ESO Has Sold Another 1.5 Million Copies Since BE3 - 8.5+ Million Copies Sold

Elsonso · February 2017

Stopnaggin wrote: »

The really amazing thing to me is how many of the same negative posters are still here complain about how bad this game is. Or how they are so against ZOS and their business model, which isn't any different then any other business. So either they still find enough enjoyment to stick around or they just love to argue against ZOS and anything positive that come from the community. I personally feel that if I was done with the game I sure wouldn't be lurking in the forums just to spout a bunch of negative comments.

Careful how you tread here. There is a difference between ESO and ZOS, so criticism of ZOS and their business model is not the same as being critical of ESO. It is perfectly reasonable to like and enjoy the game, and dislike how ZOS handles the game. Also, keep in mind that criticism is often relative, and not absolute. The relative criticism is because they want the game, or ZOS, to be better, not because they hate the game or the company. When I do come across someone who seems to hate the game as an absolute, I stop to scratch my head. I am just a toad, so what do I know.

For all the "negativity" in the forum, I really don't see that much of it coming from people who absolutely hate the game, or the company. Not anymore.

vyndral13preub18_ESO wrote: »

All it would take is to let a shard hold more people before a new one opened. That would make the same amount of people look like more and could possibly send performance to the tank.

And before you say why would they do that, look at what you wrote. That is why. The same reasons games in the past would change the number of players it took to make a server say full. To make the game look more alive, because it makes people feel good.

Am I saying they did this? No. Am I saying we have no way of knowing if they did? Yes.

Yeah, we could possibly know. We can't determine the max population of a particular "shard", that much is true. We can, however, tell when they make changes that alter how players are mixed together. If they started making the "shards" larger, this would change how players are mixed together. Of course, there can be a number of reasons why this might change. We would be able to notice, even if we did not fully understand why.

dday3six · February 2017

dbgager wrote: »

dday3six wrote: »

dbgager wrote: »

dday3six wrote: »

Balamoor wrote: »

AlexanderDeLarge wrote: »

Why do you guys care so much about the "active player count"? Every area is noticeably populated and you can find people doing group content relatively easily.

It's a buy2play game. Once they've bought in, it doesn't matter whether they're active or not and it directly benefits you considering that money goes into maintenance and content creation.

Because in their small hate filled minds it must fail, it must be nowhere near their god King WoW, and they must scream their hate hourly on the forums.

So they will Emmanuel Goldstein this Bi*** until their perception becomes universal reality. Will that ever actually work? of course not most rational people just laugh at these goobers.

Again their is a reason I don't announce to folks one of my Hobbies is gaming.

My mind is small and hate-filled because I think active player count is a better reflection of how well a game is doing?

So, let's dive a bit deeper into this. Active player count speaks more toward player retention. For a game with a business model similar to ESO. Keeping players playing is important because a large part of the revenue comes from after purchase sells. So for that aspect of it a player count based on units sold doesn't really tell us much.

Before you think everyone who favors a different evaluation wants the game to fail, perhaps delve into reasons why they might favor that eval method. Hyperbole and lumping group association can be small minded from either end.

Money is what keeps a game going. This game you have to purchase to play for most unless you sub with ESO+. SO that is the fuel that determines the health of the game.

Units sold represents the purchase of the game whether it's base or bundled with previous DLC does really factor into it. However DLC and/or ESO+ are part of the after purchase sells I was referring to. It's basically any secondary purchase that can be bought after the intial purchase of at least the base game. So the Crown Store in short.

Speaking of the Crown Store. You believe ZOS would take the time to manage and maintain it if was not a significant part of their revenue stream?

I am not talking about the crown store. I am talking about considering Active players as the #1 determination on the health of the game.

1 Purchase ( accounts)
2 Subbed ( ESO+)
3 Crown Store

At least in my opinion..

The article doesn't refer to accounts. It is strictly based on units sold. The author of even atested to this in the comments for clarification. A copy of the game could have been bought then never opened, thus no account created, and yet still it would count toward a measure of units sold.

Mojmir · February 2017

lordrichter wrote: »

Stopnaggin wrote: »

The really amazing thing to me is how many of the same negative posters are still here complain about how bad this game is. Or how they are so against ZOS and their business model, which isn't any different then any other business. So either they still find enough enjoyment to stick around or they just love to argue against ZOS and anything positive that come from the community. I personally feel that if I was done with the game I sure wouldn't be lurking in the forums just to spout a bunch of negative comments.

Careful how you tread here. There is a difference between ESO and ZOS, so criticism of ZOS and their business model is not the same as being critical of ESO. It is perfectly reasonable to like and enjoy the game, and dislike how ZOS handles the game. Also, keep in mind that criticism is often relative, and not absolute. The relative criticism is because they want the game, or ZOS, to be better, not because they hate the game or the company. When I do come across someone who seems to hate the game as an absolute, I stop to scratch my head. I am just a toad, so what do I know.

For all the "negativity" in the forum, I really don't see that much of it coming from people who absolutely hate the game, or the company. Not anymore.

vyndral13preub18_ESO wrote: »

All it would take is to let a shard hold more people before a new one opened. That would make the same amount of people look like more and could possibly send performance to the tank.

And before you say why would they do that, look at what you wrote. That is why. The same reasons games in the past would change the number of players it took to make a server say full. To make the game look more alive, because it makes people feel good.

