No, That type of thinking is good for F2P type games, ESO is NOT F2P, but a Sub game! Therefore, paying extra for content should NOT be done.

This is the way of the MMO. There will always be lots of extras you have to pay for. As long as you enjoy the base game and can live without this stuff then it is just what you have to put up with. When it corrupts the game totally, there is always a cash shop shoved in your face and quests are designed to make you want to pay up (like LOTRO these days) then it has gone too far.

I like Forces video. It says what it needs to say in a short amount of time. It's a good video with the information I need to know, and his opinion on the subject which I personally agree with. Too much arseing around in the ShoddyCast video. He's being a bit too dramatic. And the video is way too long.

But how can it stand tall when one Alliance itself's only purpose was literally to stop specific races from getting the Ruby Throne.

The literal only reason the AD is formed right now, the absolute only reason, is because they want to stop a human from taking the throne. Full stop. There wasn't any other point, no other concession. That is the ONLY purpose. Not for political advantages, not for military advantages. Nothing else. why am I repeating it so much? Because I know people will try to wiggle out from under that.

THE ONLY REASON THE AD FORMED IS TO STOP A HUMAN FROM EVER GETTING ON THE RUBY THRONE AGAIN.

THERE IS NO OTHER REASON.

THAT IS ALL.

And then in the off chance that a human in the AD becomes emperor, Queen Ayrenn scratches her head and says to herself "Hey! Didn't I start this whole alliance thing to stop a human from ascending? Like, wasn't that literally the only point? Yeah...so why did I just help it happen?"

Meanwhile the entire NPC Altmer army is just as confused while the thousand Nords who are for some reason fighting for the AD which was designed to keep them out of power are cheering.

And then magical sparkle ponies because you know who gives a [censored] anymore.

If someone ask me how ESO cost to buy it. I will have to answer thus so:

It is a $80 game to get ALL the content + Sub fee. Be warn, Zenimax Media Inc is heading to a dark path and they starting to nick and dime their fans to death.

If its the same EB, then we know what you're talking about. Electronics Boutique which I think became EB Games in the U.S. was bought out by Gamestop back in 2004. All former EB locations were made into Gamestops.

I think they are taking it way way out of proportion, ranting without ANY actual information (ie are imperials just a skin? what are their racial passives etc).

As for the frog experiment thing from the second video... that actually is an urban myth... well kind of, what this myth fails to mention is that the scientist actually REMOVED parts of the brain of the frog for the slow boil part of the experiment... so while I get what he is trying to say using that example just is misinformation

Seems extremely short-sighted to me. An approach like this was inevitably going to cause this [censored]-storm, painfully obvious even if you've only been casually playing MMOs for the last few years, let alone employed in a marketing department for an MMO publisher where your job is to learn this stuff.

Let's be clear though, payment for new content is not unreasonable. Expansions make sense (to me, anyways). This is Day 1 DLC for not only a core game element (a playable race) but a core to the TES universe.

"This is Day 1 DLC for not only a core game element (a playable race) but a core to the TES universe."

I that is why I am so sad (and mad), because I love this game.

I haven't heard a complaint about it or read any news articles about it until I saw these videos. And frankly, one is 40 minutes long. The mainstream public, the people who buy these games from shops, aren't going to know anything about this (nor care). Collectors editions get made and have for years because that mainstream public buys them.

AD wants the throne, they would use every asset available, especially the Thalmor manipulating even Ulfric Stormcloak, a nord. If you point standed correctly they wouldn't add beast races to the alliance, slaves, mercenaries, makes no difference the race in the branch of the alliance, what matters is the head, the Queen.

The Emperor point you make is extremely valuable, and it was something that bothered me since it was revealed to us. Would you really want an Altmer called Egg or Supertiks being the Emperor? Because usually the best pvp players have stupid nicknames for some reason, so the right would be we all join the army of irrelevant races and put the queen on the throne.

Yes but my point is that post-launch there's a very real possibility you won't have to pay for the Imperial race. So rather than having it gated behind the CE edition, it's simply an added incentive for people to buy the CE, and those that don't buy it can earn the race at a later date.

We don't know anything about how they will handle it post-launch. It's only an issue if it is completely unavailable to people who don't buy the CE, forever.

I haven't bought the CE but I did purchase the pre-order standard version, with a view that the only thing that matters at all in the CE will still be available later. The same thing happened with the Spindrel mount in Rift.

"Collectors editions get made and have for years because that mainstream public buys them."

It still wrong to double dip into one's pockets.

