The Elder Scrolls Online Will Have Microtransactions Too

[Apostheum]

A namechange costs them NOTHING, it literally costs them NOTHING to do it.

You type in your new name in a box, hit enter, and it's DONE. The computer does everything.

I can understand charging for it if it's a F2P game. I mean, they need the revenue. But if I'm already paying 14 dollars a month(Which btw is outrageous, they could have the price at 6 dollars/month and still make a profit, even after paying for servers and customer-support salaries) AND an initial retail price of like 60 dollars?

And now they want me to pay for something that costs them literally, yes LITERALLY, nothing?

No. Way. In. Hell.

 

[Dascuro]

I don't know what to say, first the P2P model comes and Im completely out from TESO, I got to sign in for the beta (couldnt get on, it but was thrilled with the idea of playing it regardless) I wanted this game to be a good game, a good MMO that it will do well, but seriously? invest money on the game just to the promise of playing it and then having microtransactions for services which will not be provided to paying costumers, TESO is run by dumbasses.

Not only that but they have the audacity to say that TESO is going to be the real Elder Scrolls and will be giving premium content to fee paying costumers, I ask "Premium content" oposed to what? as far as I can tell the game as it is, as how it must be played as it must be experienced will be behind a pay wall which is called montly fee and then the extras, the luxuries and services will be behind another pay wall called microtransactions; So in sum those fun bits and services are the actual premium content while the game you pay a fee for is just the core came, on that context they are not only contradicting themselves but taking anybody who follows for fools.

Look those who are unwilling to learn their history are doomed to repeat it, Zenimax doesnt wish to acknowledge previous MMORPG's failures who followed the same path they are going for and will be grudginly have to be turning a F2P, champion online years ago tried this and got into a F2P model which had an option for paying a monthly fee but all new things from the microtransactions store would be unlocked for those paying the monthly fee, GW2 got a no susbscriptions model, you pay for the game once, you buy it and you play it whenever however you want, updates are free, but ingame store has services and cosmetical options, plus ingame gold can be exchanged for the currency of the microtransactions store, so if you actually do well in the game you can get the services and microtransaction items without having to spend a cent more than the money you payed for the game, its hard to do but the option is there.

What TESO is going for is a trainwreck, Economy is not stable for a lot of people, old guard for MMO's is more busy now days than they were during college or highschool (for example) and the new MMO players know that there are games like TESO which are free, so why paying for something I can get somewhere else? Not only the from all of those who can pay the subscription no problem and will commit to it, ask yourselves "how long would I be able to sustain this?" "how many hours a month am I going to actually play TESO and make it feel worth the investment of money Ill be making?" and "what happends when I decide I want to play something else? then Ill be giving up my money for a game I wont be playing", taking in consideration that those who can and will pay the monthly suscription might be doing well enough economically to buy other upcomming games too.

In resume, TESO, no, just no.

 

[Doclector]

Does that statement sound like it would come from a person that has even an OUNCE of respect for the legacy of this series?

No, but it does look a bit like Lord Sheogorath.

OT: Well, yeah...this is fucking stupid.

They were already putting masses of people off by going with subs, but I thought "Hey, maybe they're trying to create a save haven from the 'pay to win' practices that plague some free to play games?"

And then they come out with this. It doesn't fucking matter that the services are non essential, it wouldn't matter if it was something really tiny, when you ask people for fifteen fucking bucks a month, everything short of MAJOR expansions should be included.

 

[Dragonbums]

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.

It's not entirely unfair. The whole paid dlc thing was tested out on consoles and took root when console gamers lapped it up. You can't be that surprised when someone doesn't hold console players in such high regard with that on your record.

They "lapped" it up at first because the DLC content was for the most part substantial and worth the money.

When you pay for subs, it is money that is continuously being taken out of your bank account on a monthly basis.
My mom doesn't know anything about games, but if there is one thing she is aware of- it's where her money is going.

When I buy DLC, I know that I am spending $5.00 on the thing, and that's it. They can't take anymnore.

With subs, they have to have continuous access to my account to supplement that fee.
That sort of thing doesn't sit with a lot of people. Causals or otherwise.

Parents know that they are paying $60.00 for a game. They can stomach that. However when they find out that they have to pay a monthly fee as well?(Who else is going to provide their kids money for that stuff) that is where they will draw the line.

You seriously underestimate console gamers, and casuals as a whole.

 

[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.

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?

Do not assume parents or anyone 17 and under are so stupid that they can't see the greed in this model. In fact, how about we bring that age group down to 9, because that is the only age I can think of where a kid isn't really aware of financials outside of how much the game costs.

Parents are familiar with subscription based models. Whether they are gamers or not. They see it in magazines, they see it on TV, and they may even see it in other services likes sports.

