I have to disagree with a few of your points, Jim.

I did buy Crown Crates, but that is no guarantee I will buy any in the future. If I am the target audience though (I suppose I could be), and players such as myself do give them the most money, then I think it would be in their best interest to keep that demographic as happy as possible. If a rather minor detail, in the grand scheme, hinders future purchases then it would behoove them to take the short hit for the long gain.

I don't think either of us know the percentage of people who have bought them. We may have anecdotal opinions, and mine is that I see a lot of people with CC exclusive items.

Lastly, I agree with you that I would like them to make some changes that would benefit the community at large, not just the "whales", but that is beyond the scope of this post.

Jim_Pipp wrote: »

Hey, OP I just re-read my first post and it reads much saltier than I meant it to. I won't edit it because that would leave your response out of context, but I wanted to apologise for suggesting you are a 'whale', as obviously I don't know that.

I agree with most of your response, I don't know how many people bought crown crates but I find it easy to imagine that I know. I agree that it makes sound business sense for ZOS to keep their biggest customers happy, but I hope they do that by keeping the majority of their customers happy rather than catering to those mystery whales.

For what it is worth, I think crown crates would have had a wider appeal if people could choose their apex reward (similar to your original suggestion), but ZOS loves rng related disappointments!

Hey thanks Jim but I didn't take your post in any negative manner.

I agree that, at the very least, the Apex rewards need to be tweaked. While I think it was a good move to set up exchanges, I would think most people are trying for the top tier items (I wasn't).

I may very well be a whale. But I don't think that should give me any special treatment. In fact I think when companies do so it is bad for the overall health of the game.

I understand that companies want to make as much money as possible. But ESO is such a quality product that I think this apparent pendulum swing is, long term, a bad strategy. As an example, my gaming budget is $200 a month. I rarely spend that, but it's there. I'm more than prepared to allocate that towards ESO, but when I start to feel like I'm being treated like a sucker it lowers my desire to purchase anything.

The good news is they can correct course, and while it may cost them some dimes I firmly believe it would reap them dollars. I realize the chance is remote, but maybe someone who can influence decisions will happen upon our conversation and consider some changes.

Thank you for the polite conversation, Jim.

They are optional buy them or don't.

j3crow wrote: »

...What will be incredibly damaging to the seller/customer relationship is if they simply push to see "what the market will bear", and than rely solely on metrics.

I don't want to get political, but the recent US election cycles shows just how completely wrong polls and metrics can be. There needs to also be a focus on the human / intangible factor in the economic equation. Brand Loyalty means something and is worth money, and that requires a consumer relationship based on the perception of added value

My fear is that the marketing team doesn't understand this, and will simply use the short-term vendor tactic seen by so many titles, that ultimately lead to nothing by disposable games.

What a great post, you put into words what I could not.

I have no doubt they can make a great short term profit. Like you, that is my fear for this game. Kill the Golden Goose and you eat well for one day. It's a bad long term strategy though. And not just for this game, but the company as a whole.

Who, for example, would want to jump into another Electronic Arts MMORPG after seeing what they did to 'Star Wars the Old Republic'? I loved SWtOR, it was one of those "buy a new computer" games for me. I won't touch it now. Sunk Cost Fallacy may keep the harpoons in some till the servers power off, but I believe most people get wary when they begin to feel like an ATM rather than a valued player/customer.

ESO isn't there yet, and I really hope it never pulls into that station. Because as much as I love the game and admire its high production values, I've moved on in the past when the monetization began to feel exploitive. And Zeni really doesn't need to go that route - they have a great product and until recently the best monetary incentives to remain an active customer.

If anything, these recent changes speak of lack of faith in their own game. There's a "grab the money while you can" feel to these moves (such as selling limited time motifs without enough mimic stones to make one whole set) that is off putting.

It wouldn't require that they reinvent the wheel to move back towards being more customer friendly. Little things, like including 10 mimic stones so a product was whole, or tweaking the Crown Crate apex reward mechanisms as mentioned. It would take out a lot of the sting and if not bolster Brand Loyalty, at least not hurt it.

The coming year will be telling and I suspect decisive as to whether I stick with them or move on to another MMO.

Jim_Pipp wrote: »

Hey, OP I just re-read my first post and it reads much saltier than I meant it to. I won't edit it because that would leave your response out of context, but I wanted to apologise for suggesting you are a 'whale', as obviously I don't know that.

I agree with most of your response, I don't know how many people bought crown crates but I find it easy to imagine that I know. I agree that it makes sound business sense for ZOS to keep their biggest customers happy, but I hope they do that by keeping the majority of their customers happy rather than catering to those mystery whales.

For what it is worth, I think crown crates would have had a wider appeal if people could choose their apex reward (similar to your original suggestion), but ZOS loves rng related disappointments!

In this game I can't see to many players failing into the whale category. Even with the Crown Crate and being able to turn in unwanted items for Gems is a real nice added feature.

Go into other games where the company offers items like the crate with RNG items behind that pay wall; players in some of those games spend thousand upon thousands only to get items that are well below the average return on one's investment.

I personally like how Zen handles their RNG system as Gem Crowns can be acquired and a player can buy what they want if they have enough Gem crowns.

I purchased 4 crates and was happy I got two items I wanted out of the crate, a non-combat pet and the aura, kinda hate the aura as I wish that once you activate it that it would stay on my character until the screen reloads or I log off. Ugh..but still I got the two items I wanted.

This game may have its whales but I bet the whales in ESO spend much less than in other MMO games that are design around a P2W model.

By the end of my first week with another PS4 MMO I already dropped around $250. This game I only have put forth around $85 and got a sub and put in a bit more to try my hand with the crates and to extend my sub out another month as I'm really enjoying the game and pace at which I am leveling up my character.