Am I saying they did this? No. Am I saying we have no way of knowing if they did? Yes.

Yeah, we could possibly know. We can't determine the max population of a particular "shard", that much is true. We can, however, tell when they make changes that alter how players are mixed together. If they started making the "shards" larger, this would change how players are mixed together. Of course, there can be a number of reasons why this might change. We would be able to notice, even if we did not fully understand why.

This 100%

dbgager · February 2017

dday3six wrote: »

dbgager wrote: »

dday3six wrote: »

dbgager wrote: »

dday3six wrote: »

Balamoor wrote: »

AlexanderDeLarge wrote: »

Why do you guys care so much about the "active player count"? Every area is noticeably populated and you can find people doing group content relatively easily.

It's a buy2play game. Once they've bought in, it doesn't matter whether they're active or not and it directly benefits you considering that money goes into maintenance and content creation.

Because in their small hate filled minds it must fail, it must be nowhere near their god King WoW, and they must scream their hate hourly on the forums.

So they will Emmanuel Goldstein this Bi*** until their perception becomes universal reality. Will that ever actually work? of course not most rational people just laugh at these goobers.

Again their is a reason I don't announce to folks one of my Hobbies is gaming.

My mind is small and hate-filled because I think active player count is a better reflection of how well a game is doing?

So, let's dive a bit deeper into this. Active player count speaks more toward player retention. For a game with a business model similar to ESO. Keeping players playing is important because a large part of the revenue comes from after purchase sells. So for that aspect of it a player count based on units sold doesn't really tell us much.

Before you think everyone who favors a different evaluation wants the game to fail, perhaps delve into reasons why they might favor that eval method. Hyperbole and lumping group association can be small minded from either end.

Money is what keeps a game going. This game you have to purchase to play for most unless you sub with ESO+. SO that is the fuel that determines the health of the game.

Units sold represents the purchase of the game whether it's base or bundled with previous DLC does really factor into it. However DLC and/or ESO+ are part of the after purchase sells I was referring to. It's basically any secondary purchase that can be bought after the intial purchase of at least the base game. So the Crown Store in short.

Speaking of the Crown Store. You believe ZOS would take the time to manage and maintain it if was not a significant part of their revenue stream?

I am not talking about the crown store. I am talking about considering Active players as the #1 determination on the health of the game.

1 Purchase ( accounts)
2 Subbed ( ESO+)
3 Crown Store

At least in my opinion..

The article doesn't refer to accounts. It is strictly based on units sold. The author of even atested to this in the comments for clarification. A copy of the game could have been bought then never opened, thus no account created, and yet still it would count toward a measure of units sold.

As it should be. It was income for Zenimax.

dday3six · February 2017

Molydeus wrote: »

Sausage wrote: »

At 3 year mark WoW was snowballing like a MF. ESO's underachievement just keeps continuing.

Hard to say if they can do anything to the Story, but I would most definitely add Companions with Stories, so people can do Dolmens, Public Dungeons and World Bosses, also revisit the Dolmens again. That would imho, improve the Journey quite much.

Derp. WoW entered a very different market with much less competition than ESO has goneup against. Context is important. How many MMOs were around when WoW started? How many now?

There were quite a bit more than people believe. Access and how players learned about new games has just changed dramatically. FFXI for example pre-dates WoW. The thing is WoW was the first to hit major, mainstream success. You can draw parallels to Magic the Gathering for instance. There were actually several CTGs emerging at the time, but through victor's history Magic is the most recognizable to most people.

KICHZY · February 2017

That's an incredible feat, I'd like to know what the figures will be after Morrowind. That's sure to bring old/new players to ESO.

dday3six · February 2017

dbgager wrote: »

dday3six wrote: »

dbgager wrote: »

dday3six wrote: »

dbgager wrote: »

dday3six wrote: »

Balamoor wrote: »

AlexanderDeLarge wrote: »

Why do you guys care so much about the "active player count"? Every area is noticeably populated and you can find people doing group content relatively easily.

It's a buy2play game. Once they've bought in, it doesn't matter whether they're active or not and it directly benefits you considering that money goes into maintenance and content creation.

Because in their small hate filled minds it must fail, it must be nowhere near their god King WoW, and they must scream their hate hourly on the forums.

So they will Emmanuel Goldstein this Bi*** until their perception becomes universal reality. Will that ever actually work? of course not most rational people just laugh at these goobers.

Again their is a reason I don't announce to folks one of my Hobbies is gaming.

My mind is small and hate-filled because I think active player count is a better reflection of how well a game is doing?

So, let's dive a bit deeper into this. Active player count speaks more toward player retention. For a game with a business model similar to ESO. Keeping players playing is important because a large part of the revenue comes from after purchase sells. So for that aspect of it a player count based on units sold doesn't really tell us much.

Before you think everyone who favors a different evaluation wants the game to fail, perhaps delve into reasons why they might favor that eval method. Hyperbole and lumping group association can be small minded from either end.

Money is what keeps a game going. This game you have to purchase to play for most unless you sub with ESO+. SO that is the fuel that determines the health of the game.

Units sold represents the purchase of the game whether it's base or bundled with previous DLC does really factor into it. However DLC and/or ESO+ are part of the after purchase sells I was referring to. It's basically any secondary purchase that can be bought after the intial purchase of at least the base game. So the Crown Store in short.

