Is Elder Scrolls Online making the right choice with a Pay2Play Subscription Method?

ESOHut Writes: "Probably one of the most talked about subjects regarding the Elder Scrolls Online on the web right now is all about the paid subscription method which Bethesda has decided to implement for this creation. Obviously, us fans want to play the game for as little as possible, we all have other bills to pay or other stuff we could do with the money instead, but then again you can’t really say that $15 per month is a lot to loose each month when you realize that you can be playing the newest and biggest MMORPG game to date for as many hours per day as you can cram in around your current lifestyle."

[Excalibur]

NOPE!

[cleft5]

Of course not, the writing is on the wall yet they refuse to listen to reason. They are so caught up on how much money they believe they are going to make that they forgot you need to sell a product first.

[Vegamyster]

Played the Beta for 2 hours then got rid of it, so overwhelmingly boring.

[joab777]

I am probably wrong but is f2p really alot better than paying $15/month? In some instances...maybe. But so often their is also a sub model and microtransactions galore. U end up either missing content or having to pay much more than $15/month to play. I havnt played GW2 but very few games are $60 and thats it. I imagine it has some microtransactions, right?

I honestly would prefer to sub if its worth it. It supports the game and future content and doesn't create a schism so many f2p games do.

[Ripsta7th]

Well this game you haveto pay 60 and another 15 monthly

[SITH]

NOPE x 2!

[NovasRevenge]

agreed

[Garethvk]

I think people will play at first but I am curious to see how many will leave after the first 60 or 90 days. Launches of games of this type are often buggy so many may take a wait and see especially since so many go free to play after the first year or so.

[joab777]

Endgame content. It must b done rightand offer alot to do. I read somewhere that they have been working on fiture content for awhile now to get a jump on it.

[generic-user-name]

No, this may work fine for PC but I don't see this working out on consoles. Maybe it's just me though, I love TES series but the second I heard it was subscription I tuned out.

[Mr_Luke]

Not at all. With all the great MMORPG out there, free to play (Neverwinter Online, Runescape, Aion, Rift, Dungeons and dragons Online and so on), why i have to pay for playing this one? Because it's one of "The Elder Scrolls"? Sorry, not enough. $15? They're joking, THAT's a lot. Even the huge WoW costs less.

[theWB27]

There is no right choice...there's a pretty vocal crowd out there who think games should be priced to make as little money as possible.

No Microtransactions(Even F2P games)
No DLC(Or should be offered for free)
No subscriptions
30-40$ downloadable only title cause it doesn't have SP

I'm glad the devs/Pubs stick to what they do cause if it were upto to alot of gamers this industry would collapse once they learn games aren't made with pixie dust and kisses.

[CerebralAssassin]

I have no problem paying for more content and microtransactions are an optional thing. The problem I have with a pay to play mmo is that I already paid to play it. Now I have to keep paying to play a game I already purchased. Om top of that if I want to play on console I have to pay to play and I have to pay for xbl or psn. Really? So unless theres no sub fee on consoles I will not b playing this. As much as that pains me to say. Was very excited for this.

[theWB27]

MMO's have more upkeep with the servers and paying the dev team to constantly update the game with new content. That's just how MMO's work and I don't see any other way they could be done without that constant flow of money.

The part about the console isn't Bethesda's fault. That's Sony and Microsoft. Bethesda was pushing Microsoft to waive the fee (before they knew Sony too would charge) http://www.destructoid.com/... So we'll see if either of them wave the fee for this game.

@Shadow
; )

@sweendog
I know abour F2P not needing ps+, but do you have a link about subscription based games not needing it either?

[sweendog]

You dont need PS+ to play any subscription based online games or free to play games. But I do agree with you If i buy the disc I expect to be able to play it without additional charge

[sweendog]

@theWB27

I cant find a link have looked but it was along the lines of if the game is online only and you have paid full retail for it you have already paid to play it online, ill keep looking was ages ago. But on the link below that says F2P games wont require it there is also a bit added by Yosh that it will be up to publishers, so if Bethesda dont want it on PS+ like you said, it will be up to them. http://www.psu.com/a019831/...

