I'm not sure how I feel about this.
See, whilst everyone else was being all excited about the elder scrolls online launch trailer, I was sitting there thinking "well, no point in me getting hyped. It'll likely need subs"
My interest picked up a little when I heard it was a possibility that it could be a one off buy, but still, I remained fairly disinterested. So I'm not all that devastated.
However...I probably would've given a free to play/one off buy ESO a try. But at the same time, I know that the money has to come from somewhere, and likely in the form of dreaded microtransactions and pay to win tactics.
So yeah, it'll probably be a better game for not having to always be trying to get gamers to cough up something while they play, but at the same time, $14.99 a month is a lot of money. It'll take it's toll if you plan on being committed to it for any decent length of time. Then, if it's successful, we can expect expansion packs and the like.
So yeah, I'm mixed on this. Sure, said subscription completely bars me from entry, I am out, I am completely disinterested now, but at the same time, I've got to wonder whether this really will lead to a better experience for those who do decide to pay the toll.