The Elder Scrolls Online Will Have Microtransactions Too

[Fappy]

Not that I have an inside line on any of this but there's a difference between monetizing content and monetizing extras. Everything that's in the game - regions, dungeons, races, classes, equipment, whatever - is included in the monthly subscription fee. The microtransactions (I'm guessing) are for external things, like changing your name, getting a funky hat, whatever. I don't have a problem with that. The moment they cross the line into paying for content or progression - Mehrunes' Razor for $2.99! - then, yeah, I'll be in the complaints line along with everyone else. But the impression I get at this point is that they're just trying to cover all the bases and give people the option to do things outside of the game that other MMOs don't always allow, without compromising the actual in-game experience.

I see where you're coming from, but I still think it's incredibly tacky. Cosmetic/vanity items are fine in F2P games, but we're already playing $15/month. Completely external concepts like name changes I can swallow (they aren't technically content). When you are already charging your customers a retail price AND a subscription fee I feel that ALL of the content should be available to you. The subscription fee should be your all-access ticket to the content in the game imo. If they throw tons and tons of time/money at a large expansion with a huge amount of content then they can charge extra.

I was one of the people that scoffed when Blizzard introduced their first purchasable mount (I believe it was the astral/cosmic unicorn or something). It just seems like the very definition of taking advantage of your fanbase and milking them for all they're worth.

 

[Reeve]

WTF? You either should have monthly subscription OR you have an in-game shop! Not both Zenimax! This is plain greed.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Not that I have an inside line on any of this but there's a difference between monetizing content and monetizing extras. Everything that's in the game - regions, dungeons, races, classes, equipment, whatever - is included in the monthly subscription fee. The microtransactions (I'm guessing) are for external things, like changing your name, getting a funky hat, whatever. I don't have a problem with that. The moment they cross the line into paying for content or progression - Mehrunes' Razor for $2.99! - then, yeah, I'll be in the complaints line along with everyone else. But the impression I get at this point is that they're just trying to cover all the bases and give people the option to do things outside of the game that other MMOs don't always allow, without compromising the actual in-game experience.

I see where you're coming from, but I still think it's incredibly tacky. Cosmetic/vanity items are fine in F2P games, but we're already playing $15/month. Completely external concepts like name changes I can swallow (they aren't technically content). When you are already charging your customers a retail price AND a subscription fee I feel that ALL of the content should be available to you. The subscription fee should be your all-access ticket to the content in the game imo. If they throw tons and tons of time/money at a large expansion with a huge amount of content then they can charge extra.

I was one of the people that scoffed when Blizzard introduced their first purchasable mount (I believe it was the astral/cosmic unicorn or something). It just seems like the very definition of taking advantage of your fanbase and milking them for all they're worth.

This, and, I would bet money that the "fun stuff" they are talking about will include boosters if not at launch then shortly after. Boosters for Gold, XP, Item Drop, etc are one of the lynchpins of any MMO with miscrotransactions and definitely straddle the line between something that doesn't impact the gameplay and something that clearly does.

 

[Zauxst]

Nobody knows how to read? It clearly says:

fun stuff, and services too, like name changes and things like that.

World of Warcraft had the shop since ever and it was providing tons of "fun stuffs" like pillows, and other shit girls like, and men that are fluffy... And Services, as it says, Name Changes, probably race changes and other shit... This is microtransaction after all...

Stop interpreting if you can't focus on a read, and besides this is translated from German.

 

[Azwrath]

"We'll have a shop to buy kind of fun stuff, and services too, like name changes and things like that. But it's not part of the core game,"

So basically you have to buy the game for... i'm guessing they are going to price it at 50$ or 60$, pay a monthly fee of 15$ and then, if you want to have fun (IF because it is all about your choices as a player of course)you still have to pay a little something extra. Because, you know, 15$ a month is not enough for the "fun stuff".

Can someone remind me again what this game has going for it? TERA has better graphic and combat, WOW and Everquest 2 have a lot more content, they butchered alot of the Elder Scrolls setting because it did not fit into an MMO. I think they might be counting on the Skyrim fanbase a bit too much, especially if you take into consideration the fact that a big chunk of that fanbase hated this game since it was announced.

 

[Dragonbums]

So on top of charging players $10-15 bucks per month on a subscription model, they are going to implement micro transactions as well?

You have got to be kidding me.

Bethesda better do the right thing and step in before this game blows $300 million down the drain because clearly these clowns have no idea what they are doing.

