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Can we all just agree on that?
All gameplay aside, based off of the pre-order exclusives alone, it is a blatantly obvious attempt at an upfront cash grab situation by Zenimax. We find out at the last minute after years of development and talk of factions and how they play into the lore, that factions no longer matter if you pre-order the game. Now you can be ANY race in ANY faction and on top of it all, if you pay more for the CE, you get an entire RACE exclusive to the pre-order.
But this isn't the worst part, folks. We can assume that Zenimax made these exclusives to push people to pull the trigger before the NDA was lifted to make their initial numbers look good. The worst part is, we know that there is no way Zenimax will KEEP these "exclusive" items exclusive post-launch. It is very safe to make the assumption that the Explorer's Pack AND the Imperial race will be cash shop items after launch. This means that if you were a cautious buyer, wary to see what the game looked like upon release before making a purchase, you will in fact be forced into paying more than your box fee and monthly subscription to get on the same level as players who pre-ordered. I just can't stand the thought of this.
I know it's just a game, and it's just a trivial amount of money to a lot of the players out there, but the deceptiveness behind all of it is just staggering, and in my opinion, wrong. Zenimax should know better than this. We have all seen so many of these big IP games fail over the past years not just due to the gameplay mechanics, but due to the subscription models and how the development companies force people into spending extra money just to be on par with everyone else. I ask, what the hell is the point of this $15 subscription fee when you are going to be herded into spending more money if you don't pre-order the game? No one is really going to want to be locked into race/factions at this point knowing that other people have the ability to override that. On top of that, what the hell is the point of them making this a faction based game where certain races have decided to band together, when they are just going to break the entire potential lore of it all by selling a pre-order exclusive solely for monetary gain of the developer?
I guess my question really is, when are players going to say "enough is enough"? Will we just continue to buy into this obvious bullsh*t, jump through all of the hurdles and pay all of the "fees" these developers put in front of us just to have "full" access to their games? We've been jerked around by so many of these development companies over the past few years with products that have all ultimately "failed" -- perhaps not in terms of monetary failure to the developer, but huge letdowns and games laced with so many caveats it's hard to pinpoint why the hell we even decided to play them in the first place. Before we continue down this same road, perhaps at the very least we should ask ourselves what exactly we are buying into before we put our money on the table.
/rant
Comments
Sorry but no i dont agree with you. There are no game breaking exclusive items in the collectors edition. A horse for 2k instead of 17k? A race which can be in any alliance that shows no significant advantage over any other race?
Your entire rant makes no sense...and some of us, a large majority of people who grew up with sub based mmos find no problem with paying 15 bucks a month. I rather pay and know what i am getting up front then to be milked with cash shops in f2p models.
I see nothing worng with what they offer, and is in fact, alot less than what most games include (game wise) then most other exclusive offers from other mmos.
the game is expensive but you get 150 levels so its almost like 2 mmos.
what I do I like elders scrolls and will just have to bite the bullet.
everquest next will make more money than eso or wild star then these greedy buggers will understand.
lol
The main reason game companies want the $15 / month is ofcourse to make a ton of money(or try too, if it becomes successfull). What we players get back is Game masters who keep out hackers and cheaters, we get continued development, like new dungeons, raids, quests. Ofcourse we have to pay extra for huge expansions, but a good mmorpg who charge 15$ a month will also release free content between expansions for the monthly fee.
I've been playing MMO's since Everquest in 1999. I understand subscription based models, far before any "cash shops" were involved. The problem is, you are someone willing to pre-order this game without any hesitation, thus the pre-order exclusive belongs to you. Were you to wait until the game launches before purchasing, like MANY, MANY individuals do, you basically "lose out" on this exclusive. You WILL undoubtedly be able to purchase it after the fact, but because you weren't just automatically willing to throw your money down on the table before seeing how the game reviews look, you end up paying more for these items after the fact. So what you're saying is if you aren't willing to pony up and put your money down before seeing a finished product, tough shit for you? What kind of lunacy is that, it's bad economic decisions like this that have put America in the rut that it is in today.
Also, you're basically saying at the end of your post that it's good enough for you because other games have done worse. This is the type of behavior that will encourage developers to keep screwing it's players over.
Oh and yeah, it is a game breaking exclusive. Breaking the race/faction combination the developers initially based the game off of is one of the most game breaking ideas I have ever heard in my life. The factions are completely POINTLESS beyond having a flag over your head in PvP. There can no longer be lore to support the factions, as the factions no longer make any sense. The idea that makes the most sense would have been to abandon the race/faction concept from the beginning and just allow EVERYONE to pick their race and then their faction. Not pre-order or pay more money to do so.
Well said , in simple terms if it bothers someone than don't vote for it with your money
Unless they are forcing children in Indonesia to code for them at 2.00 a day, I don't think there's anything about this title that is morally reprehensible. (BTW, where are your athletic shoes manufactured?)
I might disagree with some of their business practices, but at the end of the day I realize they are designed to maximize the amount of money they make from this title, which is what most businesses do in a modern capitalist economy.
The great news is they can't force me to buy it, nor do I feel compelled to in order to survive (unlike my mortgage payments) so at the end of the day, it will be easy for me to pass on purchasing should that be my decision. (still on the fence till NDA comes down)
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No i did not. I am saying they are handling preorder bonuses alot better than most. How is a race which will have NO bearing on the gameplay, or a horse that is 2k gold rather than 17k a huge issue? Please explain it to me.
While we are at it...should we demonize the lore book, map and statue as well? Since you know...you can only get those with the physical collectors edition? You wont be able to get those at any point later on?
Be fair with your answer, because the above is what you are saying.
lol...
You still aren't understanding this concept somehow. You are saying its fair to completely break the mechanic of a race locked faction based game solely if you pre-order, but to ALL of the individuals out there who decide to wait, or have not yet made a decision on the game, they should lose out on this opportunity OR be potentially forced to pay more after the fact to gain access?
Tell me WHY Zenimax, in your opinion, decided to break the race/faction lock as a PRE-ORDER EXCLUSIVE?
Based on the title i was thinking.... Oh my god, this game must have been create by child slave labour..... What else could invoke such a reaction?
i am happy thats not the case....
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
broken game is broken, yet the weak minded still bend to the will of the development company and pay them lots of cash for a pile of shit.
In the end I guess it doesn't matter, Zenimax wins, players lose.
Most of you will pre-order the CE and pay a sub and maybe even buy some nice cash shop items if they have them over the first 30-60 days then never log in again.
I think the OP meant to say, Join me in boycotting this game because its time to tell publishers NO more!
Its idealistic, but so is world peace.
So your whole "immoral" argument hinges on a race not being bound to a faction? Tell me...how are khajit/wood elves/high elves lore friendly alliance? Or even better Nords, Dunmer and Argonians? We know the nords were very racist against the Dunmer...where is your outrage about that? Why cant the imperials be more like a "mercenary" race...siding with whomever they choose to be?
Your immorality argument just became a moot point if your whole "immoral" argument is being a race which isnt faction locked.
Well AvA is fun as hell... Plus the skill progression system is pretty cool... Sooo?
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