[NEWS] TESO to be Subscription based

[Dawn]

Actually for recent MMOs it has been more like:

We will charge a monthly fee because (Pick all that apply: we spent a lot of money on the game, we are the best studio, we have a built-in fan base, we are the next WoW killer, we built the best game ever, our investors demanded we do so).

Followed shortly by:

We are now going F2P, but trust us, the game is as strong as ever and we are only doing this (Pick all that apply: to make the game better, to support our players, to bring new players to the game, because our investors demanded we do so).

 

[Ivory]

So, after speaking to some business colleagues of mine and my uncle who used to work for Blizzard (During cataclysm i believe) I can understand the choice from a business point of view.

That said, I'm not like the masses that are gonna boycott the game for such a ridiculous reason nor will I blindly say people should throw their money at a game they are unsure of. Having studied some game design (Took a different path) I strongly believe in developers like this one and Bungie etc genuinely standing by their logic and reasons.

Lastly, try watching this. It will put it into perspective for people, at least in my opinion. I'm glad to have it not f2p IF it is a successful game. (First 8 minutes are about ESO)

 

[Jader]

Honestly I'd buy Destiny before even considering ESO.

 

[Rimfaxe96]

That said, I'm not like the masses that are gonna boycott the game for such a ridiculous reason nor will I blindly say people should throw their money at a game they are unsure of. Having studied some game design (Took a different path) I strongly believe in developers like this one and Bungie etc genuinely standing by their logic and reasons.

A while ago a team of game developers published a little F2P game where the players had to make games and sell them for profit. However, the program let the sellings drop after a while, ending in a probably annoying "Game Over" for the players.
The intention of this program was to show how stealing/downloading/cracking games illegaly can cost the game publishers greatly; maybe not exactly the same subject for TESO, but the point should be clear; the people behind this game want to be paid for working their butts off and making it as good as possible, keeping it as fresh as possible and update it regulary for a better game experience.

However, paying about 10$ per month is still a lot either. For a good game people pay 50$ to 80$; TESO alone would take over 150$ per year. See what I mean, it's just not attractive for casual-players.

However, should TESO turn to F2P someday in the past, I'll feel bad for the players who have paid until that to play a game in peace, without immature trolls and smooth gameplay, truly I will. 'Cause with F2P I doubt they'll keep their work up with such passion.
People can say what they want about subscription fees but in the end the community of the "closed" fee-payers is mostly far better off than the F2P communities.

If I had more time to play I'd buy it right away. But like I said in one of my earlier posts, it's just not possible for me. Hopefully at a later time, but I can't look into the future yet. ouo

 

[Jader]

Who's to say there won't be immature trolls WITH fees.plops heads are everywhere.

 

[The Dunmeri Rogue]

That said, I'm not like the masses that are gonna boycott the game for such a ridiculous reason nor will I blindly say people should throw their money at a game they are unsure of. Having studied some game design (Took a different path) I strongly believe in developers like this one and Bungie etc genuinely standing by their logic and reasons.

A while ago a team of game developers published a little F2P game where the players had to make games and sell them for profit. However, the program let the sellings drop after a while, ending in a probably annoying "Game Over" for the players.
The intention of this program was to show how stealing/downloading/cracking games illegaly can cost the game publishers greatly; maybe not exactly the same subject for TESO, but the point should be clear; the people behind this game want to be paid for working their butts off and making it as good as possible, keeping it as fresh as possible and update it regulary for a better game experience.

However, paying about 10$ per month is still a lot either. For a good game people pay 50$ to 80$; TESO alone would take over 150$ per year. See what I mean, it's just not attractive for casual-players.

However, should TESO turn to F2P someday in the past, I'll feel bad for the players who have paid until that to play a game in peace, without immature trolls and smooth gameplay, truly I will. 'Cause with F2P I doubt they'll keep their work up with such passion.
People can say what they want about subscription fees but in the end the community of the "closed" fee-payers is mostly far better off than the F2P communities.

If I had more time to play I'd buy it right away. But like I said in one of my earlier posts, it's just not possible for me. Hopefully at a later time, but I can't look into the future yet. ouo

No offense but all the retarded,immature sexist trolls that infest the WOW and XBL servers kinda breaks that P2P argument.

 

[Rimfaxe96]

Who's to say there won't be immature trolls WITH fees.pl*** heads are everywhere.

