Originally posted by Gilllean No ESO will have a huge fan base like WoW. And if expansion will be good people will stick to it for long time!! Might be big thing if fans will support !
huge fan base like : Star wars? or Lord of the rings?
ESO will be FTP (sadly) zenimax will milk the fans , and then go ftp , its have been the plan the whole time im afraid.
The preorder was a hint.
This kinds of topic will ruin the game it plants a seed of insecureness witch slowly grows. If fan base were more supportive their Marketing TEAM tards will not intervent in game process because they are afraid game will fail and they need to milk as much as possible.
Also why going F2P? I prefer quality over quantity Ill better a mmo with 1 milion active subscribers than a terrible F2P with 10 milion players .
ESO will be Quality over Quantity and I hope developers will understand this and keep the good work !
Also about Pre order if you were Team leader of Marketing team how would you act when on each gameing community website game bash the shit out of game. If there is some one falt it falt of whiny cry babies. If I was in charge for this I would do the same thing !! right now we see that Zenimax is actively listening to player base if they will continue this way they will be fine !
Originally posted by Scambug Of course it'll go F2P in under 6 months. That's why they're milking as hard as they can now.
I'm saving this post. I'll see you back here in October to discuss how your prediction went. Remember, you said F2P in under 6 months. No wiggling out of this one.
Guys relax, all MMOs will go F2P. The only question is "When?". Even Blizzard's WoW will go F2P (as stated by their management), but they're not quite there yet.
In TESO's case it matters how many people they will fool with the hype train. Some people love subscribing for 6+ months to a game without playing it for a second. I suppose there are those about TESO too. They will also have another sales boost once the game hits the console market. It will take some time to get there because with all the phasing and the "megaserver" joke, their maintenance costs is low.
To anyone out there that think a server management is expensive, keep in mind that for 100 euro per month you get a dual cpu (xeon CPUs) 32Gb of ECC RAM and SSDs (nowadays). This also includes Unlimited Bandwidth* . So you do the maths. 10 subscribers cover the cost of operation for their own server, given the megaserver is a lie. With their size I suppose 1000 subs will cover all operations costs, everything else would be profit. And lets face it, 1000 subs is nothing... so.. tldr, it will take sometime for TESO to give up to the B2P model (like TSW did before them), but it will happen eventually. After all it took 2 years for TSW i think
I love the "give in" part of the title. Like there's this irresistible force pushing them that way... wishful thinking much?
If you want to wait 2 or 3 years, go for it.
Yeah, I always get the feeling that there's this hidden agenda behind many of these "F2P doom" posts, lol
It's like: "I actually quite enjoy this game, but I don't want to pay for it, so if it goes F2P in 6 months, I'm OK. Otherwise, I'll just cave and buy it now, because I'm not realistically going to wait 1 or 2 years before I play it."
"Wishful thinking" is exactly what it is with many of those posts. They do want to play it... They just want it for free. It's the rallying call of the self-entitled "Me, because I..." BitTorrent Generation: "I'm entitled to have what I want, and I shouldn't have to pay for it!"
It played out exactly that way toward the end of FFXIV 1.0's run. Yoshi-P/SE had announced months ahead of time that the game would not have a sub fee while they figured out what to do with the game going forward. But, that once they worked out a roadmap they could share with the players, they would reinstate subscriptions. No one really raised an eyebrow at the announcement, because at that time, there weren't very many people playing, because the game was still pretty much in its post-launch state (ie. a mess).
There are people who played it non-stop through that entire phase, getting their classes to 50, finishing content, etc.
So, months later, they keep their word (as they had all along) and announced the date they would reinstate subscriptions. Well, the outrage, indignation and threats of "canceling" immediately erupted across the official forums (and elsewhere). People insisted if subs were reinstated, they would be canceling and walking away. Predictions were made of how a sub fee would be the final nail in the coffin and would destroy the game for good. It was predicted that they'd get so few subs, that ARR would never happen. That the game was not fun and in no way worth a subscription fee. And on and on... I kept track of some of those people doing the most complaining. About a dozen seemed to be constantly going on about it, with many others chiming in, or "+1"-ing others' remarks.
Interestingly, I found that those shouting the loudest and putting up the most fuss were also the ones with the most accomplished in the game. They'd been playing straight through the free period, completing the content, leveling their jobs... Clearly playing and enjoying the game. That pattern was not at all coincidence, it would turn out.