Speaking of the Crown Store. You believe ZOS would take the time to manage and maintain it if was not a significant part of their revenue stream?

I am not talking about the crown store. I am talking about considering Active players as the #1 determination on the health of the game.

1 Purchase ( accounts)
2 Subbed ( ESO+)
3 Crown Store

At least in my opinion..

The article doesn't refer to accounts. It is strictly based on units sold. The author of even atested to this in the comments for clarification. A copy of the game could have been bought then never opened, thus no account created, and yet still it would count toward a measure of units sold.

As it should be. It was income for Zenimax.

I guess you're just going to ignore "Purchase (accounts)" and pretend they are the same thing.

Ojustaboo · February 2017

lordrichter wrote: »

kyle.wilson wrote: »

Dominoid wrote: »

At an Elder Scrolls Online press event, Matt Firor confirmed to our own Bill Murphy that the game is sporting 8.5 million players. At E3 2016, ESO had 7 million players and has grown by 1.5 million since then. This number is based off of units sold and is not simply a tally of registered accounts.

According to Firor, the population is split fairly evenly among all platforms. Currently, Elder Scrolls Online is available on PC, PlayStation 4 and XBox One.

http://www.mmorpg.com/elder-scrolls-online/news/matt-firor-85-million-eso-players-right-now-based-on-sales-1000043197

Quoting a player base like that is only meaningful to shareholders. The active player base is what we would like. Because many people are counted twice for pc/console even though they are now only active on console after the release.
I could assume that the active "played within last month" to be significantly lower than that number.

Yeah, but how do you define "active"? No matter how you do it, someone will say you are not doing it right. If ZOS did it, you can be sure that people would crawl out of everywhere to challenge the numbers. Case in point right here in this thread regarding the 8.5 million number.

The number is what it is. Number of units sold. It is an important number, to them.

Compared to TES 3 Morrowind, TES 4 Oblivion, and Fallout 3, it is pretty clear that ESO will be considered a success by everyone at ZeniMax Media. This is the stick by which they are likely to measure. Is it a blockbuster, like Skyrim and Fallout 4? No. But, it is also not a failure. Remember that ZOS is an untested, unproven, studio that has sold 8.5 million copies of its first game. Yeah, they are doing the happy dance, no matter what we think.

Now, TES 3 Morrowind has sold the least of all of the ones I mention above. As near as I can figure, given an almost complete lack of sales data, it has sold around 4 million copies, lifetime. The real question is this: At what point does ESO Morrowind outsell TES 3 Morrowind, and will they tell us?

While I don't disagree with you there is another side to this point of view (just playing devils advocate)

While selling this many games will be a financial success, IF (and I'm not even suggesting this is so), the vast majority bought the game, played it for a few hrs and stuck it on the shelf, the danger is that the next great game Zenimax releases, all those people avoid it at all costs.

Again not saying that is what's happening, just saying that the sales of your first game is really only a success for the long term stability of your company if the vast majority of those who purchased it, felt they got their monies worth.

Personally I do think I get my monies worth although I don't think the sub is worth it any more, just my personal opinion, will buy crowns as and when I want stuff.

I own 3 copies, I bought the PS4 version when it was cheap for existing subscribers, but I don't enjoy playing it on the PS4, and I just bought a 2nd account (gold edition).

Most of the time I will only play on one account at a time (might log into both at times to transfer stuff from one account to the other) , but I dare say in the months to come, I might spend a few months on one account and a few on the other, so both are sort of active but not at the same time.

Stopnaggin · February 2017

lordrichter wrote: »

Stopnaggin wrote: »

The really amazing thing to me is how many of the same negative posters are still here complain about how bad this game is. Or how they are so against ZOS and their business model, which isn't any different then any other business. So either they still find enough enjoyment to stick around or they just love to argue against ZOS and anything positive that come from the community. I personally feel that if I was done with the game I sure wouldn't be lurking in the forums just to spout a bunch of negative comments.

Careful how you tread here. There is a difference between ESO and ZOS, so criticism of ZOS and their business model is not the same as being critical of ESO. It is perfectly reasonable to like and enjoy the game, and dislike how ZOS handles the game. Also, keep in mind that criticism is often relative, and not absolute. The relative criticism is because they want the game, or ZOS, to be better, not because they hate the game or the company. When I do come across someone who seems to hate the game as an absolute, I stop to scratch my head. I am just a toad, so what do I know.

And here is where the problems lie, which entity is responsible for the game? I personally love the game, even with its flaws. The main people I see complaining about everything are always the same few. What I can't seem to understand, and it wasn't really pointing to any individuals, is why come in on every thread that is a positive just to try and dump on it. It seems like the vultures just waiting for the game to die so they can say " I told you". I personally don't care if they continue the cash shop, crates and chapters. I sub and have from the beginning, I have gotten my money's worth, maybe because I don't see my sub as a promise for free content forever. I got exactly what I paid for, and I pay for what I am going to recieve, not a promise of what is to come.

It is what it is I guess, I just dont have the energy to try and *** on everyone's parade. The game has flaws. The company that owns the game is not a non profit. We all play by their rules, we own nothing in here, we rent it until they decide to demolish the block. My point being if I was so disappointed with either the game or the company I would move on. Legitimate complaints are fine, but incessant complaining on every thread is just a waste of time and effort.

