ESO - Why Bethesda Dropped Subscriptions

[Couchpotato]

The Examiner had a short chat with Bethesda to talk about why the developer dropped the Elder Scrolls Online subscription model a few moths back.

Examiner.com had the chance to chat with Elder Scrolls Online Game Director Matt Firor about what went into the decision to drop subscriptions in ESO. "The decision came about by us listening to our fan’s feedback – they really liked the fact that they had so much freedom in the game and they wanted that same freedom with their payment methods," Firor said.

"So, we changed our subscription-required payment model to subscription-optional, and we created a virtual currency/in-game store system that allows players to purchase customization and convenience items. Player reaction has been outstandingly positive since we announced the change, and especially since the changes went live on March 17."

It's doubtful ESO would have found success on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One had the game kept its subscription model. With the selection of other games already available on the systems, it would have been hard to justify spending another $14.99 per month for a game you already own.

More information.

 

[azarhal]

they really liked the fact that they had so much freedom in the game and they wanted that same freedom with their payment methods

That sound so much like PR-BS... Mostly because the game doesn't have that much freedom to start with.

 

[joxer]

Why they dropped...
Because people can buy more singleplayer fun for the same cash they charged.

 

[zahratustra]

That sound so much like PR-BS… Mostly because the game doesn't have that much freedom to start with.

What have you expected? That's somebody will say "we fucked up"?

 

[crpgnut]

Because they're going to get so rich making money off of modders that they don't need the chump change from ESO

 

[Humanity has risen!]

As with everything in life : follow the money...

 

[vurt]

Because they're going to get so rich making money off of modders that they don't need the chump change from ESO

That's dropped too now, and i doubt we'll hear a "ok, we fucked up.." here either

 

[DArtagnan]

Pretty obviously due to the console norm of games having no subscriptions. People are paying for the online services already, so it would be all but impossible to get them to pay extra for an MMO.

 

[lostforever]

Pretty obviously due to the console norm of games having no subscriptions. People are paying for the online services already, so it would be all but impossible to get them to pay extra for an MMO.

FF14 is on PS4 and it still has a monthly sub... Outside of WoW its the biggest sub based MMO out there with about 2 million subs (PS4, PC etc).

 

[DArtagnan]

FF14 is on PS4 and it still has a monthly sub… Outside of WoW its the biggest sub based MMO out there with about 2 million subs (PS4, PC etc).

Let's see you dig up a source for those subscription numbers

Last I heard, it was around 500K at the most.

But a Sony game on a Sony platform does NOT represent the console norm. I'm talking about the norm, and don't forget the Xbox One. Final Fantasy has always been a Sony thing - and it's a completely unique scenario. Even with all the cards stacked in its favor, it still isn't the smash it should have been.

Should tell you something about what the subscription model would mean for a platform independent game like ESO.

 

[Lev]

The mathematic is not too complicated. It was all planned before.
Earn as much as possible and as long as possible using subscription model. Then switch to F2P when you see that subscribers are leaving the game.
They did it not bad in my opinion.

On the bright side we have a bigger chance of getting Elder Scrolls VI I assume.

 

[lostforever]

Let's see you dig up a source for those subscription numbers

Last I heard, it was around 500K at the most.

But a Sony game on a Sony platform does NOT represent the console norm. I'm talking about the norm, and don't forget the Xbox One. Final Fantasy has always been a Sony thing - and it's a completely unique scenario. Even with all the cards stacked in its favor, it still isn't the smash it should have been.

Should tell you something about what the subscription model would mean for a platform independent game like ESO.

In march 2014, (this is before Chinese and PS4 release) they reported 1.8 million active players. Of those 500K player log in *every day*.

I’d like to start out by talking about the current number of players (accounts for Final Fantasy XIV), as we currently surpassed the mark of 1.8 million,” starts Naoki Yoshida.

“If we go by the amount of people who log in each day, it’s about 500,000 people worldwide. There are people who also log in at least once every two days, so if we were to include those, the the figure would be much higher.”