So then the moment of truth comes.. The proverbial "shit or get off the pot" moment. Subs are reinstated.
Guess who was still around the official forums afterward? Almost every single one of those people who insisted their accounts would be canceled if SE "dared" reinstate subs. Considering you can only post on the official forums if you have an active account with an established character, they would have to have paid to do so.
Not only that, but the game's population picked up significantly after the subs were reinstated. During the free period, you could barely see anyone in Ul'dah - the unofficial hub of the game. Grid and Limsa were utterly barren. World areas were nearly void of players. After subs were reinstated, the game picked up.. All cities became active and you actually saw numerous other players out and about, in even the most remote areas.
So what does that show? That for all their bluffing and complaining, people ultimately will pay for something if they enjoy it enough... they would just rather get it for free, and will do their best to say their worst to get their way.
I don't doubt for a second that many - perhaps even most - of those types of posts in these forums are fueled by similar motivation.
I strongly believe it will become a F2p game. The competition is to thick. To be a pay to play box price with sub, the game has to A.) Launched at the right time and generated a massive following ie WoW, or B.) Be so amazingly better than everything else on the market that people will pay the box price and stick around for the sub.
No game can fill selection A, that time has passed. Selection B can be filled, but in this case ESO does not cut it.
In the short term and best practice for generating income.
ESO will .....
Launch as a box price with sub. Your only going to get X amount of people to buy the game anyhow. Y amount of people will stick around.
Step 1. This will probably fizzle out in less than 4 months
Money 1st month = ( box price * X ) + ($15/month * Y ) - cost of production - cost of service
Money 2nd month = ($15/month * Y ) + Cash shop - continued cost of production - cost of service
- as Y drops out and cost of production and service stay the same, money also drops out.
Step 2.
How do we generate more money? This could happen as soon as Camelot Unchained, World of Darkness, or whatever game steals this games populous.
Switch to F2p and gather the inrush of new comers Z from the cash shop and halt production
Now
Money = Cash shop from Z (killer whales) - cost of service
Step 3. This will probably occur 2 years from Launch of ESO
When cash shop drops out, leave game on life support and move on, until life support becomes to expensive.
It should be B2P period. Nothing I have seen makes this game unique from any others, no matter what the Fan Boi's say. It is a dumbed down MMO and we shall see how the PC gamers deal with the console types when it comes out.
The freeloader/entitled comments are so funny. So because i don't feel the game is worth between 75 to 90 euros (2-4 monhts gameplay), i'm a freeloader who wants everything for nothing. Of course, just like how i don't pay money for any game, ever, being it single player, multiplayers, other B2P mmos like GW2 and TSW, etc. I want it all FOR FREE.
I'm perfectly ok with sub fees, but to me, it's only worth it if it's a game i'm going to play for a very long time. Not to meantion that if i just want to log back in to check a few things out for less than 2 days (not talking about new content or zones even), i have to pay for the whole month.
As for the OP, i expect B2P (because of the console version) instead of F2P. Somewhere between 6-12 months.
But I can also see that the sub model is practically dead.
Yes, this game will go F2P and I would expect the transition within 12-18 months from launch. The F2P / cash shop model is a licence to print money and can you imagine how many different consumables, weapons, armor, mounts etc that they can monetize in a PvP focused game like ESO...
I am sure the dollar signs have been flashing for years and F2P has always been part of the roadmap....
They obviously have a contingency plan in place for a B2P/F2P transition. If you look at the digital rewards in the Imperial Edition; imperial race, mount, rings of mara, and mudcrab pet, any one of those items could easily be sold for a nominal price in a cash shop although they will most likely sell it as a package in the cash shop. I honestly would see them go B2P over F2P and sooner rather than later. I feel a large contributor to that is going to be the console markets, as console gamers historically haven't responded very well to additional fees on top of the game and xbox live, etc. Anyone making mmos for consoles should know that they can make more money selling DLC instead of sub fees.
Well Ultima Online still charge $15 a month and its 16 years old now. The people who play it are still happy paying a subscription. While ESO does not have the depth of UO. It can grow into a game with large depth. As I have been playing and paying for Ultima Online for 15 years I will be more than happy to pay a monthly subscription for ESO.
