Xbox Live Gold Still Needed For Elder Scrolls Online, F2P Titles

[Steven Bogos]

Xbox Live Gold Still Needed For Elder Scrolls Online, F2P Titles

You'll still need a Gold Xbox Live subscription to play free titles such as World of Tanks.

Earlier, we got some confirmation that Microsoft was easing up on its Xbox Live Gold [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134446-Microsoft-to-Drop-Xbox-Live-Gold-Requirement-For-Netflix-Hulu-Update] requirement for certain apps. Unfortunately, it looks like this easement won't effect your ability to play MMOs The Elder Scrolls Online and free-to-play titles, as they will still require an Xbox Live Gold subscription to run.

"Right now we haven't changed the policy on MMOs and free-to-play games," Microsoft's Phil Spencer confirmed to Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/13/elder-scrolls-online-free-to-play-games-still-require-xbox-live/#continued]. Spencer cited that these kinds of games have various "engineering, policy and partner constraints" as the main reason for keeping them behind the Gold paywall. He says it's not really in Microsoft's hands to make these kinds of decisions, and the specific developers in question would have to come to a new agreement with all of their partners to change the policy.

Spencer confirmed that Bethesda's latest MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online, will still require a Gold subscription on top of the developer's own monthly fees, as well as free-to-play titles including World of Tanks, Warface and Happy Wars.

"So today, the announcement is about the entertainment applications being available to all Xbox Live members," Spencer said. "It was really about going as fast as we could on the things that we completely controlled."

I'm sure if we complain about this loud enough though, Microsoft will pull another 180 and "change their mind," just like they did with the "most integral feature of the system" [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134456-Xbox-One-to-Get-Kinect-Free-Version-for-399-in-June].

Source: Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/13/elder-scrolls-online-free-to-play-games-still-require-xbox-live/#continued]

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[RA92]

He says it's not really in Microsoft's hands to make these kinds of decisions, and the specific developers in question would have to come to a new agreement with all of their partners to change the policy.

Bull-fucking-shite. The reason these devs have gone F2P is to reach out a wider audience and milk them through micro-transactions. I doubt it's their decision to put potential customers behind another paywall, especially since Microsoft is going to pocket all the XBL Gold subs (the devs don't see a dime of it, even though it's them who are maintaining all the MP servers, not MS).

At least be honest about your greed.

 

[vallorn]

So you have to pay a sub in order to play a game that you need to pay a sub for. Yeah that sounds like it'll go over well if the xbox gold live user has nothing else they want from the service.

Considering the kind of people who own Xboxes were fine with paying for Gold on top of Netflix and the like last generation I don't hold out much hope in people with regards to this...

 

[weirdee]

Man, I wish I could get paid for making up an unnecessary service that only people who already paid for a machine with a smaller, useless machine I charged more money for attached to it have to pay while anybody who doesn't own that machine doesn't have to pay for the service that doesn't exist.

 

[Ninja_Bob117]

Well I am just going to keep on tanking on the PC were it is free

 

[LordMonty]

Well at least sony ain't donig this, maybe with microsoft copy cating sony with games for gold and other things they'll get around to this issue later.

 

[otakon17]

So you have to pay a sub in order to play a game that you need to pay a sub for. Yeah that sounds like it'll go over well if the xbox gold live user has nothing else they want from the service.

Yeah that shit pisses me off too. You have to pay to pay to pay to play(pay for internet, pay for Xbox Live GOLD, pay the subscription fee). It's just not worth it unless the game is REALLY satisfying, one of the reasons I stick with single player games for the most part(or stay on PC).

 

[Towowo]

Thats a lot of bullshit, expecially when you look at Final Fantasy XI which didn't require Gold.

 

[Rozalia1]

Question, what are these "engineering, policy and partner constraints" he talks about? And why can Sony get around them while Microsoft can't?
I mean as mentioned they let FF11 through so its not like the service has some hard coded check, or any such nonsense blocking non gold people.

Of course I know the answer to my own question, I just wish people actually asked them what those things were.

So you have to pay a sub in order to play a game that you need to pay a sub for. Yeah that sounds like it'll go over well if the xbox gold live user has nothing else they want from the service.

Considering the kind of people who own Xboxes were fine with paying for Gold on top of Netflix and the like last generation I don't hold out much hope in people with regards to this...

Its only now that Gold has actually attained anything close to actual value. How people went more than half decade paying for such a useless service for so long baffles me.

 

[Tradjus]

See, this is why MMO games on consoles always -sound- like a very good idea.
But then you get into the space where multiple companies are wrangling for more and more of the money and it trickles down to consumers and it just utterly collapses in on itself. I wouldn't be surprised if the Console versions of TESO are shut down within a year, or maybe even less, for lack of users.