[KrisButtar]

@WB

"I know abour F2P not needing ps+, but do you have a link about subscription based games not needing it either?"

Final Fantasy 14 on PS4 does not require plus and it is subscription based

link:
http://www.playstationlifes...

[Shad0wRunner]

Well said, WB! Bubble for you. ^_^

Today's gamers are spoiled little brats who want everything for free, or for less....on a golden platter.

I think P2P for ESO is a smart move. People can throw all the F2P MMO examples out there they want...but it's been proven that a solid P2P model works best, for these types of games. When you pay the devs a sub, they take that money and put it right back into the game; maintenance, updates, patches, expansions, etc... You get what you pay for! Even Square-Enix stated that theres NO WAY they could maintain FFXIV ARR with a F2P model. They have to pay the staff, on top of development costs. You think these people just work for free? LMAO.

Im already paying a sub for FFXIV and when ESO comes out...I'll most likely pay a sub for that too.

[sweendog]

What your saying is fine. But people arn't expecting to play this for free. If its P2P then the game should be free to download but its not. There are three busines models, first one is simple you buy a game and play it, second you download for free and pay a monthly sub. Or third you have it all free and add microtransaction. This game has got all three models rolled into one and you cant understand how people are pissed?

[ShiftShock]

The monthly subscription fee totally puts me off. I understand why though, since it is being constantly updated with new content and patches. But $15 a month is ridiculously steep. $5 a month and maybe I will reconsider buying it.

[KonsoruMasuta]

It matters. It's not the P2P model that's going to kills them, it the initial 60 bucks on top of the subscription. Come on! At least give me a break on the initial price if you're going to charge me monthly.

This is why nobody complains about Final Fantasy.

[CertifiedGamer]

You know Final Fantasy MMORPGs charges you to buy the game then pay subscription right?

[KonsoruMasuta]

Yes, but it's not 60 bucks. That was my point.

[Shad0wRunner]

Um...it is for the collector's edition. Which I bought.

[KonsoruMasuta]

Shadowrunner, obviously the collectors edition is going to cost more. Collectors Editions of any game always cost more than normal price. It's because they give you more than just the game.

[Shad0wRunner]

Yeah, I didnt buy the CE on disk. I didnt get a glorified package, with booklets, maps, action figures, etc...

I bought the DIGITAL CE of FFXIV, which only gave me a few extra in-game items.

Moot point. I digress. WB said it best, to begin with. I agree with him. It's my opinion, than P2P is just a better model, than F2P. The cost of the game itself, is just a one time fee. You might have to pay for PLUS on PS4, to play ESO...but you get all the extra benefits of PLUS, with that. You gain more than you lose, there.

The real question is: Is ESO the game...worth the sub and the cost of PLUS. If it is a good game, very well made and designed, with wonderful graphics and gameplay...then yeah, I'd say it's worth some cash. FFXIV was very well done, it was also worth the sub.

So, to me...it all depends on the game. I wont pay a sub for rubbish. ^_-

[CertifiedGamer]

My friend managed to get to the endgame in 2 months of Realm reborn. Is it really that short?

[Shad0wRunner]

Yes, well...it just depends on how you play. If all you do, is sit there and grind on it, everyday...then yeah, you can reach endgame in 2 months. Probably less.

Dont let that sway your judgement tho. An expansion is coming, very soon. Not to mention, theres always PLENTY to do after you reach endgame. You can always wander the land as a nomad...just exploring the different regions and areas. Purchase a house to live in. Join guilds, meet up and hang with friends.

Reaching endgame, doesnt necessarily mean you toss it in a corner and forget about it. Youre paying the sub. You might as well, get your money's worth out of the game by doing everything you can and soaking up everything the game has to offer.

Thats just my take on it, anyway...

[KrisButtar]

Shorter and not worth the sub. I would still be subscribed if it was less, even with its problems

Edit:

It doesn't pump put new content fast enough to be worth the monthly fee.

[thekhurg]

Nothing wrong with the cost. You're playing for the initial work put in the game on the front end of the purchase. Gamers have become so self entitled over the years...