There's no way to tell. That's up to Zenimax...I hope it never does. I liked Rift, played it until it went F2P. Then I dropped it like a bad habit. I will never play a F2P, nickel and dime MMO. If it comes to a point where there are no F2P MMOs, then I guess my long relationship with MMOs is over.
To all the entitlement babies, I'm glad it's P2P. It keeps people like you out of the game. If you can't afford $0.50 a day, you shouldn't be playing games, you should go get another job.
For a lot of you complaining about paying a monthly sub I don't understand it. It'll cost you $60 for the box price and you get the first month free. According to many play testers it'll take you between 80-150 hours of game time to hit max level of 50. How many single player games give you that much? After the first month just cancel your sub and it'll cost you just the box price to play a game that gave you that much entertainment.
It should be B2P period. Nothing I have seen makes this game unique from any others, no matter what the Fan Boi's say. It is a dumbed down MMO and we shall see how the PC gamers deal with the console types when it comes out.
You do realize that the consolers will be on their own separate server..........dontcha? I mean, if you have enough knowledge to predict B2P you would know this little fact right?
For a lot of you complaining about paying a monthly sub I don't understand it. It'll cost you $60 for the box price and you get the first month free. According to many play testers it'll take you between 80-150 hours of game time to hit max level of 50. How many single player games give you that much? After the first month just cancel your sub and it'll cost you just the box price to play a game that gave you that much entertainment.
Oh please.
The SWTOR marketing machine told us that game had 200 hours or unique levelling to hit max level.
Players hit max level in about 2 days after it launched.
And even if the quote of 80 - 150 hours is remotely true, it's nothing to write home about....I got 85 hours out of DAO and I currently have over 140 hours on Dark Souls without even completing my first playthrough.
All I can is that the RvR endgame had better be something stupendously good, I mean industry defining else subs will quit in droves after the first 3 months. This game is aimed at PvP endgame. Competetive PvPers are notoriously fickle and will jump ship without a second thought as soon as the next shiny comes along.
If PvP is the endgame and the PvE is as lacklustre as has been reported I genuinely fear for this games longevity. I think it will settle at around 200k subs at the end of the first 6 months and be F2P by the end of year one....if not before.
I love how snobbish people say " if you can't afford a sub fee for a MMO you shouldn t be playing games, you should get a job!" . Doh.
Let's add those 15$ to the bills you already have to pay alongside medical ensurances, car ensurances, rent, food, maybe cigarettes due to bad habits, alongside many other expenses you have monthly. Yes 15$ to play a game you already bought becomes a bit of a weight. Specially if you like 2 MMO's at one given time. That's 30$ a month just to be ABLE to login and play a game you already bought.
I don't know which company had the idea of pricing the sub fees 15$ a month but it caused continuity of that price over many other MMO's. Games are different, companies are different, why should prices be all the same? Greeeeeeeeeeed.
A 7$ monthly fee is enough for them to be filthy rich. If they are smart they'll add a cashop for vanity stuff like pets or XP buffs. You'd be amazed how many people love to spend their money on crap like that. Or do like WoW, set a price to boost your character to max level. Just avoid p2w stuff, it's just not fair to buy in-game gold with real money as its not fair to buy items that give you advantage over other players.
At least Wildstar gives you a choice, pay the monthly fee or get rich in-game and buy your game time with in-game money, you don't have to spend a dime if you are able to get rich in there.
In ESO you either pay or you buy the game so you can play one month lol. WTF? WoW did it because WoW had a carrot on a stick for many years and it gathered millions by the time when the game became crap and shoot itself on the foot.
I'm gonna buy ESO because I can afford it and I love MMO's. That doesn't mean I cannot put myself in the shoes of other people in a different situation than mine and understand their point of view.
So far ESO endgame is running around Cyrodiil conquering keeps, the only carrot on a stick when you reach max level is either to:
_Become Emperor
_Go competitive with a guild and take that pvp seriously
_Be a crafter or be rich to buy the best gear from crafters
It's not much and running around in Cyrodiil just getting keeps will get old. Still it's enough if they bring more stuff within a reasonable amount of time. Proper content, proper carrots on a stick.
For a lot of you complaining about paying a monthly sub I don't understand it. It'll cost you $60 for the box price and you get the first month free. According to many play testers it'll take you between 80-150 hours of game time to hit max level of 50. How many single player games give you that much? After the first month just cancel your sub and it'll cost you just the box price to play a game that gave you that much entertainment.
