Yes, The Elder Scrolls Online has subscription fees
Ooh, how ovel! The Elder Scrolls Online may be a late-comer in the rush of fantasy MMORPGs but it's boldly sticking to the plans other also-rans have since abandoned, of launching with $15 monthly subscription fees. So I suppose now we know that, the question becomes: how long until it too goes free-to-play?
Ooh, how novel! The Elder Scrolls Online may be a late-comer in the rush of fantasy MMORPGs but it's boldly sticking to the plans other also-rans have since abandoned, of launching with $15 monthly subscription fees. So I suppose now we know that, the question becomes: how long until it too goes free-to-play?
"Charging a flat monthly (or subscription) fee means that we will offer players the game we set out to make, and the one that fans want to play," ZeniMax Online general manager Matt Firor told Gamestar at Gamescom. "Going with any other model meant that we would have to make sacrifices and changes we weren't willing to make."
It'll be the usual story: you get 30 days' time free in the box, then pay $15 per month to keep playing. Details on typical multi-month discounts will follow.
"We feel that putting pay gates between the player and content at any point in game ruins that feeling of freedom, and just having one small monthly fee for 100% access to the game fits the IP and the game much better than a system where you have to pay for features and access as you play," Firor added.
"We don't want the player to worry about which parts of the game to pay for - with our system, they get it all."
Still, while F2P MMOs may be en vogue, subscriptions aren't dying. Let's not forget that World of Warcraft has millions of subscribers still, and NCsoft announced yesterday that WildStar will charge fees, though with the twist of letting players sell time cards to each other for in-game gold. Even if TES or WildStar do go free-to-play down the line, even a year of box sales and subscription fees recoups a big chunk of development costs.
The Elder Scrolls Online is headed to PC, Mac, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in spring 2014.
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replyAlice O'Connor posted a new article, Yes, The Elder Scrolls Online has subscription fees.
Ooh, how ovel! The Elder Scrolls Online may be a late-comer in the rush of fantasy MMORPGs but it's boldly sticking to the plans other also-rans have since abandoned, of launching with $15 monthly subscription fees. So I suppose now we know that, the question becomes: how long until it too goes free-to-play?-
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'ovely?
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The "n" is silent. Just like the "D" is OTA.
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Did you hate expansion packs, back in the day? Because those are just DLC packs in a physical form.
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Most DLC is useless stuff, but some of it is great.
My only real problem wtih DLC is by the time it comes out I don't give a shit about the game anymore.
The worse thing though, that can burn in hell, is "free" mobile games that make you play money for stupid ass shit in-game. Those are the worst games, and the worst model ever invented.
See Plants vs Zombies 2. -
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I can't see why people are giving you such a hard time about this sentiment. Monthly fees suck and DLC is rarely worth getting.
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following in the footsteps of SW:ToR I see.
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> "Going with any other model meant that we would have to make sacrifices and changes we weren't willing to make."
So, you either HAVE to pay us for a game you really don't need to play (but we feel that you must play), or you get no game. Brilliant.-
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For about 2 months after release until that first quarterly financial statement.
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Not sure how you came to that conclusion. They obviously don't want to add any F2P features to the game. Personally i am quite happy with that decision. Any sort of cash shop breaks immersion for me. I love guild wars2, but when i see ppl exchanging money for gold, or buying dyes (cuz the drop rate is horrible) it reminds me i'm just playing a video game which is the opposite of what an MMORPG is suppose to do.
Overall i don't think payment models make or break a game like this. If the game is good, it will be successful regardless of wether it has a sub or not.
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The issue with TESO is that they are taking a very non-MMO series, forcing it into the genre with bland graphics and gameplay and then charging a monthly fee. They should have converted it to F2P 18 months ago so it could be designed appropriately.
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Yeah I'm not sure how they ever interpreted "we want co-op" as "we want a MMORPG".
Elder Scrolls VI is already in the works, and by the time they realize nobody wants to play their MMO + subs it'll be too late for that game. ES VII is our co-op hope.
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Barrens chat disagrees with you.
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I agree to an extent. Every sub based mmo i have played has had great communities, except WoW. But that game is just so huge and is its own thing that i don't think it really counts in the argument. Meanwhile F2P mmo communities are painful :(
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I'd agree if you could only pay by credit card. I swear, once gametime cards became available in stores, the amount of retarded idiots multiplied tenfold. Sure, there were always parents who pay their stupid kid's account on their credit card, but it didn't seem as prevalent as it does with gametime cards.
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Why is it a black/white choice? Go the GW2 route or something else.
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I think subscription-based games can still work, but I feel like they have to have a very low or free cost to actually starting with the game. If I can play the game for three months for the cost of actually buying a standard single player game, then I don't mind doing so, and if it hooks me in that time and I keep playing, then great.
But I'd strongly recommend keeping the monthly fee under $10.-
I don't mind subscription fees, but 15$/month is way too much.
When you consider a full normal game is 60$, then you should get the equivalent of a brand new game for 5$/month after a year (5$*12month=60$/year). So at 15$, I fully expect the content of 3 Skyrim a year or I'll just pass... -
This is kinda where I'm at. I've seen me and most of my friends jump into a new mmo and run with it for a while. That great for an initial purchase and a few months while it's the new hottest. But, that new stage is a lot shorter than it was back in the WoW and especially EQ days. I think that's where the rails came off on SWTOR. You're just not going to keep paying a high-ish monthly fee for something you play ever other weekend or so.
The MBA in me would want to look at a business model where your month fee dropped over time. Initial game purchase would be like $50-60, but came with 90 days. Then you have a 6 or 12 mo period of $15/mo that you had to sign up for to keep playing. But, after that it drops to $12 for another 6 or 12 mo period and then down to $10 again and finally to $8. $7 if you'll buy a full year.-
That's an interesting idea. Unfortunately, it's complex enough to where it would be difficult to communicate the value of it to the consumer. But, that would be an interesting way to reward long-standing accounts. The one issue I see is that the loyal customers who are going to stick around that long are going to make up the bulk of your revenue by then, and having decreased their monthly fee, you're hurting yourself more than you would have otherwise. Then again, if more people stayed longer, it might work out.
I think that a $10/month model would hit a sweet spot of sorts, seeming more palatable to people than $15.
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LOL as if this thing couldn't have been more doomed
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I would rather pay a subscription for a RPG/MMO and know I am getting access to everything instead of constantly butting heads on a pay wall. That said a subscription isn't necessarily appropriate for every type of game either.
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$180 for a bland followup to Skyrim. No thanks.
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What a waste of an elder scrolls game. I just keep thinking of all the time and budget that went into this. I could have some truly gigantic skyrim expansions or another fallout 3 spin off like new Vegas to bide the time until fallout 4. Zenimax has su@@ch a bad track record for greenlighting projects.
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have you not watch or read anything from EQ Next? They only keep REPEATING the fact that is FTP in every article and video lol.
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I'm almost at the point with F2P games where I'm ready to start paying subs. I don't mind F2P, but too many of them seem to think that it's OK to completely suck the soul out of any potential fun the game may have offered.
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I pay a subscription to a free game called world of tanks. It cost about 15 bucks a month to premium and I don't mind paying it. I've paid for WOW I've paid for EQ and many old MMOs subs aren't a deal breaker.
The fact that this game looks like shit and looks like its not fun is the deal breaker for me. -
Why does it have to be $15. How about a $10 or $5? Or even charge a $5 and then have cosmetic micro transactions or something? I would think there would be more choices than just $15 sub that everyone uses as a standard.
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