[Kevlar009]

At $15 a month (after the what, $60 entry fee) you better get new content every month (and not just a weapon or piece of armor). People will only continue to buy-in month after month if it gets constantly updated with more content (that doesn't power creep).

When you charge more than other MMO's you have to offset it with more incentives, or else it won't last long

[--bienio--]

Nope!! And its not only one reason to not buy this game...

[Hartsy]

As they say vote with you wallet, there's no way I'm paying

[BABY-JEDI]

I with the NOPE's on this one!
: P

[The Meerkat]

I'll pass on this. Too many other games coming out that will give me my fantasy fix.

[Roccetarius]

Obviously they're going to cash in at launch, then later on turn it over to ''F2P''. This is pretty much standard in the MMO market, except for a select few.

[_LarZen_]

Then let's hope this is one of the selected few.

[_LarZen_]

The game have been rated Mature, you will need to register a Visa card and we will finally have one more P2P mmorpg not infested with children.

It's a good thing the game got rated M and it's a damn good thing it's a P2P game. Not only because we don't have little children running around but because the content and the production of MORE content will be at a much higher level.

And we don't get spammed with buy this and buy that all the damn time!

Death to F2P! F2P is destroying more then it's doing good. It's like mobile games, something you do when waiting to do something better.

[KrisButtar]

Even with the M rating there are still going to be kids running around. GTAV online, COD are full of kids with there M rating and the list goes on. A M rating hardly stops the determined.

The M rating will stop only very few kids and the kids who got there parents to buy the game obviously gave consent so why would they not give the CC info after they gave consent?

You speak of content coming out at a higher level. How do you know this?

The last P2P I played was crap and I got through it in about a month or less. Content didn't come out or even fast enough and now that I see some of the content I am glad I didn't waste anymore money waiting. Yet I'm having more fun with some F2P MMORPGs than I even did with FF14 ARR.

"And we don't get spammed with buy this and buy that all the damn time!" That is not exclusive to F2P games, still happening in FF14 ARR, people are always blocking and blocking the RMT that spam the worlds. When I was playing the spamming happened so often it froze my system.

[_LarZen_]

Yes there are to many parents that don't do the job they committed to when they decided to become a parent. That is the sad reality. But it would keep some of them away.

And for us that are 18 and above. We get content made for adults and not children. That is always a win win.

I have played ALL the major F2P games and what they all have in common is that they are in the long run...plain crap. And sure there have been way to many mmo games that have failed and have been forced to turn to F2P to earn some money.

But I have hopes that there are companies able to make good P2P mmo games out there still. ESO could be one of those games..we will all see in good time.

I am crossing my fingers ESO will be sucesfull and be a P2P game for it's lifetime. And if not I hope they will give costumers the option to be a sub based player or a F2P player with all that that implies.

[urwifeminder]

Guild wars 2 model or go home.

[Rebo00]

Didn't I read DC Universe Online and Planetside 2 don't need PSPlus because they're F2P games?
Presumably the same would apply to ESO too?
I know the Xbox One doesn't allow anything without their Gold membership, not even Netflix so can't see them letting ESO through.

[KrisButtar]

I have no problem with a monthly fee but more with the amount it is. I can afford it but for something that is $15 a month. I better be getting content the size of DragonBorn or DawnGuard every month or less.

If it was $10 or less monthly, I would just sign up for a year and not worry about it but for $15 it just seems steep for a game that I won't play all the time because I'm interested in other things and other games. Let alone I doubt they can release the amount of content monthly that I believe is worth my $15 a month.

Edit: FF14 couldn't do it either, so its not like they are the 1st.

I'll grab this game when its on sale and get my free months worth and drop it before the sub starts.

[JasonKCK]

I'll never buy this

[Nephesh]

NOT paying to play EVER! Already pay for PS+, that should be plenty.

[Bearsfanfourlife]

Yeah there's to many games to play for free. Not a fan of elder scrolls I don't care that I can pick up everything pointless in the world so it's a no for me. Witcher3 anyone