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/03/14/dragon-quest-x-impressive-300000-daily-active-players-japan/

 

[DArtagnan]

In march 2014, (this is before Chinese and PS4 release) they reported 1.8 million active players. Of those 500K player log in *every day*.

That's more than a year ago. I'm talking present time. A lot of MMOs have had huge numbers at one time or another - which means nothing at all if they can't sustain them.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/square-enix-mmo-trio-fails-to-muster-1m-subscribers/0143457

That's from january - and likely to be even worse now.

 

[lostforever]

That's more than a year ago. I'm talking present time. A lot of MMOs have had huge numbers at one time or another - which means nothing at all if they can't sustain them.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/square-enix-mmo-trio-fails-to-muster-1m-subscribers/0143457

That's from january - and likely to be even worse now.

Read that article again and read that correction in it. It was linked once in Massively and they pulled the whole article since it was wrong.

this one mention they now have 4 million registered accounts (you need serial number to register account and it doesn't include free trial accounts) in Feb 2015. I know that not sub but at least they have sold 4 million boxes till now so FF14 is growing rather than slowing down since March 2014. So thats 2 million more boxes sold in year, and I wounder how many boxes did ESO sell…

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/24d3c419fae62ce2771b4b0b7d01c6348ab5d5e5

 

[DArtagnan]

Read that article again and read that correction in it. It was linked once in Massively and they pulled the whole article since it was wrong.

this one mention they now have 4 million registered accounts (you need serial number to register account and it doesn't include free trial accounts) in Feb 2015. I know that not sub but at least they have sold 4 million boxes till now so FF14 is growing rather than slowing down since March 2014. So thats 2 million more boxes sold in year, and I wounder how many boxes did ESO sell…

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/24d3c419fae62ce2771b4b0b7d01c6348ab5d5e5

There's no correlation between box sales and subscriptions over time, so that's useless.

But if they were growing in subs, you can be certain they'd announce it publically.

That said, if you really want to believe it's growing and you think subscriptions on top of online services would be a smart way to do it, then there's little I can do.

I think it would be suicide for a game like ESO - and I think they made a smart decision, even if I would personally prefer a subscription model.

 

[lostforever]

There's no correlation between box sales and subscriptions over time, so that's useless.

A subscription game sells about 2 million boxes in its *second year* of release and you think its subscriber number didn't go up? How many games (sub or not) you know sell 2 million copies in its second year?

Leaving that aside, my point simply was that a good MMO can be successful with sub even on console. Its only bad MMOs which get demoted to F2P minor league.

 

[DArtagnan]

A subscription game sells about 2 million boxes in its *second year* of release and you think its subscriber number didn't go up? How many games (sub or not) you know sell 2 million copies in its second year?

Leaving that aside, my point simply was that a good MMO can be successful with sub even on console. Its only bad MMOs which get demoted to F2P minor league.

No, that's not what I said. I said they won't necessarily go up OVER TIME. Meaning lots of people buy copies of MMOs - especially during a sale, but they don't necessarily keep playing it - which is what subscriptions are about.

If ANY MMO beyond WoW had more than 2 million subscribers, it would be ALL over the news. Trust me. That's free marketing and PR departments would jump up and down to get that kind of information out there.

ESO has been on the Top 10 Steam seller list for almost every week since they announced it as B2P (which isn't F2P, despite your claim) - but that doesn't mean they'd be willing to subscribe to it or become "VIP".

I know you don't like ESO, which is probably what rules your thinking. But if you can't see the difference between a Sony favorite on a Sony platform - and a game like ESO, which is not necessarily familiar to console gamers, then I don't know what to say.

You're actually supporting my point, though, because if it's a bad game - it would be even more of a suicide to go with the subscription model for console. Meaning my point stands - they dropped the subscription model because they know console gamers wouldn't want to pay for it on top of online services. Bad game or not, I have no doubt they went B2P because it's the smarter business model on consoles.