 

[Andy Chalk]

I see where you're coming from, but I still think it's incredibly tacky. Cosmetic/vanity items are fine in F2P games, but we're already playing $15/month. Completely external concepts like name changes I can swallow (they aren't technically content). When you are already charging your customers a retail price AND a subscription fee I feel that ALL of the content should be available to you. The subscription fee should be your all-access ticket to the content in the game imo. If they throw tons and tons of time/money at a large expansion with a huge amount of content then they can charge extra.

Bear in mind that we don't actually know what will be offered. Again, I have zero problem with charging for external services, and "fun stuff" is obviously not a well-defined term. Vanity items are a little dodgy, yes; content is content and for $15 a month I expect access to it all, but I think maybe there can be room for purely cosmetic stuff that has no bearing on a character (and that can be earned through questing as well, so there's still a chance to get it even if you don't want to pay for it).

Boosters and the like, however, that absolutely should not be offered in a subscription-based game, and I'll line up for the complaints department if it happens. But at this point, I think "wait and see" is a better approach to take.

 

[Charli]

Zenimax wtf do you think you are doing.

...If you pay 15 dollars a month subscription you should expect to get access to EVERYTHING the game has to offer.

I'd be okay if this was say...a free to play method and grants you the things the subscription players more commonly have but...

I mean what?

Even WoW doesn't do this with much regularity, merely a handful of mounts and pets with 80% of the time are charity drives.
The 'hats' they tried to bandy out didn't actually get bought that much. I've tried looking on every realm for some sign of someone wearing one and came across one in total.

 

[Fappy]

I see where you're coming from, but I still think it's incredibly tacky. Cosmetic/vanity items are fine in F2P games, but we're already playing $15/month. Completely external concepts like name changes I can swallow (they aren't technically content). When you are already charging your customers a retail price AND a subscription fee I feel that ALL of the content should be available to you. The subscription fee should be your all-access ticket to the content in the game imo. If they throw tons and tons of time/money at a large expansion with a huge amount of content then they can charge extra.

Bear in mind that we don't actually know what will be offered. Again, I have zero problem with charging for external services, and "fun stuff" is obviously not a well-defined term. Vanity items are a little dodgy, yes; content is content and for $15 a month I expect access to it all, but I think maybe there can be room for purely cosmetic stuff that has no bearing on a character (and that can be earned through questing as well, so there's still a chance to get it even if you don't want to pay for it).

Boosters and the like, however, that absolutely should not be offered in a subscription-based game, and I'll line up for the complaints department if it happens. But at this point, I think "wait and see" is a better approach to take.

Yeah, the interview was hardly conclusive so I'm not about to hop aboard the hate-train just yet. I think I'm actually one of the few people on this site that wouldn't mind a sub fee as long as the game is good enough to warrant it. GW2-style model would be ideal, but if they can justify the the fee I'll be on-board.

 

[Dragonbums]

I set the over/under for going totally Free to Play w/ micros at 9 months. Who wants to bet some internet money?

I bet it does quite well for itself because exclusively console players don't necessarily know any better, or it may even be their first MMO so will seem amazeballs.

Depressing, but true. This game is being milked for everything it has because the unaware will buy it. It very obviously isn't going to get anywhere on PC, it has competition that is easily going to be a minimum of on par that doesn't require a sub.

It is literally the only reason i can think of for this. They're not planning on competing with the PC MMO market, that is simply too much of a challenge for their game. Instead they just want to be the first 'next gen' MMO on the xbone/ps4 and try to make money from being unopposed.

What we need is Arenanet to release Guild wars 2 on next gen consoles (they'd need separate servers from PC because of the update frequency, but ah well, considering most of the servers are still high-full populations a year after launch, more servers makes sense anyway)), just to smash this cash grab into the ground.

Console players don't know any better?

Geez. I can understand if you said casuals or something (and even then everyone is frugal about their money.) but you think CONSOLE players are so money stupid that we would put up with buying the game, paying the monthly fee, and putting up with micro-transactions?
I'm insulted.

 

[ShirowShirow]

I'm against Subscription fees, but the one thing that I can understand their advantage is that they help avoid shit like this.

 

[GrimTuesday]

Why can't I just have a fucking Elder Scrolls game with the entire continent without having to subscribe to play online with people I'm just going to end up hating (seriously, other people are the worst part about MMOs)? I mean sure it would be fun to roam the tundras of Skyrim, or explore the Aldmer ruins of Cyrodiil with my friends, but I don't want to have to buy the game and then pay to play it. I'm not a big MMO fan, but I was going to give this a shot, now I'm not so sure.

 

[kael013]

My interest died at the news of a sub fee (currently job hunting: lots of free time, no money to burn) but this actually seems alright. "Fun stuff" is a bit of a nebulous and subjective term, but if it's just stuff like name changes, xp boosts, and the like that's not so bad. I'll hold off hating on this news until what the cash-shop sells is better laid out.

