Elder Scrolls Online's First Microtransaction Is a Horse

[Cognimancer]

Elder Scrolls Online's First Microtransaction Is a Horse

The Elder Scrolls Online is a big game - why walk when you can ride?

Things are not looking good for the wallets of Elder Scrolls fans. In addition to the standard MMO subscription model, The Elder Scrolls Online will feature microtransactions in an online shop. There won't be very many options for real-money purchases at first, but two items have been confirmed: an unsurprising upgrade to the digital special edition, and an "entry level" horse mount.

Game director Matt Firor spilled the beans on what the Zenimax store will look like when the game launches. "The purpose of the store is to offer interested players a variety of additional services," he says. The Imperial Edition of the game gives players a fancy white horse, a mudcrab pet, and the ability to play as the Imperial race. Upgrading from a standard game to the Imperial Edition will get you all those treats, but if you're just interested in the horse (let's face it, Imperials are boring), you can purchase one a la carte. The price hasn't been specified.

The Elder Scrolls Online isn't out yet, so the in-game economy is subject to change, but horses in the beta were pretty expensive. Earning the gold to buy yourself a mount was something of an achievement, and offering horses as a bonus for players with a little extra cash is a slippery slope. It's worth noting that the Imperial Edition specifically grants you an exclusive white horse, while the microtransaction horse is Palomino, so I guess you could figure out who the big spenders are from the color of their steed.

Be careful, Bethesda. You're dangerously close to your Horse Armor days, and nobody wants to revisit those memories.

Source: ZAM [http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=33999]

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[INVALIDUSERNAME]

Everything I've seen, played, and read about ESO screams cash grab that's going F2P in like a year.

Seriously, fuck off with a cash shop ON TOP of a sub and then offering something like a horse.

 

[Elfgore]

Are you telling me I have to pay real money to get a mount in the game? If that is the case, fuck zenimax. Because that is just messed up. It's almost like they want to ruin their IP with this game.

And this isn't dangerously close to horse armor, it has surpassed it. A mount is a must have in most MMOs, I'm assuming this game isn't any different.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Really? I have to buy a Horse after I buy the game? That's ridiculous!

I was thinking about buying it, but I certainly won't now.

 

[Falsename]

....I don't.... This.... I don't even.....

I'm sorry but The Elder Scrolls Online is going to fall flat on it's face moments after coming out.

People will pay subscription for a game that looks this good, sure. But it won't last if you're cramming this crap down our throats.

'Some' people will pay subscription. I'm not one of them.

Bring me Fallout 4!

 

[rofltehcat]

The thing is that most people wouldn't actually care about horse armor, which would be just a simple skin for the mount.

Offering an entry level mount, however, is different. I don't know what the normal requirements for mounts are in this game but how can we know the requirements (level, cost) for normal mounts were not artificially inflated to increase the incentive to buy this mount?
This is ultimately one of the main problems of micro transactions: It can compromise the game's design, or at least make people think so.

If it were free to play to begin with, people would surely be much less opposed to the idea of their ingame shop. But they are basically trying to tripple-dip with a purchase cost, monthly fees AND micro transactions right from the very beginning. Other games implemented micro transactions as an after-thought and thus the chance (or possible perception) that the game design might be compromised to fit them is much lower.

 

[Voulan]

Are they expecting people to be pleased by this news? I'd bet that they've lost a few more sales with this. The only people that would want to get this are those that didn't get the Imperial Edition and aren't willing to purchase a horse in-game (usually around 42,000 gold! And enemies drop an average of one coin!).

It's a shame, because the game on its own is actually decent. It's the business practices that are painting it an ugly colour.

 

[Compatriot Block]

What bothers me most about the increasingly scummy decisions surrounding this game is that people might get Bethesda Softworks (the publisher) mixed up with Bethesda Game Studios (the developer that has no involvement with ESO).

I want this game distanced from the original Elder Scrolls series as much as possible, and I'd really hate to see the next Scrolls single-player game suffer due to this crap.

 

[Drummodino]

So let me get this straight.

1. Full retail up front cost.
2. Monthly subscription fee.
3. Microtransaction store for non-cosmetic items.

...

Just seems a little bit greedy Zenimax. That's a lot of money you're asking for, especially when compared to something like FF XIV.

 

[direkiller]

Is this the only way to get a horse?

