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ESO Console version delayed 6 months. (Both official and non official see inside for details)
zukster2k5
Member UncommonPosts: 18
Reddit found out that the ESO FAQ on there main webpage had been updated to say the console version is delayed 6 months. After about 10 minutes of it being live on there site they reverted the FAQ and are now banning / closeing any threads on there forums about it. Here are the links.
Screen grab of the updated FAQ.
http://i.imgur.com/2SyDxWa.png
FAQ how it stands now.
https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/storefaq
And the reddit thread.
For those who don't want to click the links the quote that was removed was:
When does The Elder Scrolls Online officially launch? The Elder Scrolls Online officially launched on April 4, 2014 on PC and Mac. While it has become clear that our planned June release of the console versions isn't going to be possible, we have made great progress, we have concluded that we'll need about six more months to ensure we deliver the experience our fans expect and deserve. For additional information on the delay, please see this blog post (link).
Comments
While I think what you are saying is quite possible it does seem very fortuitous that guy takes a picture of every screen he visits on the web. As he said it was only up for 10 minutes, so presumably every time TESO does an update he immediately goes to the site and takes a screenshot?
Hopefully you can see why I am somewhat sceptical. If the console version is delayed they will get a better game, it may cause frustration but if the gaming product is better I do not see an issue.
This is a very good sign for the future of ESO.
It means that ZENIMAX/ZOS are not desperate to make money off of this IP, but are actually concerned about the long-term future of the game.
They could have gone for the straight cash grab of initial console sales, but instead they're holding off to make sure that the play experience will be the best possible. The last thing they'd want would be to give the console players a buggy initial play experience, given that they need to also convince that market to pay the sub fee.
A part of this delay is undoubtedly due to the fact that stabilising the PC/Mac version has taken more time and resources than they had planned. I doubt that they would want to repeat the same mistake twice. It seems they're learning some valuable lessons...
I'M SHOCKED! said no one ever.
Good to see they are going to take the extra time to polish the game for consoles, huh? Shame they didn't do the same for the PC port.
Whoops, I mean PC version.
Ok, they're busy fixing all the bugs, improving stuff and so there are delays. I get that. I hope anyone with an ounce of common sense can understand that too.
But why do they remove this information all of a sudden and why do they close forum posts about that? This is beyond me. What are they trying to hide and from who?
Is it because they don't want to commit too much on something they might not deliver on time? (date was only internal estimate not for public eye maybe)
Or is it because they are unsure they can actually release the title on PS4 and so might give up on it altogether?
This raises more questions for me than it answers. The way they act => No comprendo.
I understand that. There has been a couple postings on bigger sites.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134319-Report-Elder-Scrolls-Online-Console-Version-Delayed-Six-Months?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=news
And
http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/8/5694110/elder-scrolls-online-delay-consoles-xbox-one-ps4
So I think it might be real.
It should not come as a suprise. Nor is it a bad thing!
Seeing all the current problems the game has, it would be very unwise to unleash the console population on it and have them all quit again within a month.
Better to wait 6 months and let the PC population die out a bit, try to get rid of the RMT spam and botting and then release the console Version.
Unless the console players are getting their own Mega Servers?
Yeah yeah... surely it's the competitor who did that. Right. Let's all believe that.
Mind you, it would be the best defence to claim they've been hacked. They can even blame Anonymous, the perfect scapegoat (not that I think they are "unhack-able", but would anyone care about doing that really???)
Maybe move to B2P will be announced along it?
I am not suggesting a competitor, I am accepting it could be true. But I am putting a question mark over it, who on earth takes a picture of a site every time it updates?
The other thing that got me thinking is this: are Zenimax going to now pretend for 6 months that TESO was never going to come out when they originally said? If they have made the decision to delay what possible benefit to them would withdrawing the statement be?
Well, time will tell.
Why is this a bad thing?
It means they decided to spend more time trying to "fix" the problems players have with the game instead of working on the console conversions.
I'm not seeing the negative here.
That would actually be the most logical business decision from Zenimax.
However, it would most likely imply switch to new business model across all platforms.
I suppose that in this case, a few people got upset about the fact that the release got delayed by 6 months on console and decided to screenshot it to repost it/email it to friends? It would make sense to me. I could see myself doing it (if I cared about the console release).