'Course, I'd still like a GW2 or STO model.

 

[Groenteman]

Saaaay whaaaat?

What droolball on Zenimax is getting paid to come up with this? Herpty derp, we will just do ALL payment models! Im a genius! Totaly just earned my 6-digit salary! Also need a bigger lease car!

In all sincerity, they would not try to pull this (...) on a less-known series. They are pissing themselves at the thought of losing money, and will be sure to rip the players off on every corner they turn. Release regardless of what it does to the game on a long term.

Yes yes, im sure its just for the 'extras', like wanting to be on the same server your friends are on. Yup totaly superfluous Fun stuff. If you genuinely believe that to be ok then you completely lost all sense of relativation.

 

[klaynexas3]

Just give me co-op in the next game. How hard can that be? I'll host it on my computer, I don't care. It won't cost you a damn thing extra, and you can bet that it will sell like hot cakes, because the crowd that wanted a multiplayer Elder Scrolls but didn't care for an MMO is still pretty big, and still unsatisfied.

 

[Sight Unseen]

I see where you're coming from, but I still think it's incredibly tacky. Cosmetic/vanity items are fine in F2P games, but we're already playing $15/month. Completely external concepts like name changes I can swallow (they aren't technically content). When you are already charging your customers a retail price AND a subscription fee I feel that ALL of the content should be available to you. The subscription fee should be your all-access ticket to the content in the game imo. If they throw tons and tons of time/money at a large expansion with a huge amount of content then they can charge extra.

Bear in mind that we don't actually know what will be offered. Again, I have zero problem with charging for external services, and "fun stuff" is obviously not a well-defined term. Vanity items are a little dodgy, yes; content is content and for $15 a month I expect access to it all, but I think maybe there can be room for purely cosmetic stuff that has no bearing on a character (and that can be earned through questing as well, so there's still a chance to get it even if you don't want to pay for it).

Boosters and the like, however, that absolutely should not be offered in a subscription-based game, and I'll line up for the complaints department if it happens. But at this point, I think "wait and see" is a better approach to take.

Yeah, the interview was hardly conclusive so I'm not about to hop aboard the hate-train just yet. I think I'm actually one of the few people on this site that wouldn't mind a sub fee as long as the game is good enough to warrant it. GW2-style model would be ideal, but if they can justify the the fee I'll be on-board.

I'm with you on this one. I'm going to wait and see "how bad" the cash store in game is before I pull out my pitchfork.

But yeah, if they include exp boosts or stat-items or anything like that then I'm out

 

[GAunderrated]

I set the over/under for going totally Free to Play w/ micros at 9 months. Who wants to bet some internet money?

I bet it does quite well for itself because exclusively console players don't necessarily know any better, or it may even be their first MMO so will seem amazeballs.

Depressing, but true. This game is being milked for everything it has because the unaware will buy it. It very obviously isn't going to get anywhere on PC, it has competition that is easily going to be a minimum of on par that doesn't require a sub.

It is literally the only reason i can think of for this. They're not planning on competing with the PC MMO market, that is simply too much of a challenge for their game. Instead they just want to be the first 'next gen' MMO on the xbone/ps4 and try to make money from being unopposed.

What we need is Arenanet to release Guild wars 2 on next gen consoles (they'd need separate servers from PC because of the update frequency, but ah well, considering most of the servers are still high-full populations a year after launch, more servers makes sense anyway)), just to smash this cash grab into the ground.

Console players don't know any better?

Geez. I can understand if you said casuals or something (and even then everyone is frugal about their money.) but you think CONSOLE players are so money stupid that we would put up with buying the game, paying the monthly fee, and putting up with micro-transactions?
I'm insulted.

Well it is a HUGE generalization so I would like to amend his statement to say "Console gamers 17 and under (and their parents who buy them games) don't know any better."

While not every console gamer pays for every stupid thing that is shoveled at them, you have to keep in mind that bad purchasing practicing among console gamers is why we have horrible DLC practices and Disk Locked Content. It was originally meant to extend great game content, but they eventually noticed that console gamers would buy any piece of DLC regardless of value, and decided to have $15 map packs and other atrocities.

I have no doubt that the adult console gamers can see through the scams but the younger gamers and the subsequent parents who buy for them don't and they are the real money makers.

Ignorance is bliss. And why make millions selling to intelligent people when you can make hundreds of billions selling to the uninformed?

 

[ZLAY]

Congratulations, you absolute fucking morons.

Including this cancerous part of the mmos into already subscription based one is unjustifiable.