Because mindless trolls usually enter a game world, play a little bit, and then leave or come up with a new account to continue. Payment makes them feel some responsibility for their game.
For example, the game I'm currently playing is F2P (Alicia Online - Korean game, pretty nice) and the trolls there who made themselves a name as troll/hater soon afterwards had to live with the consequence that nobody wanted to race with them at all (and it sucks pretty bad when you need to race to get money and rank-points but get kicked out almost every time you enter one or abandoned).
This isn't what a passionate gamer wants for himself. Sure, there are nasty people with money, but not trolls who will cling to your butt as soon as you come online like leeches.

No offense but all the retarded,immature sexist trolls that infest the WOW and XBL servers kinda breaks that P2P argument.

I know. A friend of mine plays some other MMORPG where some guy told her he would give her special items if she sent him pictures, lmao. But nonetheless, F2P has more trolls than P2P.

 

[The Dunmeri Rogue]

Exactly why I was so wary of playing with others in DDO and COH didn't want some creep following me around and hitting on me cause I had a female toon.

 

[Ivory]

What a silly argument. Trolls and immature people are an excuse not to give a game a chance? Why play games at all? In fact, why live your life at all? I'm sorry but if you're going to let Internet trolls stop you from enjoying a game or the Internet you probably shouldn't be on it to start with. People will always cut other people down. Or bother them. Don't blame a gaming company for other users immaturity.

 

[The Dunmeri Rogue]

What a silly argument. Trolls and immature people are an excuse not to give a game a chance? Why play games at all? In fact, why live your life at all? I'm sorry but if you're going to let Internet trolls stop you from enjoying a game or the Internet you probably shouldn't be on it to start with. People will always cut other people down. Or bother them. Don't blame a gaming company for other users immaturity.

Except you know I never did that I was well aware of the reputation mmo communities had before I played one.
Except you know it isn't fun to be hassled and hounded by a horny nerd or boy simply because your game avatar is a female Night Elf*thankfully this never happened to me.*.
Except for when a company allows it's users to engage in such behavior by not punishing those that do harass other users.

 

[Dawn]

MMOs continually prove the The Greater Internet F-wad Theory where:

Normal Person + Anonymity + Audience = Total F-wad / D-head / D-bag

http://tinyurl.com/7zlb2pq

 

[The Dunmeri Rogue]

That applies for any online community really.

 

[Rimfaxe96]

Additionally to the subscription model, TESO will also have an Item Shop for "Fun Stuff and Services":

http://www.ausgamers.com/news/read/...tem-store-for-fun-stuff-and-services#comments

Matt Firor, the Elder Scrolls Online director, responded to a question about whether the MMO would include any extras like a shop or bonus points with the statement "there won't be anything like bonus points, but we will have a shop to buy kind of fun stuff and services too like name changes and things like that." He explained that these in-game shop offerings weren't "part of the core game, anything included in the core game is included in the subscription price", so those worried content may be locked away in the shop can put down your pitchforks.

It's a brave move by Zenimax Online: the market has been somewhat shaky in the past for subscription models. Adding an in-game shop on top of that for select services or fun stuff could provoke a consumer backlash. Hopefully we'll hear more details on what exactly the "fun stuff" of the shop will hold, but for now you can read over exactly why the developer has opted for a subscription model in the more prominent free-to-play market of the MMO genre over here.

Wow. I think TESO now died off completely for me.

 

[Ivory]

Doesn't sound much different from paying Microsoft to change your user name. Stupid sure, game breaking? Bah. I'll reserve judgement until after more info on this "fun stuff".

 

[Rimfaxe96]

Okay, so I was given some leaked footage of TESO - stunning 3 hours to be exact - and I gotta say that I'm even more unsure about my to-buy-or-not-to-buy-thinking than before.

The footage was a Dark Elf, so I only saw a bit of Morrowind, which looked pretty much like Chinese gardens with big mushrooms every here and there and a few flying blue netches. Haven't played TES: Morrowind so I can't say whether that's authentic or not.
The movements etc are pretty well detailed, not as precise as Skyrim, but still good. The skilling menu and other stuff is well sorted out and looks pretty cool, reminds me of the menu design of The Last Of Us or Tomb Raider: Turning Point. Armor looks nice to; nothing fancy, but they do have some detail on them if you look closer. The Dark Elf voice actors creep me out but since I've never wanted to play one that's fine for me too. The Argonian tails look kind of scary and... well, fat. But I suppose I can live with that as well as long as I never have to walk behind one. The Elves have more "normal" faces, not these strange looking foreheads which I honestly still kinda liked because it made them special. Now they look like humans with high cheekbones and sharp chins, simply mainstream elves.
I was afraid that would happen though, but oh well. At least the Dunmer get to keep their red eyes.