About your second question, this is exactly what I am wondering. What are they trying to hide and from who? This information will have to go out at some point.
I suspect they are "rewriting" the statement in a more politically correct form. That would be my guess, and we will have an official announcement soon (one way or another).
Huh, when something is ported over, it released in another system first. The pc version is the first version, so it's a pc port to console.
Apparently, they edited it out. The storefaq no longer shows the console released at all. Wonder if it was a bug on Zenimax.
Why (if true):
PC MASTER RACE
Glad I opted for a PC instead of a PS4.
It is one thing to release a buggy game on a PC where it can be readily patched over time. A company can realize significant revenue during that timeframe between release and "fixed product", hopefully not losing too many of its customers in the process. That's a trade-off the management and marketing team consider up front.
It's something entirely different with consoles. Console games aren't so readily patched and console players aren't likely to continue to pay a subscription for a buggy product.
There is also the problem that there are numerous design issues and evidence that much of the game was poorly thought out and inadequately tested. I'm only halfway guessing that there are a lot of game mechanics that are going to be changed in the next six months. Making players download huge patches on a PC is a lot different than trying to do major fixes on a console game.
agree but as you mentioned -- different console and different game company
EQ2 fan sites
For the people that have said this could be a move to just B2P without the sub, remember Zenimax has stated numerous times during development that there is categorically no way the games works without a sub so I think they will hold out on a sub for a while just to not be slapped in the face by all the reasons they gave why this game needs a sub.
If this whole thing isn't actually a hoax, the reason why ZOS are allegedly "trying to hide" the delay info would most likely be because it was posted too early on the FAQ, when they were in fact intending to do a proper Press Release later. These kind of screw-ups are not unheard of, specially if your website is maintained by an outsourced 3rd-party.
Some people appear to be quite frustrated by the lack of news updates regarding the console release. It's a huge co-incidence that this "leak" (which apparently only existed very briefly) was so conveniently screen-shotted by an enthusiastic console fan...
The potential financial impacts are huge. Things like manufacturing, logistics, infra-structure and marketing.
So huge that before a product - not just software - is given the green light to "release to market" there will have been a formal readiness review. (I'm assuming that Zenimax adopt industry best practices.)
For a June release ... a few years ago this would already have happened. Even today things take time. If you want copies in shops on release day then they need to be manufactured, sent to warehouses across the world (usually moved in containers by ship), cleared through customs and distributed to the retailers. Who need to know in advance so that they can plan their displays. And to support that servers need to be set up. Whilst things keep getting faster ... and some of this stuff will already have happened (being able to release patches has made the process so much easier) there is still a lot of stuff that needs to happen.
Polish and bugs are not a reason for this company to hold back on a release date; that much is obvious. The marketing guys need something more than "the game's not ready."
Not that metacritic is the end all be all, but this current version of The Elder Scrolls is holding around 20 pts lower than the previous 3 initial game releases of The Elder Scrolls. Maybe someone's bonus is tied to critical reviews instead of sales? I don't believe polish and bug swatting will improve it that much.
If polish and bugs aren't the reason, what is?
1. The PC game had an "M" rating. Depending on how close, they may revise the content for a lower rating.
2. The transition away from a subscription to a paid DLC model may coincide with the console release
3. Some tomfoolery with Microsoft for the Xbox release
4. As mentioned in a previous response, the ROI for console may not be what they hoped, and they are giving breathing space before they cut their losses.
This is the first thing that popped into my head.
With all the negative reviews, releasing the PC and console versions two months apart was already going to hurt their sales. In the mmo world, a game that doesn't do well at launch is already off most people's radars 6 months later. Some exceptions are games that go F2P and have that influx of players for a few weeks. But they will never really have that second chance they are hoping for. For consoles that require PSN/XBL payments on top of the subscription AND that use their own separate servers it wouldn't surprise me if they just said "screw it".
As I said in another thread I love how they are blaming the network structures of Sony and Microsoft for the delay when we all know that it is because the glaring issues of the game have been brought to light by the PC version and that the game needs more time in the cooker
No signature, I don't have a pen
You mean this?
"Integrating our systems with each console manufacturer’s networks—which are both different from the PC/Mac system as well as different from each other—has been a challenging process."