ChiliManiac
Banned
I'm sure we have a few fans of Eve Online...does anybody remember when that game launched? Just sayin...250k means nothing for a games longevity.
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How long before The Elder Scroll Online goes F2P?
- Thread starter dmr87
- Start date
I'm sure we have a few fans of Eve Online...does anybody remember when that game launched? Just sayin...250k means nothing for a games longevity.
jacob armitage
Banned
Well, its certainly rather telling given the less than warm reception of an established, and honestly rather massive franchise at this point.
WonkyPanda
Member
No, they did not. It was "registered accounts" with a record of 500k concurrent.
Registered accounts =! current subs
ChiliManiac
Banned
On whos account? GAF has a thread that loves it, and review scores for an MMO's overall progress mean very little. Besides, I'm enjoying it and to me that's what matters.
Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku!
Member
Eve Online didn't cost a bajillion dollars to make
N7Commander95
Member
I'm not sure you've actually got it right. The general consensus appears to be that its a flawed but fun MMO. Great quests, fun writing, looks nice and has a Massie amount of content.
Not just the GAF thread, but a lot of different groups.
Thats true for now, but when it doesn't perform to their expectations... well, then they will change the business model and that will effect you in one way or another.
To some extent, sure...
...that's not what pays the bills, though. What pays the bills is enough people like you enjoying the game that are not only willing to pay the upfront cost of a game that's, let's be honest, received a fairly lukewarm response thus far, (not bad by any means) and continue to pay the monthly subscription after the 30 days is up.
10101
Gold Member
I'd be very surprised if they haven't at least considered it as a contingency plan and worked out how it would be implemented. They certainly aren't going to let on though even if they have, lest it hurt sales/subs.
Face it Tiger..
Banned
I give it 15 months, only because Bethesda is too proud.
I haven't seen the numbers so I can't answer that, but even if it's concurrent it's not that hot considering it's the launch period. Most MMOs have a large percentage of the playerbase online concurrently when it's still new and everyone is going hard on it.
Mr.Marston
Member
Because Skyrim wasn't full to the brim of fetch quests
RedHotChimiChanga
Banned
The game isn't really set up for a good microtransaction model. It'll take them a long while to set it up, just like SWTOR.
stable and steady growth means a lot more in the long run. That's Why eve can sustain it self. It doesnt need wow numbers.
When your game looks like this even with content patches, there's a problem:
1.1m subs days 1
500k 4 months
250k 8 months'
80k 12 months
I think this game gets more hate than it deserves. Sure, there are some frustrations but the internet wats to hate TESO so badly. It's actually pretty fun and has a devoted fan base, much like that of FF:ARR. Given that, I don't see it going f2p any time soon but we'll see how full the servers are in a couple of months.
Tertullian
Member
Maybe I missed the link, but where did this data come from? Do we know for a fact that 250,000 is roughly the current number of worldwide subscribers?
Such a tremendous hate for a game that has cause many people to swing their opinions around and actually like the game, myself included. I never particularly enjoyed myself in the beta week I was able to access, however gave it a second chance when EB accidentally offered me an extra early pass and am in love with it.
This notion that all MMOs must go free-to-play is in itself the cause of MMOs going free-to-play. Players expect games to be free now, and if they aren't on release they won't play them until they do. I'm not exactly sure why people are expecting ESO to go free-to-play so quickly, and the fact many are so bloodthirsty for it to fail is kind of sad. Can people not enjoy a game? I don't like FFXIV: ARR but I don't sit on the fence waiting for it to go F2P.
If you wander into the OT its filled with a lot of players really enjoying their time, and of course there is also critiquing and opinions on broken things like all MMOs. Honestly I could see ESO, WildStar and FFXIV: ARR doing just fine by themselves, each one able to hold their playerbase and keep the game trucking along fine. I feel like ESO has the potential to add the most content because of its rather rich atmosphere, so it definitely won't be lacking in content.
