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Very Interesting - Some Zenimax Business News
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Ragnar_Lodbrok✭✭✭✭✭
✭FunkyBudda wrote: »that explains everything, clock is ticking…
This game may go f2p faster than SWTOR.6 -
Before Varen Aquilarios got blinded by the overwhelming power of reading an elder scroll he managed to see the words hinting of Tamriel's next greatest threat.... "Free to Play".8
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Wifeaggro13✭✭✭✭✭
✭Swtor did the same thing . Ironicaly in ireland as well. Belfast i believe. Roghly 6weeks post launch. Not a good sign.if we see them retract promised content it will be a sure sign s F2p hybrid model in the cash shop is coming and the milk factory has begun just like the hutt expan being taken away from subs and offered as dlc
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Ragnar_Lodbrok✭✭✭✭✭
✭Wifeaggro13 wrote: »Swtor did the same thing . Ironicaly in ireland as well. Belfast i believe. Roghly 6weeks post launch. Not a good sign.if we see them retract promised content it will be a sure sign s F2p hybrid model in the cash shop is coming and the milk factory has begun just like the hutt expan being taken away from subs and offered as dlc
Same with TSW, customer service were first canned.5 -
HandofBane✭✭✭✭Ragnar_Lodbrok wrote: »FunkyBudda wrote: »that explains everything, clock is ticking…
This game may go f2p faster than SWTOR.
TORtanic took about 7 months to officially make the change. Will ESO beat that record? Who knows. Honestly while I can see them hemorrhaging players over the next few months, I think they will hold out at least til the console launch before making that decision. Unless they surprise everyone and cancel the console launch, that is (unlikely but never say never).2 -
ShedsHisTail✭✭✭✭✭
✭Ragnar_Lodbrok wrote: »ShedsHisTail wrote: »gougefub17_ESO wrote: »It's just the local paper website in the town in Ireland. Maybe just hyping a story.
Or maybe a real journalist for once, who knows...
I have already decided if i dont see an EU server when im back from holidays in September im gonna find a new game, and this is the first and last time i say it.
I doubt that this is anything more than tangentially related to EU servers.
If anything, these were a bunch of CS phone reps they hired to handle the population boom at launch, but when the EU servers weren't ready to go Zeni went:
"Why are we paying all these temps to provide CS for a server that we don't have yet?" Let's let them go, and re-hire when the server is ready for play."
You dont think they werent there to handle EU accounts? These people spoke french and german with english, something 99% of americans not from mexico cant do.
It doesn't say the laid off -everyone-.
I'm sure the console release being pushed back affected this decision as well. All the Xbox and Playstation support folks won't be needed until those go live, so no purpose keeping them on payroll.
Actually, I'm curious how closely the termination dates correlate to the announcement of console delays.
"As an online discussion of Tamrielic Lore grows longer, the probability of someone blaming a Dragon Break approaches 1." -- Sheds' Law
Have you seen the Twin Lamps?5 -
c0rp✭✭✭✭✭
✭Not a chance in hell this game goes ftp before consoles.Force weapon swap to have priority over EVERYTHING. Close enough.
Make stamina builds even with magicka builds.
Disable abilities while holding block.
Give us a REASON to do dungeons more than once.
Remove PVP AoE CAP. It is ruining Cyrodiil.
Fix/Remove Forward Camps. They are ruining Cyrodiil.
Impenetrability needs to REDUCE CRIT DAMAGE. Not negate entire builds.
Werewolf is not equal to Vamps/Bats.8 -
crislevin✭✭✭✭✭
✭infraction2008b16_ESO wrote: »Before Varen Aquilarios got blinded by the overwhelming power of reading an elder scroll he managed to see the words hinting of Tamriel's next greatest threat.... "Free to Play".
and he was curious but puzzled, as he doesn't understand what it means! the regret of his life that he has to deal until his death.0 -
Electus✭✭✭Wow, if this is true Zenimax is a horrible company to work for. Waiting for people to come in for their shifts then letting them go without warning is disgraceful.
Hopefully a dev will reply to this with some kind of redeeming comment.
If this article is true this game could be screwed.
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Ragnar_Lodbrok✭✭✭✭✭
✭Wow, if this is true Zenimax is a horrible company to work for. Waiting for people to come in for their shifts then letting them go without warning is disgraceful.
Hopefully a dev will reply to this with some kind of redeeming comment.
