jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

omfgitsbatman wrote: »

anitajoneb17_ESO wrote: »

There are people who buy crown crates without knowing that it is a scam ? Or, to say the least, a big risk of not getting items for the value spent ? I mean, really ?

Probably? Since no one knows the drop rates and the last RNG-based thing they introduced (flower bags) had rather generous RNG, people might assume (WRONGLY) that crown crates will be generous as well..

probably?

it could just be that people do understand it and don't really care that much about the drop rates because it is just a bit of fun.

I never said that everyone will be thinking like that.. I just said that some will, and I feel sorry for them. Because they are being scammed

ArrerBoy wrote: »

omfgitsbatman wrote: »

How is this a good deal?

It isn't. It's profitable. That's the whole reason these things keep popping up in games.

Sooo... why should we not protest this?

danielpatrickkeaneub17_ESO wrote: »

It's not a scam. You know what you're getting into. You're all scamming yourself and blaming the dealer because you think hitting on a 20 is a good idea.

You mean that we already know that we give away our money for most likely nothing? So... scam then. You know full well that these kind of marketing concepts only exist to exploit idiots into buying content they don't want.

omfgitsbatman wrote: »

Sooo... why should we not protest this?

I'm not saying you shouldn't, I'm saying you're going about it the wrong way. The reason the Imperial Edition protest failed was because enough people still bought it. You not only have to voice what you don't like, you also have to show how it will impact sales buy not buying them. And getting others to not buy them.

Recremen wrote: »

danielpatrickkeaneub17_ESO wrote: »

I posted this in another thread but it's relevant here.

"How many of you have played FIFA Ultimate team, spent $100 on cards and never sniffed a Messi or Ronaldo? It's the same thing. ZOS ain't the first to do it, and certainly will not be the last. What they have done is totally within their industry standards. It is up to you to know when to say when. I always give myself a $20 Ultimate team budget and stick to it. You're gonna have to do the same."

No one has any idea what their chances of scoring a Ronaldo card but many spends hundreds and thousands ... and some probably hundreds of thousands ... to get one. If they don't they just scrap what they have for EA coins and eventually drop hundreds of thousands of those to get one. Sound familiar?

You should all consider yourself lucky that we're only talking about mounts, hats and costumes.

We should not consider ourselves lucky by any stretch of the imagination. Lucky would be them scrapping this sham and going back to only direct purchases of cosmetic items. It's false to imply that the only thing we can do is count our lucky stars that they've only done one bad thing. If this is "standard" for the industry then it is the laws governing the industry that need to change, not the consumers. For example, we have minimum age gambling laws, but these nonrefundable fiat currencies somehow are enough for their legal team to scoot around those laws. At least for now. That doesn't mean it's good, or won't one day be found illegal, it's just how it is now, and it behooves the company to think long and hard about the kind of brand they want to have.

I actually agree with you 100%. The paragraph before the one that I pasted actually said that nothing will change until Congress makes it change.

Just making a point that it could be way worse. What if this was a sharpened Maelstrom staff? That's the point.

omfgitsbatman wrote: »

And how do we get others to not buy them? By pointing out on the forums that it's a bad deal? maybe we are going about it the right way, after all

In my opinion, no. It would be much more efficient to NOT TALK about them at all. Everything we say or do is advertising for those crates and raises people's interest around them. Buzz mechanics.
Just go on our merry way and pretend they're not here. Don't react when other players or guildies show off their crown store stuff. Indifference is quite a powerful weapon.

Publius_Scipio wrote: »

So, this thread is about you guys lacking the self control to either open a few crates, be dissatisfied, and not open anymore? Or simply dislike the whole idea of crown crates and not open them at all?

Or are you in fact simply angry that ZOS has included crown crates in THEIR product, THEIR game?

Yes!

You know, after all of these threads I still don't get it. I am not a big gambler, never really have been. But, that doesn't mean I don't buy the occasional scratch-off ticket or play the power ball lottery when the jackpot gets high.

And you know what, I'm sitting on 6k crowns that I tried to spend but there's nothing I want in the crown store, so I'll probably throw it at these crates. No big deal. The ethical quandaries that everyone brings up with this topic are crazy.

The crown crates are a little different than other forms of gambling because you will always get something for your money even if it is not what you want. Try saying that about the lottery or black jack or keno or a football square; more times than not you come away empty handed.

Here's what we know for certain:

1. ZOS is not a not-for-profit charity organization; they have employees not volunteers.
2. When it comes to gambling, the house always wins.

If you don't like the risk, don't buy them.
Being this salty about such trivial matters in life isn't going to do anything but give you gray hair and stomach ulcers.

omfgitsbatman wrote: »

They see the difference, but may assume that the RNG will be equally generous. Just because the means of purchase is different, that shouldn't mean that the RNG will be worse.. Yet it is...

Come on... The Val Var merchant is an ingame shop. Truly virtual. Exchange pixels for pixels. The crown store is an online store just like Amazon. How can people just not be aware of the difference ?

anitajoneb17_ESO wrote: »

omfgitsbatman wrote: »

They see the difference, but may assume that the RNG will be equally generous. Just because the means of purchase is different, that shouldn't mean that the RNG will be worse.. Yet it is...

Come on... The Val Var merchant is an ingame shop. Truly virtual. Exchange pixels for pixels. The crown store is an online store just like Amazon. How can people just not be aware of the difference ?

Except at amazon you get what you order... there is no "get a random item" order (I HOPE). If anything, it would be reasonable to assume that RNG will be better, since you put actual money on the line. I'm not saying that people don't know the difference between real money and tel var. I'm saying that some people base their decisions on what they exerienced with in-game RNG so far.. and if your most recent experience was the flower bags, you'd be more inclined to give them money than if vma leaderboards were your last experience

Publius_Scipio wrote: »

So, this thread is about you guys lacking the self control to either open a few crates, be dissatisfied, and not open anymore? Or simply dislike the whole idea of crown crates and not open them at all?

Or are you in fact simply angry that ZOS has included crown crates in THEIR product, THEIR game?

What kinda reasoning is that? We're their costumers and without costumers "THEIR game" will shut down. They lock away exclusive content behind RNG paywalls that just feed you with junk over and over again. They will do this with more future items and as said they depend on us paying for their content.

Except we don't get anything that we want so how is this even surprising to you? How is this ok with anyone? The only reason I could think of is that you're incredibly rich and enjoy the thought of being one of the few that ride these money bag mounts among other content. Or you really like being fooled and spend money for nothing.

omfgitsbatman wrote: »

Except at amazon you get what you order... there is no "get a random item" order (I HOPE). If anything, it would be reasonable to assume that RNG will be better, since you put actual money on the line. I'm not saying that people don't know the difference between real money and tel var. I'm saying that some people base their decisions on what they exerienced with in-game RNG so far.. and if your most recent experience was the flower bags, you'd be more inclined to give them money than if vma leaderboards were your last experience

I get what you're saying.
But it's worrying if people truly get confused between RNG drops as part of a game's design in a virtual, closed economy, and an RNG system based on real purchases with RL money.
I'm an idealist, I always assume people know what they're doing...

People have to realize : those boxes are like if Amazon started selling "book boxes". Cost only 1 dollar but you don't get to choose your book - surprise !! And you might also get a pile of blank paper too.