Mystrius_Archaion wrote: »lordrichter wrote: »Mystrius_Archaion wrote: »lordrichter wrote: »It's like ZOS forgets that everyone actually buys this game, we don't get it for free on Steam. This disgusts me.
Maybe... this is future capability for when no one has to buy the game to play?
There has always been the theory that "B2P" was just a short-term money grab on the way to full F2P.
Not likely.
This way is ideal from any marketing perspective. They sell the game at full price implying greater quality, then put it on sale to be even more enticing. That leaves them still fully open to "milk'em dry" just like any truly F2P game.
This is more money this way.
For now, yes. Eventually, sales will decline to the point where they have concerns about not getting enough new players. New players that replace players that leave are what drive Crown Crates. The Crown Crates must survive! That is when they will pull out the F2P card and play it. If that doesn't work, after a few rounds of predatory, possibly P2W, cash store practices, they can safely shut down the game. They will have milked the cow dry, killed it, and sold the carcass to McDonald's.
You talk as if that is happening now. I'm telling you that's still likely at least 5 years or more down the road.
World of Warcraft is the other game with player numbers around the same level as this game right now. They still have a mandatory subscription with less cash shop greed. This game wouldn't go F2P without losing a lot of paying players.
lordrichter wrote: »Mystrius_Archaion wrote: »lordrichter wrote: »Mystrius_Archaion wrote: »lordrichter wrote: »It's like ZOS forgets that everyone actually buys this game, we don't get it for free on Steam. This disgusts me.
Maybe... this is future capability for when no one has to buy the game to play?
There has always been the theory that "B2P" was just a short-term money grab on the way to full F2P.
Not likely.
This way is ideal from any marketing perspective. They sell the game at full price implying greater quality, then put it on sale to be even more enticing. That leaves them still fully open to "milk'em dry" just like any truly F2P game.
This is more money this way.
For now, yes. Eventually, sales will decline to the point where they have concerns about not getting enough new players. New players that replace players that leave are what drive Crown Crates. The Crown Crates must survive! That is when they will pull out the F2P card and play it. If that doesn't work, after a few rounds of predatory, possibly P2W, cash store practices, they can safely shut down the game. They will have milked the cow dry, killed it, and sold the carcass to McDonald's.
You talk as if that is happening now. I'm telling you that's still likely at least 5 years or more down the road.
World of Warcraft is the other game with player numbers around the same level as this game right now. They still have a mandatory subscription with less cash shop greed. This game wouldn't go F2P without losing a lot of paying players.
It might be 5 years away. It might be next year. It all depends on when they decide they need to make the change.
This game is already losing paying players, or at least players that could be potential payers. That is the nature of things, and that is why new players are so important. I know this is happening, I just don't know the details, rates, trends, and whether the lines on the charts are going up or down. ZOS knows, and they are watching the situation closely. Before the ship starts sinking out of control, they will take action.
ZOS knows that players are leaving the game. They know that a F2P transition will lose them players, just like they knew that B2P would. They know players have been leaving the game, at various rates, since launch. If a few old farts who are dreaming of times that will never return leave, well, they were going to eventually leave, anyway. They will be missed, but not for long. There will be new players, fueled by F2P, who are expecting the cash store to prove the game is F2P. ZOS will be too busy catering to them to be concerned about the people who don't want F2P, or even P2W, if they decide to go that route.
Mystrius_Archaion wrote: »Check their earnings reports. They should be publicly available soon if not already for the past year.
Companies do not make a drastic shift like that, one that would lose them money they are getting already(especially with free trials to entice people who don't already own it) from sales, unless they are losing money or profit increase is not happening.
They're not doing bad so this isn't going to change anytime soon.
Edit:
And actually, last year they said, and had a video, saying "7 million active accounts" created and this year it was "10 million stories" for hitting that accounts active milestone.
They're not losing players faster than gaining them, and they're all paying for at least some version of the game.
Not a big deal to me.
I press Alt.
VaxtinTheWolf wrote: »Not a big deal to me.
I press Alt.
Unlike in other games, the vocal majority of the playerbase seems very against anything related to cash-shops. Though it can be normal in a lot of MMO's, they wany this game to be as pure as it can be. Meaning no P2W or Cash shop items in general. They'd rather all the things be obtained in various methods In-game. So the more the Cash shop is nudged to be in front of the players, the more upset they'll become that it exists.
Not a big deal to me.
I press Alt.
Yeah...no. That all-purpose excuse gets old and would excuse any and all things they decide to do - which by their own track record means taking things that should be in the game and redirecting them to the cash shop as well as never improving legacy annoyances but just selling cash shop relief instead. I've never seen any evidence that more profit = new and improved content in any MMO.
It's particularly annoying to those of us who have been here since 2014 and have always subbed.
Yeah...no. That all-purpose excuse gets old and would excuse any and all things they decide to do - which by their own track record means taking things that should be in the game and redirecting them to the cash shop as well as never improving legacy annoyances but just selling cash shop relief instead. I've never seen any evidence that more profit = new and improved content in any MMO.
It's particularly annoying to those of us who have been here since 2014 and have always subbed.
I've been here since beta and have always subbed, and I am not annoyed. I like to see what's there. Those advertisements tell me what's there. Otherwise, I wouldn't pay a regular visit to the crown store and may miss out on limited-time sales/offerings.