Balamoor · February 2017

Stopnaggin wrote: »

lordrichter wrote: »

Stopnaggin wrote: »

The really amazing thing to me is how many of the same negative posters are still here complain about how bad this game is. Or how they are so against ZOS and their business model, which isn't any different then any other business. So either they still find enough enjoyment to stick around or they just love to argue against ZOS and anything positive that come from the community. I personally feel that if I was done with the game I sure wouldn't be lurking in the forums just to spout a bunch of negative comments.

Careful how you tread here. There is a difference between ESO and ZOS, so criticism of ZOS and their business model is not the same as being critical of ESO. It is perfectly reasonable to like and enjoy the game, and dislike how ZOS handles the game. Also, keep in mind that criticism is often relative, and not absolute. The relative criticism is because they want the game, or ZOS, to be better, not because they hate the game or the company. When I do come across someone who seems to hate the game as an absolute, I stop to scratch my head. I am just a toad, so what do I know.

And here is where the problems lie, which entity is responsible for the game? I personally love the game, even with its flaws. The main people I see complaining about everything are always the same few. What I can't seem to understand, and it wasn't really pointing to any individuals, is why come in on every thread that is a positive just to try and dump on it. It seems like the vultures just waiting for the game to die so they can say " I told you". I personally don't care if they continue the cash shop, crates and chapters. I sub and have from the beginning, I have gotten my money's worth, maybe because I don't see my sub as a promise for free content forever. I got exactly what I paid for, and I pay for what I am going to recieve, not a promise of what is to come.

It is what it is I guess, I just dont have the energy to try and *** on everyone's parade. The game has flaws. The company that owns the game is not a non profit. We all play by their rules, we own nothing in here, we rent it until they decide to demolish the block. My point being if I was so disappointed with either the game or the company I would move on. Legitimate complaints are fine, but incessant complaining on every thread is just a waste of time and effort.

BINGO!

Wifeaggro13 · February 2017

Stopnaggin wrote: »

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

JD2013 wrote: »

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

JD2013 wrote: »

But ... isn't ESO dying?? 8.5 million copies sold? That can't be right because people on these forums say it's dying!

I don't think anyone is saying it is dying. I think more people are complaining because it sucks as a mmo and fair as a single player RPG. And it's buisness model is highly predatory, with little longevity to what you pay for

Look around on the forums for people saying the sky is falling and its dying.

Predatory business model how? Genuinely interested to know how you think it's predatory. It's the same kind of setup as all B2P mmo's out there with no pay to win armour or weapons in the cash shop. Basically just cosmetics. And if you're talking about Morrowind talk to WoW players who are forced to sub to play and have to pay for expansions.

As an mmo it was never the most standard of mmo's. it's not WoW or GW2 etc. I would certainly like to see more group content, absolutely but it's kept me entertained for over 3 years.

Gloom clouds gonna gloom cloud eh?

no im not talking of Morrowind i actually think it is a good decision, I am talking about double dipping the content, Reselling of old DLC's with cosmetics that cant be aquired in game, im talking about pay walling game features like inventory management behind a sub yet calling the game B2P, I'm talking about starting as sub , going B2P to appease the microsoft debacle , redesigning the game to appeal to the gullible new to MMO market. im talking about making all these single player DLC's with no longevity and selling them for a premium cost while doing nothing for the community that actually plays the whole game while subbing. Yes their business model is predatory you just chose to ignore it.

I don't understand, are you saying they don't do anything to improve the game? Because I remember they did say they would release quarterly updates, so far the have. They said they would not introduce p2w, they haven't. The sub model is fine, I get what I paid for, plus I get crowns. I'm not seeing anything predatory as far as being able to enjoy what I have paid for, so they release dlc with added fluff later on. Good for them, do you need to buy anything from the cs to play the game, nope.

The game has its problems no doubt. Some are annoying especially since they have been around for years. The customer service department need some serious work. But all in all the game seems very healthy to me. The updates keep pouring in, whether small or large. It's not as easy to keep up with a living game as far as fixing things and not breaking other things when fixing somthing. The servers could use an upgrade or lower the instance cap to make it run smoother. So yes it does have problems, but imo it's still the best mmo out right now.

Regardless of howany people bought multiple copies of the game to get the extra fluff, those who play on different platforms and such, they apperantly like the game enough to purchase it again. For a 3 year old MMO I think the sales numbers are pretty good, even if they are sales to stores and are sitting on a shelf. Those stores have the information needed to warrant buy those copies as well. I'm sure they would buy them if they though they wouldn't sell. And in all reality it doesn't matter what anyone on here, pro or con thinks, the game will continue until they decide to pull the plug. When that happens we will all move on to the next thing that peaks our interest.

The really amazing thing to me is how many of the same negative posters are still here complain about how bad this game is. Or how they are so against ZOS and their business model, which isn't any different then any other business. So either they still find enough enjoyment to stick around or they just love to argue against ZOS and anything positive that come from the community. I personally feel that if I was done with the game I sure wouldn't be lurking in the forums just to spout a bunch of negative comments.

Im not done i have hopes they will enrich and expand the game and try to make content for people who actually play the features of the game. My main problem is they are immensley profitable yet they spit drivel out as content . if you look at my previous comments you will see there are many comparisons to games with much smaller budgets, much smaller populations that were able to triple the amount of content zos has released in 3 years post launch. Im not complaingin and saying ZOS is a failure quite the opposite they have made boat loads of cash yet they produce drivel easy bake solo play content and immense amounts of cash shop gamble items.

deepseamk20b14_ESO · February 2017

Grumble_and_Grunt wrote: »

Maybe they should invest back into their customer service teams they cut off a couple years back. The support system in this game is absolutely abysmal and ridden with just constant automated replies.

