with incredibly loyal fans. Everything Bethesda worked hard to build, all the goodwill they have fostered and the reputation they have grown, destroyed almost overnight by adopting K-Mart's Blue Light Special philosophy (that even K-Mart eventually dumped).
Some people wear gold lame yoga pants with a tiger print, but the target market isn't exactly uptown. Elder Scrolls was a Cartier, now they are 7-Eleven.
reclaimervii.sierra117ub17_ESO wrote: »Nice response! Mind telling me what the book is called?
Aldous Huxley - Ends and Means
FortheloveofKrist wrote: »A fundamental misunderstanding of capitalism as a mode of production.
May I suggest putting down the Huxley (just momentarily) and reading Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism by Frederic Jameson.
I think people often forget that at the end of the day this is a company trying to increase revenue like all companies. Does it really matter if they want to sell things for however long they want? Either you want it and you buy it or you don't and won't buy it. I think of it as an impulse buy like the stuff on the counter when checking out at a convenience store.
since you asked... (Does it really matter if they want to sell things for however long they want?...)
Yes, it does matter. Obviously, it doesn't matter *much* - you're right. They're trying to make money, this is a way to make money, I'm not *materially* losing out on a key feature of the game if I don't purchase their costume. My character isn't losing access to a zone, or a skill, or a fundamental piece of gear if I don't purchase the rainbow farting unicorn mount in the allotted window.
But it's still insulting. Not the product itself (although the product itself can be insulting too) - the blatant manipulation. The above tactic is essentially the way you manipulate a small child. If you don't do it now, you won't ever be able to do it again!! Can't tell you how many uninteresting GI Joe figures I bought from Toys R Us (can't do the backwards "R" sorry Toys R Us fans) absolutely convinced that if I came back next week some other kid would have bought them, probably that same kid that bought that Star Wars figure I wanted and have never seen again, and they'd be gone and I'd never see them again anywhere so I have to buy them now, even if I don't really want them all that badly.
Erhem...
anyway, my point is - The general impression ZOS leaves in the mouths of myself, and, judging by how often this issue comes up, at least a significant minority of the community - the general impression is that ZOS essentially sees us as particularly gullible toddlers (or, alternatively, parents *with* particularly gullible toddlers that need to be placated from time to time - which is nothing to be ashamed of - we all mostly expect toddlers to be, for the most part, pretty gullible)
so, to answer the question you may have only been rhetorically asking...yes, it matters. It's personally insulting to be treated this way, as well as *minorly* materially inconvenient to have to make falsely once-in-a-liftetime choices about whether or not to purchase something you weren't particularly excited about, but may never have the chance to decide on again ever in the future. It's manipulation, it's fairly transparent, and it is, as far as we can tell, TOTALLY UNNECESSARY except as a heavy handed, unsubtle tactic to drive up sales. It's cheap, lazy salesmanship, and it ought to be beneath the dignity of ZOS to employ as a thuggish level tactic. The fact that it isn't, is both demeaning to the player base AND to ZOS...
at least, in my eyes. Of course, your mileage on my perception may vary.
DarkWombat wrote: »It's really disappointing Zenimax is going the cheap infomercial route and using the age old trick of creating false urgency to get you to purchase things from the Crown Store. There is no way some of these items are only available for a lousy 4 days.
Elder Scrolls Online is doing well now. Why the need to go this route? It's a lowbrow mechanic.
Ep1kMalware wrote: »look, everybody, just 1 question:
Did they, or did they not announcr this wolf mount and costume at rhe beginning of the month woth the exact date it would be for sale. Iird they even announced it would be limited time weeks in advance.
there was absolutely no urgency, we've all had a long, long time to debate buying it. my mind was made up 2-3 months ago when it was initially datamined.
i mean REALLLLLLY, cmon
Ep1kMalware wrote: »Did they, or did they not announcr this wolf mount and costume at rhe beginning of the month woth the exact date it would be for sale. Iird they even announced it would be limited time weeks in advance.
WhiteCoatSyndrome wrote: »Ep1kMalware wrote: »Did they, or did they not announcr this wolf mount and costume at rhe beginning of the month woth the exact date it would be for sale. Iird they even announced it would be limited time weeks in advance.
How much of the ESO player base follows the forums, internet announcements etc? I ask because when I talk to my guildies--it depends on the guild but I usually hear from someone to whom the next upcoming thing is news.
Same goes for real antique furniture - you can live for decades with those and when you'll sell them, you will get a lot more than when you bought them, even if you take inflation and such into account - those are investments, not just goods.
Same goes for real antique furniture - you can live for decades with those and when you'll sell them, you will get a lot more than when you bought them, even if you take inflation and such into account - those are investments, not just goods.
That's why grandma and grandpa kept the plastic on them all those years. They knew what they were doing. They knew the value of taking care of your stuff and not throwing it away the second something else came along that was newer.
We have become such a throw-away society it almost boggles the mind. Printer has problems? Throw it away. Couch popped a spring? Go buy a new couch. Our grandparents would flip if they saw the incredible waste we produce.
Of course that comes from living through times where there were serious constraints on goods, and you had to cherish what you had. Most people today (myself included) have no idea what that is like.
Anyway, to the OP, if someone has impulse issues then maybe they should just ignore the store altogether. Limited-time only is just a way of keeping things fresh more than anything else. I have no problem with it.
DRXHarbinger wrote: »When was the last time you saw the drugar polymorph? No one bothers with common items it's all about what's rare at the time. Take the Dro M'artha senche to a stater zone and people do nothing but message you ask how you get it. You tell them it was time limited and boom thr next item that comes up they jump on it. Damn zos has me working for them now.
Same goes for real antique furniture - you can live for decades with those and when you'll sell them, you will get a lot more than when you bought them, even if you take inflation and such into account - those are investments, not just goods.
That's why grandma and grandpa kept the plastic on them all those years. They knew what they were doing. They knew the value of taking care of your stuff and not throwing it away the second something else came along that was newer.
We have become such a throw-away society it almost boggles the mind. Printer has problems? Throw it away. Couch popped a spring? Go buy a new couch. Our grandparents would flip if they saw the incredible waste we produce.
Of course that comes from living through times where there were serious constraints on goods, and you had to cherish what you had. Most people today (myself included) have no idea what that is like.
Anyway, to the OP, if someone has impulse issues then maybe they should just ignore the store altogether. Limited-time only is just a way of keeping things fresh more than anything else. I have no problem with it.
captainwolfos wrote: »I do find it kind of skeevy, yeah, but I doubt they're gonna change how they do things until enough people complain about it. And, as it stands with this particular issue, I honestly don't think enough people care about it to complain.
My main issue is with how they choose things to come down from the Crown Store.
The Nightmare horse (I can't remember the exact name but you all know which one I mean), for example, has been in the Crown Store literally since its inception. It's still there, it's not been on sale, and it doesn't seem to be in any danger of being removed.
The Treasure Hunter outfit, the Toxin Doctor costume... they've barely been in the Crown Store two months. I... don't understand the logic.
These days I only ever get things if they're on sale, or if I'm lucky enough to have money when the Crowns themselves are on sale, so I'm probably not going to get either of those costumes, much as I busted a nut when I saw the Toxin Doctor costume really want them.