If this article is true this game could be screwed.
What can redeem the fact that they are losing money fast and had to make layoffs. trust me the NA ones are getting laid off too.2 -
It's a garbage game. What did you expect...
Need more firings. But higher up.10 -
FunkyBudda✭✭✭michaelpatrickjonesnub18_ESO wrote: »It's a garbage game. What did you expect...
Need more firings. But higher up.
BINGO. Accountability is key.
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Ragnar_Lodbrok✭✭✭✭✭
✭michaelpatrickjonesnub18_ESO wrote: »It's a garbage game. What did you expect...
Need more firings. But higher up.
They will come. just look at TSW, kept laying peeps off all the while saying everything was AOK, all the while delaying content and missing deadlines. Hell they even said theyd never go f2p right up until they did.3 -
Viblo✭✭✭The article is true and no Dev will come in to say anything. They have no PR at all. Hopefully these layoffs move to the NA server and a few mods loose their jobs as well.4
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c0rp✭✭✭✭✭
✭Are people in this thread just ignoring the fact that TEMPORARYS were let go. When ZoS starts laying off SALARIED employess you can start doomsaying.Force weapon swap to have priority over EVERYTHING. Close enough.
Make stamina builds even with magicka builds.
Disable abilities while holding block.
Give us a REASON to do dungeons more than once.
Remove PVP AoE CAP. It is ruining Cyrodiil.
Fix/Remove Forward Camps. They are ruining Cyrodiil.
Impenetrability needs to REDUCE CRIT DAMAGE. Not negate entire builds.
Werewolf is not equal to Vamps/Bats.11 -
c0rp✭✭✭✭✭
✭michaelpatrickjonesnub18_ESO wrote: »It's a garbage game. What did you expect...
Need more firings. But higher up.
Garbage enough you are still here 2+ months after launch eh?
Force weapon swap to have priority over EVERYTHING. Close enough.
Make stamina builds even with magicka builds.
Disable abilities while holding block.
Give us a REASON to do dungeons more than once.
Remove PVP AoE CAP. It is ruining Cyrodiil.
Fix/Remove Forward Camps. They are ruining Cyrodiil.
Impenetrability needs to REDUCE CRIT DAMAGE. Not negate entire builds.
Werewolf is not equal to Vamps/Bats.3 -
ShedsHisTail✭✭✭✭✭
✭Ragnar_Lodbrok wrote: »Wow, if this is true Zenimax is a horrible company to work for. Waiting for people to come in for their shifts then letting them go without warning is disgraceful.
Hopefully a dev will reply to this with some kind of redeeming comment.
If this article is true this game could be screwed.
What can redeem the fact that they are losing money fast and had to make layoffs. trust me the NA ones are getting laid off too.
You realize that laying people off (especially temp employees) doesn't mean the company is sunk, right? These are people they didn't intend to keep anyway, letting them go early means very little.
My job is cyclical in nature, in the slow season I lay off like 80% of my staff, every year. And in the busy season, many of them come back. It's part of the ebb and flow.
A game company would be the same, immediately following launch you want a lot of CS staff on hand to handle issues that come with that sort of thing. When things stabilize a bit, you let go of the extra staff until you anticipate your next big release.
If you push a launch date back (ie: consoles), then you get rid of those people until you need them; you don't keep them on payroll with their thumbs in their asses until you get around to needing them eight months later."As an online discussion of Tamrielic Lore grows longer, the probability of someone blaming a Dragon Break approaches 1." -- Sheds' Law
Have you seen the Twin Lamps?10 -
crislevin✭✭✭✭✭
✭Are people in this thread just ignoring the fact that TEMPORARYS were let go. When ZoS starts laying off SALARIED employess you can start doomsaying.
You know I would be happy to hear some good numbers related to ESO, I just don't see any. ZOS is not saying anything, and all 3rd party news are not encouraging.3 -
Electus✭✭✭To the people saying its not a big deal because its temps:
This is a big deal, the article says "but were let go prior to the completion of the contracts"
Zenimax had a plan that needed 300 people for 6 months and now they don't. How can you think this is not a big deal?10 -
ers101284b14_ESO✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭Ragnar_Lodbrok wrote: »
First of all Ragnar that is a terrible thing to say. I hope someone doesn't like the way you say "Would you like fries with that?" and you lose your job.
