Hello everyone.
I'll give you a little background to what brought me here and now, writing this post.
I am a subscriber and I have been kinda happy with this game for the past 6 months (been playing for 7, subscribed for almost 6). Sure, there are bugs and persisting problems that may hurt the overall experience with ESO, but I never felt like the issues were too game-breaking.
I'll start with "the good". I find it reassuring that none of the features included in the Crown Store is implemented according to the infamous Pay-To-Win model. Might be a small thing to some, but to me is something that should not be taken for granted. Another thing that I like about the store is the variety of things it offers. Items, mounts, pets, costumes, DLCs, cosmetics, and more. More or less these features are well-thought and well-implemented. But, above all, there are things for everyone and for every need. Even the casual or small buyers can get some good-value-for-money offers that improve their overall gameplay without being an advantage towards players that do not own them.
Now, to the matter. I've lately noticed a trend in the Crown Store. Such trend is to remove "old" cosmetics and stuff to create demand. Nothing new here, marketing 101. What bothers me is that this behavior is so very perpetrated over time that it almost makes me think ZOS needs money badly. I'm not going to further address their finances, as it's not my business nor the purpose of this topic. It was just a personal thought.
Anyway, said continuous trend is accompanied by (imho) lackluster additions to the store that really don't make it up in terms of quality nor quantity. Moreover, many items are added for very brief periods of time and are given very high price-tags (I'm looking at you, Dro-M'Athra Senche and Hero Costumes).
I was looking very forward to seeing this hype-generating Update 11 implemented. It was supposed to be a breath of fresh air in every possible way. It had new dungeons, new achievements, new rewards, new nice sets, old sets and content being updated, and the all-new Style Parlor. This latest addition gathered many hyped players into playing in the PTS, testing new cosmetics, dungeons and stuff.
With the Style Parlor were supposed to come also the long-overdue Race Change, Appearance Change and Name Change. They did, and it made many people happy.
Another promised feature, though, were the many new hairstyles, markings and adornments discussed in the recent ESO Live show.
These did not come.
To my and others' great dismay, this choice was bad enough to make everyone flood a discussion with their full-of-disappointment comments, mine included (discussion here:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/282143/update-11-missing-hairstyles-more-in-pts/p1 ).
Some of the comments also had a tag for Gina and Jessica from ZOS in order to have them give voice to the voiceless.
Maybe it was a desperate measure, but I thought it could work.
Today, I was proven wrong. This is why:
http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2016/08/02/crown-store-showcase-august-2nd-2016
Everyone's wish to have the long-hyped hairstyles in the live server died today. Those feature might as well be added by the end of September or even further in time.
This is what I call "the very wrong".
It's the damn The Walking Dead, Season 6 finale all over again. They introduced after a long time something everyone wanted, but gave just a glimpse of it and made everyone wait months before getting to the point of it all. I bet the show-runner and his crew were laughing at how genius of a thing they thought they did, but it backfired pretty quickly.
You can't and shouldn't generate hype for something only to give it months later. Why? Because all of the hype goes downhill faster than it went up. It might even turn into disappointment and frustration. Furthermore, this happens even more frequently and easily if the previously-hyped people express their concerns and are not listened to. Every company has to make plans, but should also have the wisdom and versatility to change those plans according to the tide.
And,
in an online game, WE are the tide.
Yours sincerely,
A marketing-professional wannabe.
My characters (EU PC):
Leopardo Di-Caprio (Khajiit Templar) || Matthew Makehoney (Altmer Sorcerer) || Luck-Luster Burt (Redguard Dragonknight)
Clint Histwood (Argonian Templar) || Martin Uber Ping (Redguard Sorcerer) || Louis Farmstrong (Imperial Nightblade)
Anthony Hotskins (Altmer Nightblade)