This notion that all MMOs must go free-to-play is in itself the cause of MMOs going free-to-play. Players expect games to be free now, and if they aren't on release they won't play them until they do. I'm not exactly sure why people are expecting ESO to go free-to-play so quickly, and the fact many are so bloodthirsty for it to fail is kind of sad. Can people not enjoy a game? I don't like FFXIV: ARR but I don't sit on the fence waiting for it to go F2P.
If you wander into the OT its filled with a lot of players really enjoying their time, and of course there is also critiquing and opinions on broken things like all MMOs. Honestly I could see ESO, WildStar and FFXIV: ARR doing just fine by themselves, each one able to hold their playerbase and keep the game trucking along fine. I feel like ESO has the potential to add the most content because of its rather rich atmosphere, so it definitely won't be lacking in content.
Where on earth is that number from?
Hidden One
Member
I give it a year.
Great post. It really bothers me how the internet just flocks to the popular opinion and trashes a game that 80% of them have probably never played. NeoGAF especially is known for its hate for MMO's (except FF14 I have no idea why).
Dead Prince
Banned
E3 announcement
Nydius
Member
F2P with a decent IP and done well can print money - just ask BioWare. Zenimax probably had F2P conversion talks all throughout the development process and likely have a team working on the F2P transition since before the game launched.
It's all about managing contingency plans. My guess is they will deploy F2P at the end of the first year but that will be after spending 4-6 months trying to drum up support via sales and subscriber "incentives".
figadapaura
Member
I'd give it 9-12 months and then I'll pick it up on PS4.
SpookyFries
Member
A year max. Sure some people like it, but I keep hearing how boring and uninteresting it is.
I would play it if it were free. Not going to waste all that money and a monthly sub to be bored
I would play it if it were free. Not going to waste all that money and a monthly sub to be bored
Mango Positive
Member
The major obstacle to this game's success was written in stone a long time ago and I'm actually a bit surprised they even attempted it. The VAST majority of Elder Scrolls fans really enjoy and are accustomed to the single player experience, then maybe a single replay with either a new character or mods, followed by abandonment and anticipation for the next title (Black Marsh, if my sources (that only exist in my head) are correct). The subscription MMO audience doesn't seem like a good fit to the world. Granted, this is solely my opinion based on my incredible love for the series contrasted with my absolute hatred and intolerance of all things MMO, particularly the "pay upfront AND as you go" model as opposed to the "fine product, here's my custom, I'll probably buy your DLC if you can price it reasonably and include sufficient value" model.
I'd love nothing more than to see the F2P / subscription model die. Bonus points if I can actually hear the shareholders of these companies screaming as their investments circle the drain. Hell, if I can see the decision makers on the streets going through garbage cans to feed their families, put THAT shit behind a pay wall, because I'm buying it.
I'd love nothing more than to see the F2P / subscription model die. Bonus points if I can actually hear the shareholders of these companies screaming as their investments circle the drain. Hell, if I can see the decision makers on the streets going through garbage cans to feed their families, put THAT shit behind a pay wall, because I'm buying it.
jacob armitage
Banned
I don't know mate, on the account of everyone i've spoken too not to mention my own opinion. I also didn't mention anything regarding reviews.
I understand people are enjoying it, but there is a difference between having fun with your product and viewing it critically. I've played it (beta), it has huge flaws in its design. Doesn't mean there isn't fun to have, but more than most MMOs i've played, its taken some rather huge miss steps every step of the design process (except excellent character development, but that could lead to balance issues too).
It certainly seems to be a vocal minority of people who feel its a good game. Regardless of the amount having fun with it.
Ahh i was way off, thank you for the correction.
AuthenticM
Member
I'll say before next Christmas for sure.
ChiliManiac
Banned
250000k doesn't seem like a vocal minority(unless your expectations are CoD or WoW), I think they built this game with low expectations in mind on the numbers it was going to attract in order to satisfy investors.
ESO was never touted as being a WoW killer and Zenimax Online downgraded(hype) several times just so people wouldn't have expectations. The game is A LOT better than the beta fyi. Including some changes in design.