Second of all what empty servers? Everywhere I go is freaking busy. I am seeing people in every dungeon, all over the fields, and heck i can barely get to the forges and banks because of all the people. And don't try to say its bots because I haven't seen a bot in 3 weeks so I know that's crap.
Edited by ers101284b14_ESO on June 10, 2014 7:06PM4 -
Alphashado✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Are people in this thread just ignoring the fact that TEMPORARYS were let go. When ZoS starts laying off SALARIED employess you can start doomsaying.
You know I would be happy to hear some good numbers related to ESO, I just don't see any. ZOS is not saying anything, and all 3rd party news are not encouraging.
The numbers are in plain site. Just open any of your guild rosters, scroll down, and look at how long everyone has been inactive.
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Falmer✭✭✭✭This isn't surprising. Customer Service call centers are way overstaffed to provide for all the launch issues and massive influx of new subscribers at the start. That many people aren't needed once the population stabilizes and there is only a steady flow of new sign-ups and issues.
As someone who worked at a call center many years ago... You always over-hired when there was an expected spike in calls. Better to be prepared to handle the volume rather than get caught short and have to spend a week training and playing catch up.3 -
6
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Ragekniv✭✭✭It would not surprise me in the least to see Zenimax unceremoniously dumping employee base to maximize return on remaining player base subscription revenue.
Zenimax has pocketed the initial game units revenue and three months subscription revenue. They've likely satisfied their investor return and are now simply milking the proverbial teat.
This isn't new in MMOs, it's been the bane of player base satisfaction and game platform stagnation for longer than ESO was envisioned.
Game stability, class balance and progressive end game design are months away if not longer.
Unfortunately, hopeful players are caught in the static loop of reactionary driven patches versus pro-active workable solutions by Zenimax.6 -
ShedsHisTail✭✭✭✭✭
✭To the people saying its not a big deal because its temps:
This is a big deal, the article says "but were let go prior to the completion of the contracts"
Zenimax had a plan that needed 300 people for 6 months and now they don't. How can you think this is not a big deal?
Because these were more than likely CS staff brought on to handle the console release which was pushed back six months. They aren't going to keep a bunch of support personel to do a job that doesn't exist yet."As an online discussion of Tamrielic Lore grows longer, the probability of someone blaming a Dragon Break approaches 1." -- Sheds' Law
Have you seen the Twin Lamps?7 -
HandofBane✭✭✭✭This isn't surprising. Customer Service call centers are way overstaffed to provide for all the launch issues and massive influx of new subscribers at the start. That many people aren't needed once the population stabilizes and there is only a steady flow of new sign-ups and issues.
As someone who worked at a call center many years ago... You always over-hired when there was an expected spike in calls. Better to be prepared to handle the volume rather than get caught short and have to spend a week training and playing catch up.
While this may hold true under some circumstances, I want you (well everyone) to think back over the past two months. How many times have we had threads pop up where people used the ingame "call me back" option to sort out issues that ended up posting here because they had not received such a call back for several hours, if not multiple days? The only way they got any kind of support was a moderator here seeing their post and filing a separate ticket/flag to get someone to contact the player directly then?
If they had such an overabundance of staff that they needed to send everyone home after only showing up for half an hour, that kind of return time on tickets to get issues resolved should not exist in the first place. Yet it did, we have threads that can be dug up with minimal effort to prove so.4 -
Ohioastro✭✭✭✭Its the same names posting the same doom and gloom. At this point I'm honestly starting to question their motives. Games always have a rush at the start followed by a steep initial burn rate. They have temp employees for the same reason that shops have them at Xmas.6
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Mablung✭✭✭✭✭Sounds like customer service staff that is no longer needed due to console release placed on hold or sub decline. Regardless of what their role in the company was, it is never a good sign when this many people are let go this early in life of the game.4 -
Talemire✭✭✭Temporary or not, there's still a respect to be had for these workers. Three weeks then let go is ludicrous and grossly unprofessional. Was it wrong to let them go? No - It was wrong to hire them in the first place. There's not a trace of regard here for these people's lives, families, etc. People are not like Peons where you can just group select them and execute them by pressing "delete" when they have no more use. I don't know a single person who would have taken this job knowing they would only be there for a few weeks. This whole situation is ethically messed up.Edited by Talemire on June 10, 2014 7:13PM10
This discussion has been closed.