WoW sells mounts in the store but there mostly just cosmetic upgrades, not something that drastically changes the game play.

If it's just a better looking horse then fine, if not then this game is going to fail faster then the Star Trek MMO did.

 

[Headsprouter]

Spoiler: BUT GUYS

IT'S SOOOOO CUTE!

Fail all you want, TES Online, as long as I get my single player titles.

 

[mysecondlife]

Retail fees + subscription fees + microtransaction??!

HA! Good luck guys.

 

[rofltehcat]

Spoiler: BUT GUYS

IT'S SOOOOO CUTE!

Fail all you want, TES Online, as long as I get my single player titles.

I'd say it failing will actually harm the franchise (or will be perceived as such) and thus decrease the chance for a new Elder Scrolls game. Its pure existence probably also means that they won't be starting development of any single player Elder Scrolls games anytime soon.

I'd expect this game to be blamed quite a lot for not getting another single player Elder Scrolls game. Just think of SWToR and how we could have gotten KotoR 3 instead.

 

[FalloutJack]

Achievement: Old Spice - "I'm on a horse."

Look at your game, now look at me, now look at your game again. Sadly, it's got microtransactions. Look down, now look up again. It's your horse, the thing you use to get around, AND it's behind a paywall. Look away, look back. It's a a load of angry Elder Scrolls fans outside of a building, and you're helping them burn an effigy. Look down once more, and back again. You've returned to your home where you haven't bought this crappy game, money still in your pocket. Always vote with your wallet. I'm in a powersuit.

 

[Tanis]

Ouch.

This is sounding like a game that Zynga would make.
Just...damn.

 

[Roxas1359]

Second microtransaction: armor for the horse! The armor makes it die in one hit, and any plot horse that was once invicible becomes vulnerable once it is worn.

OT: Well...seems like I might be avoiding this game some more then. Really for me, I love the Elder Scrolls series and was hoping that ESO would be the first full on MMO for me to get into, but sadly it seems like that's not the case. If I didn't have to buy a subscription after buying the initial game then I wouldn't mind, but I can't justify paying $60 for a game plus a subscription fee along with it. It's honestly why I don't really play MMOs in general.

Zenimax is really trying to get as much money as they can huh. Sadly as well Bethesda's gonna get the blame on this since many people can't tell the difference between Zenimax Online and Bethesda Game Studios.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

A horse should be basic in an elder scrolls game, you should be able to buy one in game with ingame money. But have us buy the game full price and then a subscription per month and expect us to then pay for stuff on top. Thats just stupid, greedy and a big negative against the game. This is becoming a dangerous trend for games and it will spend the end to gaming if companies continue it.

 

[bug_of_war]

Is this the only way to get a horse?

WoW sells mounts in the store but there mostly just cosmetic upgrades, not something that drastically changes the game play.

If it's just a better looking horse then fine, if not then this game is going to fail faster then the Star Trek MMO did.

Don't worry, you can buy the horse with in game money...so long as you don't mind spending a few days grinding for cash (last I checked it cost 4000 gold). Playing the beta though makes me wonder why anyone would pay for a mount, the map is not very large and the game is very average.

OT: So who's placing bets for when this becomes F2P?

 

[TheIceQueen]

Are you telling me I have to pay real money to get a mount in the game? If that is the case, fuck zenimax. Because that is just messed up. It's almost like they want to ruin their IP with this game.

And this isn't dangerously close to horse armor, it has surpassed it. A mount is a must have in most MMOs, I'm assuming this game isn't any different.

You don't -have- to pay real money to get a mount in the game. Buying a horse in game will set you back a few pretty denariis, yes, but you can buy them with in-game money without too much difficulty.

This is no different than WoW, where some mounts can be bought from the online store, but the game gives you plenty of chances to not do that.

 

[Sight Unseen]

Are you telling me I have to pay real money to get a mount in the game? If that is the case, fuck zenimax. Because that is just messed up. It's almost like they want to ruin their IP with this game.

And this isn't dangerously close to horse armor, it has surpassed it. A mount is a must have in most MMOs, I'm assuming this game isn't any different.

You can buy horses with in game currency as well but they're kind of extremely expensive. They cost 17,000 gold if I remember right, and considering monsters hardly drop any gold and items sell for pitifully low amounts that will take a while to reach.