Parents are aware that they are paying $60.00 for a game. It is coming out of their pocket after all.
They are also aware of DLC. Again, they are paying for that.
At most, they will buy the game at the box price. However once they find out that they have to keep a monthly fee to play the game, a good portion of them will either return the games themselves for a full refund, or demand their kids to return the game for them.

At the end of the day these "ignorant" parents are paying for their kids. They clearly know where the money is going and how much.
They check their bank accounts.
They check their bills.
The moment they see additional fees for something they have no interest in, then they will cut it in a heart beat.

I know we like to talk down about casuals on the Escapist.
However let's get real here.
These people aren't mindless lemmings.

 

[Karadalis]

Real classy...

So it seems the industry has learned nothing from funcoms and biowares failures in the recent past?

Dont think youre the next big thing just because you slapped "elder scrolls" onto your mmo.

Star wars is a bigger franchise and they fell flat on their nose with their subscriptions.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

So apparently whoever is making this game is not only greedy, but also incapable of doing market research. Funny that.

 

[Strazdas]

oh, dont mind me, this is just me, scraching this game of the list of games i want to play, thats all.

A namechange costs them NOTHING, it literally costs them NOTHING to do it.

It seems a lot of people are gettign this wrong. A namechange requires:
1. somone to spends many hours coding in the program to change all names of chracter and associated quests/relationships/friendlists/whathave you without distrubting the regular work of the server even thouh this information may even be used during the change, for example by another player friendlist check.
2. you have to make a system where the new character name has to be checked agaisnt possible names to chose (no double naming or "fuck you" for a name).
3. you need to make a secure system for name change, because you are basically change the main database, on a whim of a player, while the database is in use.
4. you need to make a system that is at least somewhat hack proof and discourages chracter trading for real money, which namechange encourages.
5. you need a contingency plan to not have a situation where if ingame war breaks out everyone jtu changes names instantly and pvp becomes broken.

all of this costs money, not to mention the upkeep of that. and there are probably even more things a more specific person could give. so yes, namechange COSTS MONEY. if you think it is as simply as rewriting a single box you need to remember this is not a singleplayer game.

At the end of the day these "ignorant" parents are paying for their kids. They clearly know where the money is going and how much.
They check their bank accounts.
They check their bills.
The moment they see additional fees for something they have no interest in, then they will cut it in a heart beat.

I know we like to talk down about casuals on the Escapist.
However let's get real here.
These people aren't mindless lemmings.

I sincerely wish that what you say would be true. But it is not. there are people who are mindless lemmings, who dont check their bank accounts and instead sit and complain they got no money for 3 hours. they exist. a lot of them. i wish it would be different, i really wish, but its not.

 

[Pigeon_Grenade]

You too can Where a Silly Costume And Or Hat, while Trying to Look Serious And Nord or Imperial or whatever you Happen to Wanna be- the More i hear about this game the Less i like it

 

[jurnag12]

So asking for money for specific parts of the game would be disruptive to the Elder Scrolls experience, which is why you're going with a subscription model...

But you're also using micro-transactions, anyway.

Goddamnit Bethesda, I play WoW and even I think this is bullsh*t.

 

[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?

Do not assume parents or anyone 17 and under are so stupid that they can't see the greed in this model. In fact, how about we bring that age group down to 9, because that is the only age I can think of where a kid isn't really aware of financials outside of how much the game costs.

Parents are familiar with subscription based models. Whether they are gamers or not. They see it in magazines, they see it on TV, and they may even see it in other services likes sports.

Parents are aware that they are paying $60.00 for a game. It is coming out of their pocket after all.
They are also aware of DLC. Again, they are paying for that.
At most, they will buy the game at the box price. However once they find out that they have to keep a monthly fee to play the game, a good portion of them will either return the games themselves for a full refund, or demand their kids to return the game for them.

At the end of the day these "ignorant" parents are paying for their kids. They clearly know where the money is going and how much.
They check their bank accounts.
They check their bills.
The moment they see additional fees for something they have no interest in, then they will cut it in a heart beat.

I know we like to talk down about casuals on the Escapist.
However let's get real here.
These people aren't mindless lemmings.

No offense man but you sound incredibly naive. They can obviously see that the model is greedy, they just lack any care beyond their own temporary satisfaction. Majority of 17 and under do not think outside of their immediate satisfaction, hence why they are the target of so many exploitative models.

The fact that you think parents actually are paying that much attention to their children's gaming habits clearly shows that you have not worked in any sort of gaming retail to see the truth. Lots of parents do not check their bank accounts, do not properly balance their checkbooks, or know what they are purchasing for their children besides a game for xx.xx amount of dollars so they get what they want.

I did not even attack casuals in my post at all as it is a useless and stereotypical term so why did you assume we were talking down to casuals? From here it sounds like you have insecurity issues if you have to project that hard.

I find it oddly hypocritical you took such offense to my generalization that all 17 and under children don't know any better then you go off and generalize that all escapist users talk down to casuals.