And even if the quote of 80 - 150 hours is remotely true, it's nothing to write home about....I got 85 hours out of DAO and I currently have over 140 hours on Dark Souls without even completing my first play through.
All I can is that the RvR endgame had better be something stupendously good, I mean industry defining else subs will quit in droves after the first 3 months. This game is aimed at PvP endgame. Competetive PvPers are notoriously fickle and will jump ship without a second thought as soon as the next shiny comes along.
So you got 85 hours out of DAO, did you complain about the box price? Like I said game testers have said it takes about 80-150 hours to hit level 50 depending on your play style. So even if you did hit max at 80 hours that would put it right there with your experience on DAO. So for 60 bucks it's on par with other single player RPGs then. Also the AvAvA is as good as advertised.
For a lot of you complaining about paying a monthly sub I don't understand it. It'll cost you $ for the box price and you get the first month free. According to many play testers it'll take you between 80-150 hours of game time to hit max level of 50. How many single player games give you that much? After the first month just cancel your sub and it'll cost you just the box price to play a game that gave you that much entertainment.
Wrong Attitude! Look at all other games, ESO is nothing special and many would say it needs a lot of help. It's no where near worth a box price and sub. The reasons why all subjective of course, but how long will you people be walked all over.
For a lot of you complaining about paying a monthly sub I don't understand it. It'll cost you $60 for the box price and you get the first month free. According to many play testers it'll take you between 80-150 hours of game time to hit max level of 50. How many single player games give you that much? After the first month just cancel your sub and it'll cost you just the box price to play a game that gave you that much entertainment.
And even if the quote of 80 - 150 hours is remotely true, it's nothing to write home about....I got 85 hours out of DAO and I currently have over 140 hours on Dark Souls without even completing my first play through.
All I can is that the RvR endgame had better be something stupendously good, I mean industry defining else subs will quit in droves after the first 3 months. This game is aimed at PvP endgame. Competetive PvPers are notoriously fickle and will jump ship without a second thought as soon as the next shiny comes along.
So you got 85 hours out of DAO, did you complain about the box price? Like I said game testers have said it takes about 80-150 hours to hit level 50 depending on your play style. So even if you did hit max at 80 hours that would put it right there with your experience on DAO. So for 60 bucks it's on par with other single player RPGs then. Also the AvAvA is as good as advertised.
Except DAO did not try to fleece me with pay gated races and did not expect me to pay a monthly sub.
For the box price in ESO you seem to be getting the same amount of hours as you get with the average single player RPG. So what is the sub for? Just the PvP endgame? Is it worth the monthly sub just for that?
Or is the sub to cover the wealth of content that will provided moving forward? Oh wait, the cash shop will handle all that sort of stuff. So perhaps the sub is to cover the annual boxed expansions if they do them? No cus they will charge you separately for those too...
I have no problem with subs and actually prefer them in principle, but only if I can see some value in them. With the premium price point, pay gated content, monthly sub and incoming cash shop ESO is just too damn expensive for the content it provides. This is why so many people see it as a cash grab I guess.
For a lot of you complaining about paying a monthly sub I don't understand it. It'll cost you $ for the box price and you get the first month free. According to many play testers it'll take you between 80-150 hours of game time to hit max level of 50. How many single player games give you that much? After the first month just cancel your sub and it'll cost you just the box price to play a game that gave you that much entertainment.
Wrong Attitude! Look at all other games, ESO is nothing special and many would say it needs a lot of help. It's no where near worth a box price and sub. The reasons why all subjective of course, but how long will you people be walked all over.
I guess I'm willing to be walked over for awhile then. I've played in the last 3 betas and after the second one I'm sold. From what I have seen and played it's worth a box price and sub from me.
For a lot of you complaining about paying a monthly sub I don't understand it. It'll cost you $60 for the box price and you get the first month free. According to many play testers it'll take you between 80-150 hours of game time to hit max level of 50. How many single player games give you that much? After the first month just cancel your sub and it'll cost you just the box price to play a game that gave you that much entertainment.
And even if the quote of 80 - 150 hours is remotely true, it's nothing to write home about....I got 85 hours out of DAO and I currently have over 140 hours on Dark Souls without even completing my first play through.