I have put in several tickets in the last two months. Account issues, gear issue, and one or two other things. I have been helped quite expeditiously and all my problems were resolved..... Not sure where this whole "abysmal support system" comes from. So far I have nothing but really good things to say about the support system.

vyndral13preub18_ESO · February 2017

deepseamk20b14_ESO wrote: »

Grumble_and_Grunt wrote: »

Maybe they should invest back into their customer service teams they cut off a couple years back. The support system in this game is absolutely abysmal and ridden with just constant automated replies.

I have put in several tickets in the last two months. Account issues, gear issue, and one or two other things. I have been helped quite expeditiously and all my problems were resolved..... Not sure where this whole "abysmal support system" comes from. So far I have nothing but really good things to say about the support system.

But 4 tickets in 2 months, so do at least understand where the crappy quality content complaints come from though, right?

hamgatan · February 2017

Molydeus wrote: »

How many MMOs were around when WoW started? How many now?

UO.. EO.. EQ.. EQ2.. AC.. AC2.. FFXI.. Lin2.. Rag...

Want me to keep going?

dbgager · February 2017

hamgatan wrote: »

Molydeus wrote: »

How many MMOs were around when WoW started? How many now?

UO.. EO.. EQ.. EQ2.. AC.. AC2.. FFXI.. Lin2.. Rag...

Want me to keep going?

There are literally hundreds of them now...

http://www.mmorpg.com/games-list

hamgatan · February 2017

dbgager wrote: »

hamgatan wrote: »

Molydeus wrote: »

How many MMOs were around when WoW started? How many now?

UO.. EO.. EQ.. EQ2.. AC.. AC2.. FFXI.. Lin2.. Rag...

Want me to keep going?

There are literally hundreds of them now...

http://www.mmorpg.com/games-list

I know. The point is more to reinforce to wowtards that their beloved game is not the original MMO, nor the penultimate benchmark that everything should be graded on.. and that people were running around together in dungeons a good decade before that..

tinythinker · February 2017

Only read two pages.Skipped the rest. It's simple.

- over eight million copies sold is good for business
- that doesn't tell us how many active players are on ESO
- more active players is better for business than fewer

None of these statements is contradictory. None say that ESO is thriving or failing.

I would love to know an active account number for PC-NA but I doubt that will ever be shared.

Since I don't have an axe to grind, I'll leave it there.

dbgager · February 2017

hamgatan wrote: »

dbgager wrote: »

hamgatan wrote: »

Molydeus wrote: »

How many MMOs were around when WoW started? How many now?

UO.. EO.. EQ.. EQ2.. AC.. AC2.. FFXI.. Lin2.. Rag...

Want me to keep going?

There are literally hundreds of them now...

http://www.mmorpg.com/games-list

I know. The point is more to reinforce to wowtards that their beloved game is not the original MMO, nor the penultimate benchmark that everything should be graded on.. and that people were running around together in dungeons a good decade before that..

True ..It was not the original MMO. But it was the first one to come up with a winning formula that hooked a lot of online players. It was by far the game that made the most money and had the most sales and people playing it. That MMO did have a certain charm and I even invested 3-4 years into it. Although I lost interest in it. You cannot deny its success. At one point it had 12 million players. Not just accounts but players. There is to much competition now however for that ever to happen again.

hamgatan · February 2017

dbgager wrote: »

True ..It was not the original MMO. But it was the first one to come up with a winning formula that hooked a lot of online players.

I dont think it was solely that.. it was the only one that launched off the back of a successful existing franchise at the time. In a big era of LAN gaming, Warcraft was one of those games that had cult status. Blizzard already had a firm launchpad to jump from. Kind of like what ZOS has tried to emulate from Bethesdas success with Skyrim, only not so well.

FFXI yes.. it launched off an existing legendary franchise.. but that is a clear example of how badly SquareEnix screwed up in the MMO space by limiting the english release to north American distribution only. Lived on for years in Japan though..

All the others though.. niche market.

Wifeaggro13 · February 2017

hamgatan wrote: »

dbgager wrote: »

True ..It was not the original MMO. But it was the first one to come up with a winning formula that hooked a lot of online players.

I dont think it was solely that.. it was the only one that launched off the back of a successful existing franchise at the time. In a big era of LAN gaming, Warcraft was one of those games that had cult status. Blizzard already had a firm launchpad to jump from. Kind of like what ZOS has tried to emulate from Bethesdas success with Skyrim, only not so well.

FFXI yes.. it launched off an existing legendary franchise.. but that is a clear example of how badly SquareEnix screwed up in the MMO space by limiting the english release to north American distribution only. Lived on for years in Japan though..

All the others though.. niche market.

Eq 1 and 2 were not niche , they were the market. WOW grew like that for one major reason. The price admission for hardware. WOW specs allowed far more people to play on a Crap PC . Not because it was a superior game. Both EQ 1 and 2 are still going just like wow and they exceeded the developers expectations on all acounts of subs and sales.

kevlarto_ESO · February 2017

I am glad for them sad for us, I sure wish they spend some of that money on improving the game, like getting rid of cheaters, fix the long load times, the list could go on and on, they might get better sales in crown store if the game worked better.