Many people are mindless lemmings. It's not the nice thing to say but experience has proven it time and time again when you see the majority of mindless media the average person consumes. Also since you are prone to projecting wild accusations I will state that my previous statement was directed at all media and not gaming alone.

Hope that helps. I apologize if I seem hostile at all but it is a personal pet peeve of mine when people just throw out strawman arguments after dismissing another person's opinion.

 

[Simple Bluff]

...gaming retail to see the truth. Lots of parents do not check their bank accounts, do not properly balance their checkbooks, or know what they are purchasing for their children besides a game for xx.xx amount of dollars so they get what they want.

How can you make that conclusion just by working in retail? Do you follow them home and listen to their conversations with creditors?

Goddamnit Bethesda, I play WoW and even I think this is bullsh*t.

I don't mean to be pedantic, but Bethesda isn't making this.

 

[Dragonbums]

No offense man but you sound incredibly naive.

My parents know jack squat about videogames, and yet they know enough when to put their foot down on a game purchase. Yet alone one that will not only cost them $60.00, but they will have to pay a $15.00 fee every month.

Majority of 17 and under do not think outside of their immediate satisfaction

I was just seventeen a few months ago. You'd be surprised how many 17 year olds are on the Escapist, or rather- on gaming sites in general. If the amount of people dissatisfied with this model is anything to go by, I can assure you that there are quite a few 17 year olds, who aren't that stupid.

The fact that you think parents actually are paying that much attention to their children's gaming habits clearly shows that you have not worked in any sort of gaming retail to see the truth. Lots of parents do not check their bank accounts, do not properly balance their checkbooks, or know what they are purchasing for their children besides a game for xx.xx amount of dollars so they get what they want.

I did not even attack casuals in my post at all as it is a useless and stereotypical term so why did you assume we were talking down to casuals? From here it sounds like you have insecurity issues if you have to project that hard.

I was speaking in general, and I never said you were attacking them. I'm pretty sure you are very aware of what most Escapist users mean when they talk about casuals in videogames, and if I'm not mistaken, it's the Wii Fit kind of casuals we are talking about here. On that note, I most certainly do not have insecurity issues.
I am however finding it increasingly annoying that our perception of "casuals" is that they are financially stupid and are so stupid, that they would fall for such a preposterous model like this. Or rather, the console gamers, as the OP originally said.

I find it oddly hypocritical you took such offense to my generalization that all 17 and under children don't know any better then you go off and generalize that all escapist users talk down to casuals.

If you can find me a couple of posts here on the Escapist that didn't talk about casuals as complete idiots (like buying into this TESO payment model.) Then I will happily rectify my statement.

Many people are mindless lemmings. It's not the nice thing to say but experience has proven it time and time again when you see the majority of mindless media the average person consumes. Also since you are prone to projecting wild accusations I will state that my previous statement was directed at all media and not gaming alone.

People are mindless lemmings. However when it comes to money, only the most obsessed and financially irresponsible would spend that much money on a video game. People no matter how dumb with media, tend to be a little bit smarter with their money.

Hope that helps. I apologize if I seem hostile at all but it is a personal pet peeve of mine when people just throw out strawman arguments after dismissing another person's opinion.

My main anger was at the OP anyway for insinuating that the average console gamer will be dumb enough to go through with the TESO money scheme and once again taint PC gamers like we are some blight to the gaming industry.
I didn't mean to direct it at you. My comments were more of a "general" comeback as opposed to anything actually directed at you.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

So instead of Subscription or Free To Play it's Buy to Subscribe for Fees?

Lovely, not that I was budgeting £140-ish out to play this game for a year to begin with, but now my wallet is actively dodging my hand until I close anything mentioning Elder Scrolls Online, weird that.

More like Buy for fees and subscription, or BFS for short.

Hey, you know what else BFS stands for? Bull F****** S***

 

[darron13]

SO what you're saying, Zenimax, is that you don't want my money.

 

[Neta]

No.

Microtransactions OR monthly subscription fees, not both. That's just taking the piss.

 

[Nazulu]

And they've lost me. Just like that. I don't care for all these micro-transaction excuses, because no matter how you look at it, paying to just change your name is bull, and I was never a fan of the other types either. I can let it slide easier when you're not paying so much, but this, this is just taking advantage of these gamers again.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

You know, guys, give him credit. He IS right. We do want the next Elder Scrolls game.

Tell me when they stop fiddling around with this MMO thing and start working on it.

 

[unstabLized]

Wow.. Yeah no.. Subscription only? Fine. Microtransaction only? Maybe. BOTH? Hell no. That's pure greed. Totally killed my interest now, thank you.

 

[Grabehn]

"The subscription will give the player the full experience" And now we present to you... MICROTRANSACTIONS! - Really? I mean, I lost interest with the subcription because I can't really afford those, but now this? Now not even if I had the money would I pay into it.