I would actually support crown crates IF I thought they supported the long-term interests of the game.

But the evidence from SWTOR (same person was in charge of monetising the store there) is that they don't.

Now that maybe because of the specific monetisation model - gouge players excessively for things that actually cost peanuts to implement - rather than an inherent flaw of the store monetisation process; but that can only be determined if a new model is tried.

For me the Store should primarily be a short-cut to Mounts, Cosmetics etc available via normal game-play routes. Less than 5% of Store Content should be "exclusive" to the Store. And things in the Store should be reasonably priced. There should IMO be nothing in the Store except DLC that cost more than half the cost of the base game (at release).

The Elk Mount was a prime example. It was lazily implemented then cost 4500 Crowns. Such gimmickry is, frankly, insulting to any right-minded paying customer.

The Wild Hunt Mounts are another example - there are 3 of them that I would gladly buy outright if they were priced at something like 2,000 - 3,000 Crowns each. But as minute drop chances in horrendously overpriced Crates there not a hope in hell of me spending even 1 Crown on them.

And this isn't about me working harder to earn more money to be able to afford crates, I could easily buy enough crowns now to get ALL the Wild Hunt mounts and barely notice it. It's about a) the perception of fair play - and crown crates aren't it, and b) value for money - and crowns definitely aren't that either.

And it is about what the current monetisation ethos does to the game integrity - cheap, lazy Crown Crate content has better ROIC values than actual real content. If we send ZOS the message that to continue doing Crown Crates in the current format is OK then we'll only have ourselves to blame when the ONLY new content is a new Crown Crate Season. Don't think that is likely? Go look at SWTOR - Knights Of The Fallen Empire and Knights Of The Eternal Throne were, in game-play content and quality terms unmitigated disasters - but that didn't matter because the revenue streams from Cartel Crates was always good.

All The Best

notimetocare wrote: »

I dont think you people know what a scam is... This is all on pts and You can test the rng. They let you try it. The cost of the items gives insight into rarity. Argue for scummy? Maybe, but I'd disagree.

They're not on the PTS. After the initial test on the PTS and the negative reaction it got, they removed them, stating that they had taken on board the criticisms and were going to make changes before the live launch.

However since that time they have not been back on the PTS, so it's not been possible to 'try' the actual RNG without spending money.

Servers are laggy, crown store is desolate and empty, ZOS Change name of DLC to expansion to scam eso+ and crown owners. They add gamble crates but game is less stable than private server MMOs. YET people buy crown crates, good luck waiting zos to make a positive change to the game while people mindlessly spend their money.

Violynne wrote: »

At the same time, I have to consider the position of ZoS, who freely dropped the sub model. That's millions lost every month, and to find a gap between maintenance, new content, and revenue (note: revenue != profit!) must be damn difficult when the only options they can produce are direct buys or lottery chances.

My concern is the lottery taking precedence over direct buys. Yes, I lost out on a damn awesome looking storm senche, and that actually pisses me off because this was a guaranteed purchase. Now, ZoS lost this money from me.

That's where the line blurs, because those who did buy, and received their rewards, don't see a problem even if they spent their own money. I sure don't go up to people and tell them not to buy lottery tickets, and I won't do so here.

Just be cognizant that the success of crown crates gives ZoS one more reason not to release a popular item directly. If one does the math, the lottery system would absolutely generate more revenue than direct buys because of the sheer volume of crates needed to obtain a single item (excluding those extremely rare people who nailed one on their first try).

If this happens, this will change the dynamic of the game for me. I subscribe, but now I feel betrayed because items I do want, I can no longer get without throwing more money at the screen.

I'm not going to rant about it, because it's pointless. Still, I dislike being disappointed over decisions like this when it comes to generating revenue. The digital era has put a crunch on things, and companies are still trying to work things out, but these lottery chances just don't sit well with me.

I'd rather know precisely what my money is being spent on. After all, it's a VIRTUAL GOOD, which means it's not even tangible.

Morrowind is more of the business model I want them to take. Sell me content I can play, not just stuff that just looks pretty. I suspect that Chapters are a way to address this demographic, and I hope that there are enough people out there who buy Morrowind to show them that we are more than just Crown Crate players. That we are willing to buy Chapter content. If Chapters are successful, we can look forward to more content-for-cash from them. Otherwise, I fear they will just go the cosmetics route and the game devs will be setting around playing cards until the next game assignment comes along.

As for ESO Plus, my main problem with it is that it is aging and the recent additions have not been enough to bring it up to where we are today. Double the housing furnishings is a mixed message that has me chuckling. They want people to buy furniture from the Crown Store, even if it is available elsewhere. The ESO Plus benefit graciously allows people to buy twice as much furniture from the Crown Store. Gee, thanks!

I know that Crown Crates are selling very well. I know this because the Morrowind pre-order gives us only one (1) Crown Crate. Golly Gee Wilikers! The accountants would probably have a cow if they gave us two (2) of them. At five (5), the accountants would be tipping over like dominoes. If Crown Crates were not selling well, they would have given us more than one (1) of them. As it is, they are too valuable to give away.

As an aside, this is why I figure that they will not give us Crown Crates with a subscription. Too valuable. They would have to raise the monthly subscription cost.

You wouldn't happen to be an Italian guy, dressed up as a Native American, crying about trash on the ground by chance?

People are free to spend their hard earned money however they wish without being condescended to by anyone.

Perhaps if more people had coughed up and subbed in the beginning instead of screaming about it being a sub only game, it would now not be B2P.

But they didn't so here we are. And if people want to buy crates they will buy crates, and there's not a dang thing people could or should do to stop that, because as I stated it's their money to spend. Not yours. And no amount of self righteousness will prevent people doing just that.

Why do people always read things the wrong way. I think the thread title is "Please don't support crown crates". Nobody is telling you how to spend your money, they are asking you politely not to support them.

If you want to buy them, then that is your choice.

vamp_emily wrote: »

If you want to buy them, then that is your choice.

It was also their choice to post their plea. Although, probably conceived with some sort of good intention, pleas like this attempt to apply a soft judgement on the behavior of contrary views through "feels".

JD2013 wrote: »

Perhaps if more people had coughed up and subbed in the beginning instead of screaming about it being a sub only game, it would now not be B2P.

Oh please.

Not this myth again.

The moment ZOS decided that ESO was going to be a multi-platform game was the moment that B2P was 100% inevitable and necessary.

All the bluster prior to Console Launch that ESO was always going to be a Sub game was smoke and mirrors.
There was no way on earth Console players would pay a monthly network Sub and an ESO Sub - so Console was always going to be B2P.

There was no way that once Console was B2P that ZOS could keep PC alive if PC were Sub and Console was B2P - so PC was always going to go B2P once Console was live.

And that means all the guff prior to Console going live about ESO always being a Sub based game was just half-truths to cover up an initial cash-grab.

All The Best

I'll be getting moar crates once server's online just to spite you juvenile whine bots.

Artemiisia wrote: »

I use my money how I damn well pleases

Married? I talked like that once...those were good days.