Stopnaggin · February 2017

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

Stopnaggin wrote: »

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

JD2013 wrote: »

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

JD2013 wrote: »

But ... isn't ESO dying?? 8.5 million copies sold? That can't be right because people on these forums say it's dying!

I don't think anyone is saying it is dying. I think more people are complaining because it sucks as a mmo and fair as a single player RPG. And it's buisness model is highly predatory, with little longevity to what you pay for

Look around on the forums for people saying the sky is falling and its dying.

Predatory business model how? Genuinely interested to know how you think it's predatory. It's the same kind of setup as all B2P mmo's out there with no pay to win armour or weapons in the cash shop. Basically just cosmetics. And if you're talking about Morrowind talk to WoW players who are forced to sub to play and have to pay for expansions.

As an mmo it was never the most standard of mmo's. it's not WoW or GW2 etc. I would certainly like to see more group content, absolutely but it's kept me entertained for over 3 years.

Gloom clouds gonna gloom cloud eh?

no im not talking of Morrowind i actually think it is a good decision, I am talking about double dipping the content, Reselling of old DLC's with cosmetics that cant be aquired in game, im talking about pay walling game features like inventory management behind a sub yet calling the game B2P, I'm talking about starting as sub , going B2P to appease the microsoft debacle , redesigning the game to appeal to the gullible new to MMO market. im talking about making all these single player DLC's with no longevity and selling them for a premium cost while doing nothing for the community that actually plays the whole game while subbing. Yes their business model is predatory you just chose to ignore it.

I don't understand, are you saying they don't do anything to improve the game? Because I remember they did say they would release quarterly updates, so far the have. They said they would not introduce p2w, they haven't. The sub model is fine, I get what I paid for, plus I get crowns. I'm not seeing anything predatory as far as being able to enjoy what I have paid for, so they release dlc with added fluff later on. Good for them, do you need to buy anything from the cs to play the game, nope.

The game has its problems no doubt. Some are annoying especially since they have been around for years. The customer service department need some serious work. But all in all the game seems very healthy to me. The updates keep pouring in, whether small or large. It's not as easy to keep up with a living game as far as fixing things and not breaking other things when fixing somthing. The servers could use an upgrade or lower the instance cap to make it run smoother. So yes it does have problems, but imo it's still the best mmo out right now.

Regardless of howany people bought multiple copies of the game to get the extra fluff, those who play on different platforms and such, they apperantly like the game enough to purchase it again. For a 3 year old MMO I think the sales numbers are pretty good, even if they are sales to stores and are sitting on a shelf. Those stores have the information needed to warrant buy those copies as well. I'm sure they would buy them if they though they wouldn't sell. And in all reality it doesn't matter what anyone on here, pro or con thinks, the game will continue until they decide to pull the plug. When that happens we will all move on to the next thing that peaks our interest.

The really amazing thing to me is how many of the same negative posters are still here complain about how bad this game is. Or how they are so against ZOS and their business model, which isn't any different then any other business. So either they still find enough enjoyment to stick around or they just love to argue against ZOS and anything positive that come from the community. I personally feel that if I was done with the game I sure wouldn't be lurking in the forums just to spout a bunch of negative comments.

Im not done i have hopes they will enrich and expand the game and try to make content for people who actually play the features of the game. My main problem is they are immensley profitable yet they spit drivel out as content . if you look at my previous comments you will see there are many comparisons to games with much smaller budgets, much smaller populations that were able to triple the amount of content zos has released in 3 years post launch. Im not complaingin and saying ZOS is a failure quite the opposite they have made boat loads of cash yet they produce drivel easy bake solo play content and immense amounts of cash shop gamble items.

I see it a little different, which is ok, no they haven't released any new content in terms if dlc. They have however implemented much needed changes. 1T was a huge step in the right direction. I'm by no means saying it's perfect, but it is better. Housing is here, albeit not exactly as everyone had thought. Always room for improvement.

Personally the crates don't bother me, there isn't anything in there I need to be competitive, as a matter of fact there isn't anything in the cs at all that I need. If they want to sell cosmetics, convenience items and fluff more power to them.

My biggest question is not about legit complaints, it's about why people feel the need to try and put down everything that is of a positive nature. The original post is an example of what I'm talking about. Someone post a statistic about game sales. And for a few the need to be a negative Nancy and pick it all apart and make snarky comments is a waste of everyone's time. There was absolutely no mention of anything other that a sales figure, and some have to try and break it down into meaningless arguments about the health of the game. Why?

Doctordarkspawn · February 2017

I'm waiting for all the active players to leave due to the imbalance and the fact that compared to other MMO's, this system really isn't that good.

Wifeaggro13 · February 2017

Stopnaggin wrote: »

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

Stopnaggin wrote: »

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

JD2013 wrote: »

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

JD2013 wrote: »

But ... isn't ESO dying?? 8.5 million copies sold? That can't be right because people on these forums say it's dying!

I don't think anyone is saying it is dying. I think more people are complaining because it sucks as a mmo and fair as a single player RPG. And it's buisness model is highly predatory, with little longevity to what you pay for

Look around on the forums for people saying the sky is falling and its dying.

