Elder Scrolls Online - Editorial @ Forbes

Forbes has another article in their predicting the biggest video game disasters Of 2014 series. This time they take a look at The Elder Scrolls Online.

MMOs as a genre may not be dead yet, but the monthly subscription model certainly is for new entries, and Bethesday/ZeniMax were foolish not to have the foresight to realize this. While it’s entirely possible TESO is released and it blows everyone’s expectations away, that’s seeming increasingly unlikely as players have already spent a lot of time with the game and many are coming away less than impressed. It was a strange decision to jump genres from a famed single player series to an MMO, and even stranger to expect fans to pay $15 a month for the privilege.

Whether the budget is $200M or not, I can’t say. If it isn’t, the game seems like a relatively risky idea at its core nonetheless. If it is, the game seems like a truly insane endeavor that could easily turn into the biggest bomb of the year.

We’ll find out in April, I suppose. I’ve reached out to ZeniMax to see if they have any comment before then.

ZeniMax even sent them a response.

Update: ZeniMax responded and pointed me toward this satirical explanation from game director Matt Firor about the $200M budget.

Officially, ZeniMax told me to “keep looking in the upcoming days for an official statement about that, if it will ever come out.” Between these two items, I suspect my leg may be being pulled a bit, but good on them for having a sense of humor.

As for the subscription fee, I was sent to this actual interview with Matt Firor:

“And it’s important to state that our decision to go with subscriptions is not a referendum on online game revenue models. F2P, B2P, etc. are valid, proven business models – but subscription is the one that fits ESO the best, given our commitment to freedom of gameplay, quality and long-term content delivery. 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. 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.”