Big difference between making a decision that improves your game, and making a decision that earns a profit. When profit comes before quality....well just look at all the other AAA MMOs that have come out recently

Just another sign that this thing was clearly conceived in that 2007 mindset of "Hey guys, let's ruin some IP and make an MMO out of it!" and hasn't adapted to the times.

If a company knows it has X amount of revenue coming in per month from a P2P model then they can concentrate on content that is available and entertaining for everyone involved with the game.

Companies that run a F2P game spend far more time developing content to sell simply because once you've bought that 'hat of the flying pig' you'll not need it again. F2P models are constantly chasing the cash, whereas P2P only needs to readjust content to meet player demand, not the demand of overhead.

Simply put, P2P is not a milking mechanism.

It is interesting that the same threads keep popping up with the same posters arguing the same things with nothing actually being resolved. Perhaps a time-out might be in order?

Even though it's only 22 people, I'm glad to see more people support the sub model than not

Except it isn't guaranteed. Given the usual MMO development cycle - "launch a game half finished at best and buggy as all get out" - they all drop subscribers faster than rats off a sinking ship. There's not enough polish or content in an MMO at launch to retain subscribers, especially in 2013.

or it could be that they don't want to nickel and dime players as matt explains in the interview.

One thing is for sure though - nothing is guaranteed when it comes to business. A faulty launch can sink any game, regardless of their pricing model. The only way to regain some sort of credibility is through an overhaul or an extensive marketing plan. Both of which cost more money.

End of the day, the game will either be good enough, or it will not be good enough. The pricing is really only affecting the player, as opposed to the actual 'quality' of the product. Too many variables to account for across too many genres with a multitude of pricing models to really foreshadow how a game will pan out, P2P or not.

edit: typo

Are you guys so short-sighted that you truly think a short term trend = the future of things? Perhaps I should just stop arguing with you guys because its not a fair fight then. Some games did less than stellar while attempting a boneheaded move like tangling with a super game in its prime. Nobody is shocked at what happened except the people responsible for it.

Again, lets just ignore all of the other successful P2P games though, because it doesn't suit our arguments? Less than 10 years doesn't make it "the times".

Still waiting on someone to show me a single non-GW2 B2P game coming out, or that has come out since. I can point you towards several P2P games though.

And while I'm on a rambling enter-key tirade post: How come nobody is answering the question on how if F2P/B2P are "better moneymaking models", then people are calling P2P the cash grab model? You're either refusing to admit that longterm P2P is better profit, or you're admitting that you're the types of players that don't support and pay for a game and just want to play for free. Which is it, guys? Real talk time.

please name a P2P game that has been released in the past couple of years that are still P2P. I can think of FF11, and that is about it. Because it gets more money quickly then F2P does and when they go F2P they get money from all previous subbers coming back to try the game content they need to now buy.

There simply isn't one that came out in the last 5 years that still has a subscri- Oh wait. Darkfall: Unholy Wars. K. Ur turn?

FFXI came out before WoW did. Still has a sub. Company is relaunching their second MMO next week (also a sub).

FF11's from 2002, so I'd say that's more than "last couple of years".

Not happy at all with this. Their decision was to go with the worst possible payment model they could. I was expecting to get B2P or subscription based on gaming hours or gaming days but subscription based on real worlds time no matter if you have time to play or not during it is just bad way to go. They are charging quite much for a TES which is watered down as much as it is.

Now I wonder how enjoying TESO would be without other PCs.... Because I wonder if I should buy the game and explore Tamriel on my own since I'm not willing to pay every month to be able to play it online.

FF11 is that old? really? Never even heard of Darkfall, and i played in closed beta for FF14 and i can tell it is going F2P in 6-9 months from the reactions in the forums. Not a bad game mind you, just not worth $15 every month

I may be wrong but I think I read they have a time-card system that allows you to pay for actual 'time played' as opposed to the entire month. Someone else may be able to correct me or confirm this. Also, not sure what you mean by watered down.

The game won't have a single player mode...Unless you think you can explore all of Tamriel in 30 days, you will have to pay the subscription.

P2P MMO's do not work like that. No sub means you cannot play it at all.

he probably means it is not going to be as immersive or friendly to roleplaying as a normal elder scrolls game is, Which is true. For example, you cannot sit in chairs or interact with most objects. Also, all the classes use some sort of magic.

I'm kinda trying to decide how I feel about it...so neutral?

Picked don't care.

SWTOR failed because it was flat out a bad game, not because of its payment model

Ah I see. Well regarding that, then I can understand and appreciate. But I personally would say having the ability to RP or immerse yourself in the world with players as a proxy would trump the lack of a sitting feature etc. Only my personal opinion ofc.

Ok end of derail!

Yeah, FFXI is dirt old. I remember playing it when WoW came out and people were like, "Whoooaaa, WoW has jumping?!". And that was actually a selling point to go try it out. lol

FFXIV...like all MMOs, its mettle will be tested. If it doesn't turn out to be worthy of a subscription, then it might end up going F2P. I doubt it though, ONLY because FFXI still turns profit off of like 50k subscriptions. The Japanese are actually really chill about that sort of stuff and don't mind their game being niche as long as its generating profit. Also like http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/17/final-fantasy-online-director-defends-monthly-subscriptions-in-the-golden-age-of-free-to-play-exclusive/ article from the head developer says, when they're using their own in house cash and not borrowing from an investor, P2P games are better even with less subs because they don't have to panic and make the money back immediately to pay anyone back, they can just sit back and let the game roll and let their loyal fans play happily. (something I think ZOS is doing, since I'm about 90% sure they're using their own money and not investor cash for TESO, which means even if their game doesn't hit them "WoW numbers" they can still turn profit fairly quickly and let their game be enjoyed by those who want to enjoy it, and possibly not be forced into F2P)

Please tell me someone can confirm this. This would be ideal in my opinion. It would give them the money they need to keep the game profitable (and therefore worth maintaining servers for) and fund future content without forcing me to choose between paying for a bunch of time I won't actually spend playing and missing out on the game entirely.

I haven't heard about that. By watering down I mean all the bad gameplay decisions to take this game away from roleplaying.

I thought you were still needed to purchase the game itself. Once you purchase anything you own it and should have access to all non-online content.

Well I think it's time for me to just continue the modding and wait for the next mainseries TES.

Not every game will fail, if ESO is a good game and lots of people like it a sub fee will last a long time.

Welcome to every P2P MMO ever.

You do not own the game, you are renting it.

TESO has not single player mode, what gave you that idea? It has a main quest that all individuals do, but it is still in the Online game world. That is what makes it a MMORPG.