All I can is that the RvR endgame had better be something stupendously good, I mean industry defining else subs will quit in droves after the first 3 months. This game is aimed at PvP endgame. Competetive PvPers are notoriously fickle and will jump ship without a second thought as soon as the next shiny comes along.
So you got 85 hours out of DAO, did you complain about the box price? Like I said game testers have said it takes about 80-150 hours to hit level 50 depending on your play style. So even if you did hit max at 80 hours that would put it right there with your experience on DAO. So for 60 bucks it's on par with other single player RPGs then. Also the AvAvA is as good as advertised.
Except DAO did not try to fleece me with pay gated races and did not expect me to pay a monthly sub.
For the box price in ESO you seem to be getting the same amount of hours as you get with the average single player RPG. So what is the sub for? Just the PvP endgame? Is it worth the monthly sub just for that?
Or is the sub to cover the wealth of content that will provided moving forward? Oh wait, the cash shop will handle all that sort of stuff. So perhaps the sub is to cover the annual boxed expansions if they do them? No cus they will charge you separately for those too...
I have no problem with subs and actually prefer them in principle, but only if I can see some value in them. With the premium price point, pay gated content, monthly sub and incoming cash shop ESO is just too damn expensive for the content it provides. This is why so many people see it as a cash grab I guess.
My point was you could just cancel your sub after your trial month and what you got was a great gaming experience that won't cost you anything more than the box price. Thought we talked about this already. At 80-150 hours to reach max level that puts it on par with your experience of DAO play thru.
I don't need it to go to FTP to be able to play it. I'm not poor or cheap. Every FTP game that I have tried has went out the window as I cannot stand microtrans. It makes me feel like the pub is holding me in the corner demanding more and more money for access. If you like playing a game, then why would some of you be so against supporting the game? 15 bucks a month these days is really a small number. Equivalent to the price of a movie ticket or a meal in exchange for several hours of enjoyment. Sad thing is most of you prolly don't blink an eye when you have to pay 9.95 to unlock a race in a ftp.
I like the game as it stands and will pay my sub fee. If it goes ftp, I'll just remove my account and play something that doesn't have a microtrans paywall.
Present: Current offerings are low quality or soloable
Past:AoC, DCUO, FFXI,FFXIV 1.0 and ARR,WoW,Fallen Earth, Tabula Rasa, TSW, SWTOR, Rift, Aion, WAR, Darkfall, STO, CoH/CoV, GW2, Diaspora, EQ2, DDO, and a bunch of forgettable ftp games
Originally posted by Righteous_Rock Originally posted by Krampus For a lot of you complaining about paying a monthly sub I don't understand it. It'll cost you $ for the box price and you get the first month free. According to many play testers it'll take you between 80-150 hours of game time to hit max level of 50. How many single player games give you that much? After the first month just cancel your sub and it'll cost you just the box price to play a game that gave you that much entertainment.
Wrong Attitude! Look at all other games, ESO is nothing special and many would say it needs a lot of help. It's no where near worth a box price and sub. The reasons why all subjective of course, but how long will you people be walked all over.
I guess I'm willing to be walked over for awhile then. I've played in the last 3 betas and after the second one I'm sold. From what I have seen and played it's worth a box price and sub from me.
Lol well let me know when you're ready to buy a car, I got a great deal for you.
Comments
This kinds of topic will ruin the game it plants a seed of insecureness witch slowly grows. If fan base were more supportive their Marketing TEAM tards will not intervent in game process because they are afraid game will fail and they need to milk as much as possible.
Also why going F2P? I prefer quality over quantity Ill better a mmo with 1 milion active subscribers than a terrible F2P with 10 milion players .
ESO will be Quality over Quantity and I hope developers will understand this and keep the good work !
Also about Pre order if you were Team leader of Marketing team how would you act when on each gameing community website game bash the shit out of game. If there is some one falt it falt of whiny cry babies. If I was in charge for this I would do the same thing !! right now we see that Zenimax is actively listening to player base if they will continue this way they will be fine !
lol...2003 dude, c'mon at least keep it real
I'm saving this post. I'll see you back here in October to discuss how your prediction went. Remember, you said F2P in under 6 months. No wiggling out of this one.
Guys relax, all MMOs will go F2P. The only question is "When?". Even Blizzard's WoW will go F2P (as stated by their management), but they're not quite there yet.