Tinfoil hat speculation-from-my-butt: they're trying to get as much money upfront as possible, pushing people to CE version, etc. But f2p timetable is already in place because they already know their model is not sustainable given the current state of non-WoW fantasy MMORPG games.
Star Wars went from 1.7 million players to sub 1 million in 6 months. 11 months from launch to the F2P model being live on servers.
Wait, so you state that people are enjoying it and that's good for them, but then you state that its a vocal minority that are enjoying it and regardless of that its a bad game? Also I'd argue that your experiences are exactly the problem that many have had, in that beta just wasn't entirely representative of the game. Go into the OT and check out all the responses once the game came out, compared to the beta weekends and such. We are having fun with the product and critiquing it rather progressively. No one is going around saying the game is amazing and off the charts, instead noting parts that don't work and others that do.
I know its the cool thing to hate ESO right now, but its actually an alright game, definitely compared to its beta form. Is it worth a subscription? I don't doubt some will say yes and some will say no, that's the joy of opinions. I would have preferred a buy-to-play method like GW2 but it is what it is. It's just annoying to see people push over people's opinions that they are having fun in order to continue dogging down on their rather hated opinion.
jacob armitage
Banned
Look you're passionate about the game you enjoy and i respect that. But you're saying that everyone who bought the game is happy with what they received because that is the exact opposite of what I've seen, nor the general consensus on the internet. Now i'm not defending hive mind mentality but people who were able to try the game through the beta, i guarantee it put off far more people than it impressed and i see the release version as no improvement. Some people have said its actually worse with server issues.
No developer of a game of this scale is going to design it with "low expectations" in mind, that's daft. This game had a massive budget. I also don't judge anything as a "killer" of another game, that's a very out dated mentality. Games can co-exist, especially ESO which offers a fundamentally different gameplay approach than other competing MMOs.
I'm glad you feel its an improved experience over beta, any game coming into release should be, but it would have be a lot more than that to get me, and many other people who played it to have another look. If they fix the broken (EDIT: Broken is the wrong word as it works as intended, lets go with very poorly designed. I'm at work, i apologize as i rushed this without re-reading.) co-op and grouping mechanics and maybe add instanced loot i'd have another look. And the faction thing is just so fucking ridiculous, its supposed to be a big living world and you don't see players from the other faction? fucking daft man. You can separate PvE and PvP zones without just making the factions mechanic feel lifeless and trivial. And the awful phasing my gosh, i'm so glad my friends are just arrows on my screen. Not even getting started on how buggy my experience was.
I'm not saying your opinion is wrong, you're entitled to it. But you're being a bit blind when it comes to how its being received and over defending a flawed product.
Like i said, there is a difference between enjoying a game and thinking its a good, well designed game. We all have games we love despite not being the best product. I'm not trying to convince anyone otherwise. My personal opinion was based of beta gameplay, my current overall opinion is based on friends playing launch and their disappointment (many who didn't play beta) and a lot of people whos opinions i trust around here, and elsewhere.
Edit: I don't mean to derail this thread, if anyone would like to continue this, lets do it privately or quote this post in the OT and we'll continue this conversation. This thread was intended to discuss the FTP time-frame of the game.
licktheenvelope
Member
Wrong.
I bought a $100 version of Guild Wars 2 and really enjoyed the time I spent in it (just don't have time these days other than once a month to go back).
I bought Morrowind: Collectors Edition, Oblivion: Collectors Edition, 2x Skyrim: Collectors Editions and a few months ago Skyrim complete edition on PC.
As I stated prior to the TES: Online model I disapprove of hiding real content behind a $20 pay-wall + the $60 game + $15/month. Some of us want to pay up front then jump in and out every few months, then purchase actual add-on content later, either in an expansion or in a few packs of micro-transactions.
They announced the sub-fee and said it was for "future content"... but that means nothing to me. I want choice, that's why I never purchased TES: Online.
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