Yeah...no. That all-purpose excuse gets old and would excuse any and all things they decide to do - which by their own track record means taking things that should be in the game and redirecting them to the cash shop as well as never improving legacy annoyances but just selling cash shop relief instead. I've never seen any evidence that more profit = new and improved content in any MMO.
It's particularly annoying to those of us who have been here since 2014 and have always subbed.
I've been here since beta and have always subbed, and I am not annoyed. I like to see what's there. Those advertisements tell me what's there. Otherwise, I wouldn't pay a regular visit to the crown store and may miss out on limited-time sales/offerings.
Took you a while to create your forum account... Dec 2017?
And yes I suppose there are people who would starve to death if grocery stores didn't advertise, but I shop for groceries when I need to - ad or no ad... /shrug. I also know where the Crown Shop is and I don't need extra help to get there.
lordrichter wrote: »Mystrius_Archaion wrote: »lordrichter wrote: »Mystrius_Archaion wrote: »lordrichter wrote: »It's like ZOS forgets that everyone actually buys this game, we don't get it for free on Steam. This disgusts me.
Maybe... this is future capability for when no one has to buy the game to play?
There has always been the theory that "B2P" was just a short-term money grab on the way to full F2P.
Not likely.
This way is ideal from any marketing perspective. They sell the game at full price implying greater quality, then put it on sale to be even more enticing. That leaves them still fully open to "milk'em dry" just like any truly F2P game.
This is more money this way.
For now, yes. Eventually, sales will decline to the point where they have concerns about not getting enough new players. New players that replace players that leave are what drive Crown Crates. The Crown Crates must survive! That is when they will pull out the F2P card and play it. If that doesn't work, after a few rounds of predatory, possibly P2W, cash store practices, they can safely shut down the game. They will have milked the cow dry, killed it, and sold the carcass to McDonald's.
You talk as if that is happening now. I'm telling you that's still likely at least 5 years or more down the road.
World of Warcraft is the other game with player numbers around the same level as this game right now. They still have a mandatory subscription with less cash shop greed. This game wouldn't go F2P without losing a lot of paying players.
It might be 5 years away. It might be next year. It all depends on when they decide they need to make the change.
This game is already losing paying players, or at least players that could be potential payers. That is the nature of things, and that is why new players are so important. I know this is happening, I just don't know the details, rates, trends, and whether the lines on the charts are going up or down. ZOS knows, and they are watching the situation closely. Before the ship starts sinking out of control, they will take action.
ZOS knows that players are leaving the game. They know that a F2P transition will lose them players, just like they knew that B2P would. They know players have been leaving the game, at various rates, since launch. If a few old farts who are dreaming of times that will never return leave, well, they were going to eventually leave, anyway. They will be missed, but not for long. There will be new players, fueled by F2P, who are expecting the cash store to prove the game is F2P. ZOS will be too busy catering to them to be concerned about the people who don't want F2P, or even P2W, if they decide to go that route.
Yeah...no. That all-purpose excuse gets old and would excuse any and all things they decide to do - which by their own track record means taking things that should be in the game and redirecting them to the cash shop as well as never improving legacy annoyances but just selling cash shop relief instead. I've never seen any evidence that more profit = new and improved content in any MMO.
It's particularly annoying to those of us who have been here since 2014 and have always subbed.
I've been here since beta and have always subbed, and I am not annoyed. I like to see what's there. Those advertisements tell me what's there. Otherwise, I wouldn't pay a regular visit to the crown store and may miss out on limited-time sales/offerings.
lordrichter wrote: »
Yeah...no. That all-purpose excuse gets old and would excuse any and all things they decide to do - which by their own track record means taking things that should be in the game and redirecting them to the cash shop as well as never improving legacy annoyances but just selling cash shop relief instead. I've never seen any evidence that more profit = new and improved content in any MMO.
It's particularly annoying to those of us who have been here since 2014 and have always subbed.
I've been here since beta and have always subbed, and I am not annoyed. I like to see what's there. Those advertisements tell me what's there. Otherwise, I wouldn't pay a regular visit to the crown store and may miss out on limited-time sales/offerings.
My problem is that they already have an ad that popped up for the store. It was annoying, but it was off to the side and it was not every day.
I think that a huge reason for the daily rewards is nothing more than an excuse to pop a huge Crown Store ad every day you log in and tie it to a Pavlov reward.
SwampRaider wrote: »@ZOS_GinaBruno This isn't some f2p Korean mmo. Please tell the marketing team that this ruins the game. If I want to check out the crown store I know how to get there.
If a loading screen ever has a crown store add, I'm gone.
Can I opt out? I don't want daily rewards or pop ups.
Yeah...no. That all-purpose excuse gets old and would excuse any and all things they decide to do - which by their own track record means taking things that should be in the game and redirecting them to the cash shop as well as never improving legacy annoyances but just selling cash shop relief instead. I've never seen any evidence that more profit = new and improved content in any MMO.
It's particularly annoying to those of us who have been here since 2014 and have always subbed.
I've been here since beta and have always subbed, and I am not annoyed. I like to see what's there. Those advertisements tell me what's there. Otherwise, I wouldn't pay a regular visit to the crown store and may miss out on limited-time sales/offerings.
Took you a while to create your forum account... Dec 2017?
And yes I suppose there are people who would starve to death if grocery stores didn't advertise, but I shop for groceries when I need to - ad or no ad... /shrug. I also know where the Crown Shop is and I don't need extra help to get there.