In TESO's case it matters how many people they will fool with the hype train. Some people love subscribing for 6+ months to a game without playing it for a second. I suppose there are those about TESO too. They will also have another sales boost once the game hits the console market. It will take some time to get there because with all the phasing and the "megaserver" joke, their maintenance costs is low.
To anyone out there that think a server management is expensive, keep in mind that for 100 euro per month you get a dual cpu (xeon CPUs) 32Gb of ECC RAM and SSDs (nowadays). This also includes Unlimited Bandwidth* . So you do the maths. 10 subscribers cover the cost of operation for their own server, given the megaserver is a lie. With their size I suppose 1000 subs will cover all operations costs, everything else would be profit. And lets face it, 1000 subs is nothing... so.. tldr, it will take sometime for TESO to give up to the B2P model (like TSW did before them), but it will happen eventually. After all it took 2 years for TSW i think
"Wishful thinking" is exactly what it is with many of those posts. They do want to play it... They just want it for free. It's the rallying call of the self-entitled "Me, because I..." BitTorrent Generation: "I'm entitled to have what I want, and I shouldn't have to pay for it!"
It played out exactly that way toward the end of FFXIV 1.0's run. Yoshi-P/SE had announced months ahead of time that the game would not have a sub fee while they figured out what to do with the game going forward. But, that once they worked out a roadmap they could share with the players, they would reinstate subscriptions. No one really raised an eyebrow at the announcement, because at that time, there weren't very many people playing, because the game was still pretty much in its post-launch state (ie. a mess).
There are people who played it non-stop through that entire phase, getting their classes to 50, finishing content, etc.
So, months later, they keep their word (as they had all along) and announced the date they would reinstate subscriptions. Well, the outrage, indignation and threats of "canceling" immediately erupted across the official forums (and elsewhere). People insisted if subs were reinstated, they would be canceling and walking away. Predictions were made of how a sub fee would be the final nail in the coffin and would destroy the game for good. It was predicted that they'd get so few subs, that ARR would never happen. That the game was not fun and in no way worth a subscription fee. And on and on... I kept track of some of those people doing the most complaining. About a dozen seemed to be constantly going on about it, with many others chiming in, or "+1"-ing others' remarks.
Interestingly, I found that those shouting the loudest and putting up the most fuss were also the ones with the most accomplished in the game. They'd been playing straight through the free period, completing the content, leveling their jobs... Clearly playing and enjoying the game. That pattern was not at all coincidence, it would turn out.
So then the moment of truth comes.. The proverbial "shit or get off the pot" moment. Subs are reinstated.
Guess who was still around the official forums afterward? Almost every single one of those people who insisted their accounts would be canceled if SE "dared" reinstate subs. Considering you can only post on the official forums if you have an active account with an established character, they would have to have paid to do so.
Not only that, but the game's population picked up significantly after the subs were reinstated. During the free period, you could barely see anyone in Ul'dah - the unofficial hub of the game. Grid and Limsa were utterly barren. World areas were nearly void of players. After subs were reinstated, the game picked up.. All cities became active and you actually saw numerous other players out and about, in even the most remote areas.
So what does that show? That for all their bluffing and complaining, people ultimately will pay for something if they enjoy it enough... they would just rather get it for free, and will do their best to say their worst to get their way.
I don't doubt for a second that many - perhaps even most - of those types of posts in these forums are fueled by similar motivation.
I strongly believe it will become a F2p game. The competition is to thick. To be a pay to play box price with sub, the game has to A.) Launched at the right time and generated a massive following ie WoW, or B.) Be so amazingly better than everything else on the market that people will pay the box price and stick around for the sub.
No game can fill selection A, that time has passed. Selection B can be filled, but in this case ESO does not cut it.
In the short term and best practice for generating income.
ESO will .....
Launch as a box price with sub. Your only going to get X amount of people to buy the game anyhow. Y amount of people will stick around.
Step 1. This will probably fizzle out in less than 4 months
Money 1st month = ( box price * X ) + ($15/month * Y ) - cost of production - cost of service
Money 2nd month = ($15/month * Y ) + Cash shop - continued cost of production - cost of service
- as Y drops out and cost of production and service stay the same, money also drops out.
Step 2.
How do we generate more money? This could happen as soon as Camelot Unchained, World of Darkness, or whatever game steals this games populous.
