It'd be nice, but, "should?" Not necessarily.

If this was something they were going to do, they really should have done it from the start.

As @generalmyrick pointed out, they'd start cutting lifetime subscribers out of content sooner rather then later but at this point in the game's cycle it's obvious. Not to say they wouldn't get ANY if they rolled it out now, but not nearly as many as they'd have gotten before Chapters and the numerous 'free' DLC. Now most of their base is aware of their habit of tacking on 'extra' charges and won't take such an offer at face value.

Turelus wrote: »

No. Experience speaking lifetime subs are only offered by games which know they're not going to do well for many years.

ESO for all its issues doesn't show any sign of failing or slowing down, as such ZOS stand to make more money by asking for continued subs.

Their business model of B2P sub for extras also wouldn't work as well if there was a "buy more for all the things to play once".

LOTRO was an exception. They offered it at release and, well, whilst it's not the most populated nor popular it's still chugging along.

DieAlteHexe wrote: »

Turelus wrote: »

No. Experience speaking lifetime subs are only offered by games which know they're not going to do well for many years.

ESO for all its issues doesn't show any sign of failing or slowing down, as such ZOS stand to make more money by asking for continued subs.

Their business model of B2P sub for extras also wouldn't work as well if there was a "buy more for all the things to play once".

LOTRO was an exception. They offered it at release and, well, whilst it's not the most populated nor popular it's still chugging along.

Fair enough, but I would hope most agree that even with that exception lifetime subs died out because people started to see a pattern of games offering them then flopping/dying.
Does LOTRO have other costs on top of that now, or do they run a model where you paid that one fee and you forever get it all?

Yes, for those that want it. @jedtb16_ESO it would be the games lifetime, not the individuals.

Turelus wrote: »

For those who do want one, what do you think the cost should be? I am interested in this because considering ZOS can make a healthy $10-15/mo right now a lifetime would have to be pretty damn high.

LoTRO was 199 USD for "founders" (e.g. pre-release) and 299 after release. FWIW

Zos earn more money with €15 each mounth than €200/300 oneshoted. It won't happened

ervanol wrote: »

Star Trek Online has it. The price is 300 dollar. Twice a year it is on sale for 200 dollar. When you buy it you get all the perks you get when you sub, 100 day perk, 200 days etc. up to 1000 days. I bought it for 200 dollar and it is definitely worth it. You also get 500 Zen each month. It is what Crowns are in this game. You can buy a top tier space ship for 3000 Zen.

Lifetime sub in ESO? For 200 dollar I would buy it in a heartbeat.

The problem for ESO is they are making almost $200 a year from ESO+ subs.

As appealing as the idea is, I don't agree with it for a multitude of reasons, but one of the big ones is that if the money stops rolling in, the servers stop being maintained and then get shut down.

I don't know how many players Star Trek has, but I would guess that over half the ESO player base use ESO+ (based on my guilds and friends). If that income stream dried up, eventually I think it would be detrimental to the game.

I'd much rather they just sell the crafting bag outright. Even if it was something crazy like 15,000 crowns. I buy the content releases outright. I will never pay for ESO+. There needs to be a solution for me outside of paying for that kind of functionality.

I don't think people realize how high the price of a lifetime subscription would be. It'd be something like $300-$400 at the very least and that's the only way I'd go for ESO+

AlexanderDeLarge wrote: »

I'd much rather they just sell the crafting bag outright. Even if it was something crazy like 15,000 crowns. I buy the content releases outright. I will never pay for ESO+. There needs to be a solution for me outside of paying for that kind of functionality.

I don't think people realize how high the price of a lifetime subscription would be. It'd be something like $300-$400 at the very least and that's the only way I'd go for ESO+

The sub would have to be reduced in price or have something to replace it for that idea to work, since it is the driving force behind people buying a monthly sub, but I think the ability to buy the crafting bag outright is a great idea.

It's highly unlikely I'd buy one if it was offered. Firstly I'd be worried about the future of the game, especially if they suddenly started offering it now.

But I'd be more worried about what would and would not be included. Obviously chapters would not be included but the DLC and other current subscription benefits would, and I assume you'd receive 1500 crowns a month (seems the simplest way to do it). But what about future additions to the game/ESO+? How long until they bring out something new and announce it's a special offer for regular subscribers or it's a new system so everyone had to pay?

If you're currently unhappy you can unsub temporarily or permanently - like the people who cancel their sub for a few months and use the money to buy the expansions instead of paying twice - but you can't do that with a lifetime sub.