Predatory business model how? Genuinely interested to know how you think it's predatory. It's the same kind of setup as all B2P mmo's out there with no pay to win armour or weapons in the cash shop. Basically just cosmetics. And if you're talking about Morrowind talk to WoW players who are forced to sub to play and have to pay for expansions.

As an mmo it was never the most standard of mmo's. it's not WoW or GW2 etc. I would certainly like to see more group content, absolutely but it's kept me entertained for over 3 years.

Gloom clouds gonna gloom cloud eh?

no im not talking of Morrowind i actually think it is a good decision, I am talking about double dipping the content, Reselling of old DLC's with cosmetics that cant be aquired in game, im talking about pay walling game features like inventory management behind a sub yet calling the game B2P, I'm talking about starting as sub , going B2P to appease the microsoft debacle , redesigning the game to appeal to the gullible new to MMO market. im talking about making all these single player DLC's with no longevity and selling them for a premium cost while doing nothing for the community that actually plays the whole game while subbing. Yes their business model is predatory you just chose to ignore it.

I don't understand, are you saying they don't do anything to improve the game? Because I remember they did say they would release quarterly updates, so far the have. They said they would not introduce p2w, they haven't. The sub model is fine, I get what I paid for, plus I get crowns. I'm not seeing anything predatory as far as being able to enjoy what I have paid for, so they release dlc with added fluff later on. Good for them, do you need to buy anything from the cs to play the game, nope.

The game has its problems no doubt. Some are annoying especially since they have been around for years. The customer service department need some serious work. But all in all the game seems very healthy to me. The updates keep pouring in, whether small or large. It's not as easy to keep up with a living game as far as fixing things and not breaking other things when fixing somthing. The servers could use an upgrade or lower the instance cap to make it run smoother. So yes it does have problems, but imo it's still the best mmo out right now.

Regardless of howany people bought multiple copies of the game to get the extra fluff, those who play on different platforms and such, they apperantly like the game enough to purchase it again. For a 3 year old MMO I think the sales numbers are pretty good, even if they are sales to stores and are sitting on a shelf. Those stores have the information needed to warrant buy those copies as well. I'm sure they would buy them if they though they wouldn't sell. And in all reality it doesn't matter what anyone on here, pro or con thinks, the game will continue until they decide to pull the plug. When that happens we will all move on to the next thing that peaks our interest.

The really amazing thing to me is how many of the same negative posters are still here complain about how bad this game is. Or how they are so against ZOS and their business model, which isn't any different then any other business. So either they still find enough enjoyment to stick around or they just love to argue against ZOS and anything positive that come from the community. I personally feel that if I was done with the game I sure wouldn't be lurking in the forums just to spout a bunch of negative comments.

Im not done i have hopes they will enrich and expand the game and try to make content for people who actually play the features of the game. My main problem is they are immensley profitable yet they spit drivel out as content . if you look at my previous comments you will see there are many comparisons to games with much smaller budgets, much smaller populations that were able to triple the amount of content zos has released in 3 years post launch. Im not complaingin and saying ZOS is a failure quite the opposite they have made boat loads of cash yet they produce drivel easy bake solo play content and immense amounts of cash shop gamble items.

I see it a little different, which is ok, no they haven't released any new content in terms if dlc. They have however implemented much needed changes. 1T was a huge step in the right direction. I'm by no means saying it's perfect, but it is better. Housing is here, albeit not exactly as everyone had thought. Always room for improvement.

Personally the crates don't bother me, there isn't anything in there I need to be competitive, as a matter of fact there isn't anything in the cs at all that I need. If they want to sell cosmetics, convenience items and fluff more power to them.

My biggest question is not about legit complaints, it's about why people feel the need to try and put down everything that is of a positive nature. The original post is an example of what I'm talking about. Someone post a statistic about game sales. And for a few the need to be a negative Nancy and pick it all apart and make snarky comments is a waste of everyone's time. There was absolutely no mention of anything other that a sales figure, and some have to try and break it down into meaningless arguments about the health of the game. Why?

In my opinion one tamriel destroyed any dynamic of group s. It made the game even more of a DPS meta, dumbed down the challenge to window licking . and as far as changes all they have donre really is appease the casual market to no end while alienating the MMO player.

Stopnaggin · February 2017

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

Stopnaggin wrote: »

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

Stopnaggin wrote: »

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

JD2013 wrote: »

Wifeaggro13 wrote: »

JD2013 wrote: »

But ... isn't ESO dying?? 8.5 million copies sold? That can't be right because people on these forums say it's dying!

I don't think anyone is saying it is dying. I think more people are complaining because it sucks as a mmo and fair as a single player RPG. And it's buisness model is highly predatory, with little longevity to what you pay for

Look around on the forums for people saying the sky is falling and its dying.

Predatory business model how? Genuinely interested to know how you think it's predatory. It's the same kind of setup as all B2P mmo's out there with no pay to win armour or weapons in the cash shop. Basically just cosmetics. And if you're talking about Morrowind talk to WoW players who are forced to sub to play and have to pay for expansions.

As an mmo it was never the most standard of mmo's. it's not WoW or GW2 etc. I would certainly like to see more group content, absolutely but it's kept me entertained for over 3 years.