Switch to F2p and gather the inrush of new comers Z from the cash shop and halt production
Now
Money = Cash shop from Z (killer whales) - cost of service
Step 3. This will probably occur 2 years from Launch of ESO
When cash shop drops out, leave game on life support and move on, until life support becomes to expensive.
It should be B2P period. Nothing I have seen makes this game unique from any others, no matter what the Fan Boi's say. It is a dumbed down MMO and we shall see how the PC gamers deal with the console types when it comes out.
The freeloader/entitled comments are so funny. So because i don't feel the game is worth between 75 to 90 euros (2-4 monhts gameplay), i'm a freeloader who wants everything for nothing. Of course, just like how i don't pay money for any game, ever, being it single player, multiplayers, other B2P mmos like GW2 and TSW, etc. I want it all FOR FREE.
I'm perfectly ok with sub fees, but to me, it's only worth it if it's a game i'm going to play for a very long time. Not to meantion that if i just want to log back in to check a few things out for less than 2 days (not talking about new content or zones even), i have to pay for the whole month.
As for the OP, i expect B2P (because of the console version) instead of F2P. Somewhere between 6-12 months.
They obviously have a contingency plan in place for a B2P/F2P transition. If you look at the digital rewards in the Imperial Edition; imperial race, mount, rings of mara, and mudcrab pet, any one of those items could easily be sold for a nominal price in a cash shop although they will most likely sell it as a package in the cash shop. I honestly would see them go B2P over F2P and sooner rather than later. I feel a large contributor to that is going to be the console markets, as console gamers historically haven't responded very well to additional fees on top of the game and xbox live, etc. Anyone making mmos for consoles should know that they can make more money selling DLC instead of sub fees.
There's no way to tell. That's up to Zenimax...I hope it never does. I liked Rift, played it until it went F2P. Then I dropped it like a bad habit. I will never play a F2P, nickel and dime MMO. If it comes to a point where there are no F2P MMOs, then I guess my long relationship with MMOs is over.
To all the entitlement babies, I'm glad it's P2P. It keeps people like you out of the game. If you can't afford $0.50 a day, you shouldn't be playing games, you should go get another job.
For a lot of you complaining about paying a monthly sub I don't understand it. It'll cost you $60 for the box price and you get the first month free. According to many play testers it'll take you between 80-150 hours of game time to hit max level of 50. How many single player games give you that much? After the first month just cancel your sub and it'll cost you just the box price to play a game that gave you that much entertainment.
You do realize that the consolers will be on their own separate server..........dontcha? I mean, if you have enough knowledge to predict B2P you would know this little fact right?
This all depends on many factors. Including if their current business model and plan is deemed a success. If it isn't then it may turn F2P faster.
The true test for ESO will be when the colossus devs launch:
E.g:
WoD
EQN
Star Citizen
Camelot Unchained
Oh please.
The SWTOR marketing machine told us that game had 200 hours or unique levelling to hit max level.
Players hit max level in about 2 days after it launched.
And even if the quote of 80 - 150 hours is remotely true, it's nothing to write home about....I got 85 hours out of DAO and I currently have over 140 hours on Dark Souls without even completing my first playthrough.
All I can is that the RvR endgame had better be something stupendously good, I mean industry defining else subs will quit in droves after the first 3 months. This game is aimed at PvP endgame. Competetive PvPers are notoriously fickle and will jump ship without a second thought as soon as the next shiny comes along.
If PvP is the endgame and the PvE is as lacklustre as has been reported I genuinely fear for this games longevity. I think it will settle at around 200k subs at the end of the first 6 months and be F2P by the end of year one....if not before.
I love how snobbish people say " if you can't afford a sub fee for a MMO you shouldn t be playing games, you should get a job!" . Doh.
Let's add those 15$ to the bills you already have to pay alongside medical ensurances, car ensurances, rent, food, maybe cigarettes due to bad habits, alongside many other expenses you have monthly. Yes 15$ to play a game you already bought becomes a bit of a weight. Specially if you like 2 MMO's at one given time. That's 30$ a month just to be ABLE to login and play a game you already bought.
I don't know which company had the idea of pricing the sub fees 15$ a month but it caused continuity of that price over many other MMO's. Games are different, companies are different, why should prices be all the same? Greeeeeeeeeeed.