Even if it required a lot of work that would alleviate some concerns but not remove all of them.
It would also raise issues with those who have bought the Imperial edition for the race (as the wording and the labeling of exclusive), who would, rightly argue having been misled. Despite what many argue people haven't been largely buying the Imperial version to pat Zenimax on the back, it's for it's content.

It is a race, not just a skin. It comes with an armour style, and I would be shocked if it was the only race without a racial skill line (we don't know what the racials are). Due to how this game works though the racials should be a concern for some.

Edited: Unsure about future, not worth speculating despite prior history of other CE editions vanishing from stores post launch.

ZenimaxMediaInc was never outside of the dark path in the first place.

Its a freaking company and its goal is to make money.

I feel for you but guys... you need to wake up! Its not 2004 anymore!

It was just a matter of time before the pay to play model and the pay for content model was merged.

Its happening now, and it was expected.

Does it svck? Yeah.

However raging hard on the forums and still buying the game wont help, and thats what most of you will do.

A playable race is content thus falls under the sub fee. RIFT is a F2P game while ESO is not. RIFT, I understand why and have no problem with that in any F2P game, but for ESO since it is a sub fee based game, that where the problem comes from.

No I can smell with my nose, that finally ZOS will confess to it's sins and will prove that they listen , so CE edition will be some how converted and everybody will be able to play Imperials.

No. Sorry. This is simply not true. it is a growing trend. This game was explicitly portrayed as the opposite format. That is why people are upset. The entire concept of ESO right from the beginning was to exclude the growing trend of money grubbing cash shops and content exclusive to your credit card. The games you speak of do not have a subscription.

This doesn't mean we shouldn't make a stink about it. You vote with your wallets, and it's our job to make it PAINFULLY clear to ZOS why we, or our friends, will not be playing.

It's been clear, with the embrace of f2p, that MMO publishers are happy to embrace a short-sighted approach to money-making to severely damages long-term game communities. With the current fallout over this decision, we have to prove to ZOS beyond any doubt that this is significantly impacting their day-1 buyers as well as long-term subscribers.

The Spindrel was released as CE content when Rift was P2P.

You are right, the race is content - and so my point still stands. If it was made (hopefully) available to everyone post-launch, then really, the ones losing out would be those who bought the CE with the premise that it would be entirely exclusive to them for the lifetime of the game. The content is still accessible to all either way.

It is something they need to handle extremely carefully, as obviously it's a hot potato right now.

The point still stands in gaming.

How do I know? I've seen it happen.

The longest MMO I've ever played, is Runescape.I was there from 2001 to 2010.

I was there to see this entire process happen in that game. First off, it had a nice even $5 monthly sub fee, which was fine. Because it was a sub game, I knew that I could expect alll the content in the game. However in...2007? Or so, this game had a festival. An RL festival, for which you got an in-game item. Purely aesthetic, of course, but I railed my little heart off telling people that this is the beginning of a slippery slope. Come just two years later- full blown microtransactions. A "lottery wheel" which potentially gave loot, money, exp, rare items - you name it. And the tickets were purchasable for real life cash.

The irony? The more micro-transactions they had, the higher their profits for that year were, but the less people played. starting from that one little aesthetic item.

the same for WoW. When did WoW hit its peak, and start slowly bleeding subscriptions? Right AFTER the first micro-transaction mount was introduced, and it only got worse from there and to this day the game is still bleeding, down a heft 5 to 6 million subscribers from that peak.

Games must pick a side. Either they have a sub fee or they have micro-transactions. Do not merge the two. You will see higher profits int he short term, but you don't see any when nobody is left to play.

Bad news: the store was crashing pretty much all day after the pre-order was announced. Somehow, I think people have already voted with their wallets, but not the way you were hoping.

From Matt Firor, GM of ZOS

"The Elder Scrolls games are all about allowing the player to go where they want, be who they want, and do what they want. 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."

"Plus, players will appreciate not having to worry about being 'monetized' in the middle of playing the game, which is definitely a problem that is cropping up more and more in online gaming these days," he added. "The fact that the word "monetized" exists points to the heart of the issue for us: We don't want the player to worry about which parts of the game to pay for - with our system, they get it all."

Because people totally haven't gotten much smaller things to change- like the textures of one single NPC in the game. Or the "impact" of hitting something.

Riiiight.

That works. And it works well. Because the vast majority of consumers are only slightly more intelligent than sheeps. They whine but they buy.

I cant wait for a game that looks for a small niche of players willing to pay for long, without trying to be the next "wow killer". Still nothing on the horizon besides vaporware.