Gloom clouds gonna gloom cloud eh?

no im not talking of Morrowind i actually think it is a good decision, I am talking about double dipping the content, Reselling of old DLC's with cosmetics that cant be aquired in game, im talking about pay walling game features like inventory management behind a sub yet calling the game B2P, I'm talking about starting as sub , going B2P to appease the microsoft debacle , redesigning the game to appeal to the gullible new to MMO market. im talking about making all these single player DLC's with no longevity and selling them for a premium cost while doing nothing for the community that actually plays the whole game while subbing. Yes their business model is predatory you just chose to ignore it.

I don't understand, are you saying they don't do anything to improve the game? Because I remember they did say they would release quarterly updates, so far the have. They said they would not introduce p2w, they haven't. The sub model is fine, I get what I paid for, plus I get crowns. I'm not seeing anything predatory as far as being able to enjoy what I have paid for, so they release dlc with added fluff later on. Good for them, do you need to buy anything from the cs to play the game, nope.

The game has its problems no doubt. Some are annoying especially since they have been around for years. The customer service department need some serious work. But all in all the game seems very healthy to me. The updates keep pouring in, whether small or large. It's not as easy to keep up with a living game as far as fixing things and not breaking other things when fixing somthing. The servers could use an upgrade or lower the instance cap to make it run smoother. So yes it does have problems, but imo it's still the best mmo out right now.

Regardless of howany people bought multiple copies of the game to get the extra fluff, those who play on different platforms and such, they apperantly like the game enough to purchase it again. For a 3 year old MMO I think the sales numbers are pretty good, even if they are sales to stores and are sitting on a shelf. Those stores have the information needed to warrant buy those copies as well. I'm sure they would buy them if they though they wouldn't sell. And in all reality it doesn't matter what anyone on here, pro or con thinks, the game will continue until they decide to pull the plug. When that happens we will all move on to the next thing that peaks our interest.

The really amazing thing to me is how many of the same negative posters are still here complain about how bad this game is. Or how they are so against ZOS and their business model, which isn't any different then any other business. So either they still find enough enjoyment to stick around or they just love to argue against ZOS and anything positive that come from the community. I personally feel that if I was done with the game I sure wouldn't be lurking in the forums just to spout a bunch of negative comments.

Im not done i have hopes they will enrich and expand the game and try to make content for people who actually play the features of the game. My main problem is they are immensley profitable yet they spit drivel out as content . if you look at my previous comments you will see there are many comparisons to games with much smaller budgets, much smaller populations that were able to triple the amount of content zos has released in 3 years post launch. Im not complaingin and saying ZOS is a failure quite the opposite they have made boat loads of cash yet they produce drivel easy bake solo play content and immense amounts of cash shop gamble items.

I see it a little different, which is ok, no they haven't released any new content in terms if dlc. They have however implemented much needed changes. 1T was a huge step in the right direction. I'm by no means saying it's perfect, but it is better. Housing is here, albeit not exactly as everyone had thought. Always room for improvement.

Personally the crates don't bother me, there isn't anything in there I need to be competitive, as a matter of fact there isn't anything in the cs at all that I need. If they want to sell cosmetics, convenience items and fluff more power to them.

My biggest question is not about legit complaints, it's about why people feel the need to try and put down everything that is of a positive nature. The original post is an example of what I'm talking about. Someone post a statistic about game sales. And for a few the need to be a negative Nancy and pick it all apart and make snarky comments is a waste of everyone's time. There was absolutely no mention of anything other that a sales figure, and some have to try and break it down into meaningless arguments about the health of the game. Why?

In my opinion one tamriel destroyed any dynamic of group s. It made the game even more of a DPS meta, dumbed down the challenge to window licking . and as far as changes all they have donre really is appease the casual market to no end while alienating the MMO player.

Like I said it has its flaws. I agree a lot of it was dumbed down. Battle spirit, no sense of progression as far as leveling. But opening the world was honestly good for the health of the game. I'm not saying the game doesn't have flaws, but imho they aren't enough for me to condem the game just yet. I enjoy playing, and the friends I have made here. Probably one of the reasons I still play everyday. But I'm more of a social player, I like helping new guild mates learn trials and dungeons. I do realize that the competitive players still need content for them as well as pvp needing some attention as well.

Bottom line is only time will tell. I'm along for the ride and watching the scenery along the way. I play it for what it is, and not for what i think it should be.

magnusthorek · February 2017

So many copies sold, so much cash incoming and yet we don't see performance improvements compatible with number of new players and every new content come live full of bugs.

#FAIL

Balamoor · February 2017

magnusthorek wrote: »

So many copies sold, so much cash incoming and yet we don't see performance improvements compatible with number of new players and every new content come live full of bugs.

#FAIL

You can pretty much post this to any MMO forum

Sausage · February 2017

magnusthorek wrote: »

So many copies sold, so much cash incoming and yet we don't see performance improvements compatible with number of new players and every new content come live full of bugs.

#FAIL

It doesnt work like the way tou think. Even Zen earns tons of money, their developers are still dumb, money-earned doesnt make them any brighter. Pot head is a pot head even he has billion in his bank account, so to speak. From my understanding, most top-end devs are working in Blizzard/Activision.

AnviOfVai · February 2017

qsnoopyjr · February 2017

Most of sales comes from shift from PC to Console.

Millenials, are sociable people, and PC games are still very unsocialable. Majority of new games on PC dont even have voice chat in them. ESO doesnt have voice chat. Nobody wants to go through a hassle of trying to get a random PUG to get into voice chat like teamspeak on PC.

Due to shift from PC to Console, thats a major reason why this game is selling so many copies.