A 7$ monthly fee is enough for them to be filthy rich. If they are smart they'll add a cashop for vanity stuff like pets or XP buffs. You'd be amazed how many people love to spend their money on crap like that. Or do like WoW, set a price to boost your character to max level. Just avoid p2w stuff, it's just not fair to buy in-game gold with real money as its not fair to buy items that give you advantage over other players.
At least Wildstar gives you a choice, pay the monthly fee or get rich in-game and buy your game time with in-game money, you don't have to spend a dime if you are able to get rich in there.
In ESO you either pay or you buy the game so you can play one month lol. WTF? WoW did it because WoW had a carrot on a stick for many years and it gathered millions by the time when the game became crap and shoot itself on the foot.
I'm gonna buy ESO because I can afford it and I love MMO's. That doesn't mean I cannot put myself in the shoes of other people in a different situation than mine and understand their point of view.
So far ESO endgame is running around Cyrodiil conquering keeps, the only carrot on a stick when you reach max level is either to:
_Become Emperor
_Go competitive with a guild and take that pvp seriously
_Be a crafter or be rich to buy the best gear from crafters
It's not much and running around in Cyrodiil just getting keeps will get old. Still it's enough if they bring more stuff within a reasonable amount of time. Proper content, proper carrots on a stick.
So you got 85 hours out of DAO, did you complain about the box price? Like I said game testers have said it takes about 80-150 hours to hit level 50 depending on your play style. So even if you did hit max at 80 hours that would put it right there with your experience on DAO. So for 60 bucks it's on par with other single player RPGs then. Also the AvAvA is as good as advertised.
Wrong Attitude! Look at all other games, ESO is nothing special and many would say it needs a lot of help. It's no where near worth a box price and sub. The reasons why all subjective of course, but how long will you people be walked all over.Except DAO did not try to fleece me with pay gated races and did not expect me to pay a monthly sub.
For the box price in ESO you seem to be getting the same amount of hours as you get with the average single player RPG. So what is the sub for? Just the PvP endgame? Is it worth the monthly sub just for that?
Or is the sub to cover the wealth of content that will provided moving forward? Oh wait, the cash shop will handle all that sort of stuff. So perhaps the sub is to cover the annual boxed expansions if they do them? No cus they will charge you separately for those too...
I have no problem with subs and actually prefer them in principle, but only if I can see some value in them. With the premium price point, pay gated content, monthly sub and incoming cash shop ESO is just too damn expensive for the content it provides. This is why so many people see it as a cash grab I guess.
I guess I'm willing to be walked over for awhile then. I've played in the last 3 betas and after the second one I'm sold. From what I have seen and played it's worth a box price and sub from me.
My point was you could just cancel your sub after your trial month and what you got was a great gaming experience that won't cost you anything more than the box price. Thought we talked about this already. At 80-150 hours to reach max level that puts it on par with your experience of DAO play thru.
I don't need it to go to FTP to be able to play it. I'm not poor or cheap. Every FTP game that I have tried has went out the window as I cannot stand microtrans. It makes me feel like the pub is holding me in the corner demanding more and more money for access. If you like playing a game, then why would some of you be so against supporting the game? 15 bucks a month these days is really a small number. Equivalent to the price of a movie ticket or a meal in exchange for several hours of enjoyment. Sad thing is most of you prolly don't blink an eye when you have to pay 9.95 to unlock a race in a ftp.
I like the game as it stands and will pay my sub fee. If it goes ftp, I'll just remove my account and play something that doesn't have a microtrans paywall.
Current PC Build
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/p8RBD3
Present: Current offerings are low quality or soloable
Past:AoC, DCUO, FFXI,FFXIV 1.0 and ARR,WoW,Fallen Earth, Tabula Rasa, TSW, SWTOR, Rift, Aion, WAR, Darkfall, STO, CoH/CoV, GW2, Diaspora, EQ2, DDO, and a bunch of forgettable ftp games
Wrong Attitude! Look at all other games, ESO is nothing special and many would say it needs a lot of help. It's no where near worth a box price and sub. The reasons why all subjective of course, but how long will you people be walked all over.I guess I'm willing to be walked over for awhile then. I've played in the last 3 betas and after the second one I'm sold. From what I have seen and played it's worth a box price and sub from me.
Lol well let me know when you're ready to buy a car, I got a great deal for you.