Coldharbour doesn't even look nearly as scary as the Soul Cairn imo, but the souls fleeing and running about do give it some dark atmosphere. Speaking of which; the area around Red Mountain looks GEORGOUS. The thunder and dust flying around might be a little bit too much (at first I thought that was the edge of a battlefield), but it does give you some scary feeling.
Enemies didn't look tough so far, but I guess I can't expect to see a high-leveled boss in the first level(s).
Horses look bulky, but I can live with that. And I'm glad to see that so called "Lore Books" are stored seperately so you don't have to worry about that kind of stuff either. You find it, it stays saved, you can look it up whenever you like.
And the artwork in the loading screens is really pretty.

Gosh, I just can't decide. When playing with friends it's quite clear that you will be stuck in this game for a while, and either way you will probably end up a few hours in it before doing anything else and getting back to real life. It's like it was made to make you an addict.

Damn you Zenimax! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DECIDE NOW?

 

[JClarke1953]

Due to the economy, and that my wife and I live on a limited income, $15.00 a month is out. Heck, that's a half tank of gas for our Honda. And it's also why I quit playing WoW, the $15.00 a month, well, it went for other concerns than my desire to play online.

 

[Issy]

What a serious turn off. After reading details on the gameplay and witnessing the graphics, I wasn't terribly excited about the game, but I still intended to buy it for sure because it's Elder Scrolls. But $15 is something I might not have to spare.. I'll have to see. Perhaps there will be enough complaints that the $15 monthly fee will be removed. I have a feeling the game is going to tank, anyways. It has appeal to fans of Elder Scroll lore and setting, that's about it. People who enjoy MMOs in general will probably stick to something without a monthly fee (like GW2) and people who like Skyrim for it's gameplay will just wait for TES 6.

 

[High King of Skyrim]

A boycott is childish, not unlike a toddler in the shopping centre who throws a tantrum because mummy and daddy didn't buy them the toy they wanted. Now, I can fully appreciate that we live in hard times at the moment, the prices of things seem to keep rising while our wages sit idle. Many of us who budget are stretched thin, with no breathing room whatsoever and as a young father raising a family, I know this just as much as the next bloke. Despite all of this though I'll be subscribing. I've been looking forward to this game for far too long to let a measly $15.00 a month stand in my way. To everyone else though, who's crunched the numbers and still cannot possibly afford it, there's still a way! Birthdays, Christmas, father/mother's day and tax time. These occasions we are usually given gifts by family and loved ones and tax returns provide much needed relief on us all. For those who've said they were never going to buy it anyway, the fee shouldn't be an issue for and for those who can afford it but are to damn tight to fork out the cash, have a glass of concrete and harden the fluff up, cause I've got some bad news for you. Nothing in this world is free.

 

[The Dunmeri Rogue]

A boycott is childish, not unlike a toddler in the shopping centre who throws a tantrum because mummy and daddy didn't buy them the toy they wanted. Now, I can fully appreciate that we live in hard times at the moment, the prices of things seem to keep rising while our wages sit idle. Many of us who budget are stretched thin, with no breathing room whatsoever and as a young father raising a family, I know this just as much as the next bloke. Despite all of this though I'll be subscribing. I've been looking forward to this game for far too long to let a measly $15.00 a month stand in my way. To everyone else though, who's crunched the numbers and still cannot possibly afford it, there's still a way! Birthdays, Christmas, father/mother's day and tax time. These occasions we are usually given gifts by family and loved ones and tax returns provide much needed relief on us all. For those who've said they were never going to buy it anyway, the fee shouldn't be an issue for and for those who can afford it but are to damn tight to fork out the cash, have a glass of concrete and harden the fluff up, cause I've got some bad news for you. Nothing in this world is free.

Course not but on the other hand why pay 15$ a month on top of 60$ for this When Skyrim is still out and there are plenty of Free to Play mmos?

 

[Jader]

Honestly, I've gone from probably not getting it to hmm maybe I'll give it a go.Mainly due to not wanting to be left out when friends want to go dungeon crawling. Time will tell if this game tanks or thrives but it couldn't hurt to give it a fair go.