Elder Scrolls Online (MMO)

[Arctic Blast]

From what I know it's been in decline for years.
They've started offering more and more freebies to attract new players, and the fact they relaunched Diablo 3 (after originally cancelling the project to prevent "collision" with WoW) is another good indication of its slow death.

If you consider 7.8 million subscribers and a last month growth of 200,000 people "in decline." If this is a slow death, it is a very very slow one, given that it launched 10 years ago (hard to believe)!

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/02/07/world-of-warcraft-still-pulls-a-crowd/

I think F2P is a fad. I have yet to play a single F2P that had the quality of content that I see in the subscription model, with the possible exception of Neverwinter and Guild Wars 2 (although I did not much care for GW2, the build quality was evident). Besides, they are not really "free," considering you eventually will need or want to put in some $$ to even the odds. Currently I am playing Marvel Heroes off and on, but it really is a lame version of Torchlight. That being said, I've never tried Path of Exile more than a few hours, and I have heard it is an excellent F2P.

I've read different statistics.
Not to mention how many of those 7.6 accounts are real subscribers, and real unique individuals who play for fun (not some chinese prisoners toiling in the gold-farms).

As for Marvel Heroes, it's pretty awesome.
I'm sorry you didn't like it (maybe you should give it another try), but I find it quite a lot of fun. Much more fun than Torchlight 2.
And that's even without the constant stream of new content that you get in MH.

Who cares if they're playing for fun...they're all paying for it. That's the key part here. Every one of those people is pony-ing up the bucks on a monthly basis. 7.6 million people paying you a monthly fee is hardly a sign of a game in freefall.

[SgtRock]

Anyone have any impressions?

[skeptical.platypus]

Yes. TESO has impressed upon me the importance of upgrading my dsl speed. Finally finished downloading this afternoon. After 37 hours.

[Tpek]

Yes. TESO has impressed upon me the importance of upgrading my dsl speed. Finally finished downloading this afternoon. After 37 hours.

OUCH!
My download speed was slow for this game as well, but not like this.

[Kushan]

Anyone have any impressions?

I think the NDA is still in effect for anyone who is in the beta.

[skeptical.platypus]

Yes. TESO has impressed upon me the importance of upgrading my dsl speed. Finally finished downloading this afternoon. After 37 hours.

OUCH!
My download speed was slow for this game as well, but not like this.

Yeah, I noticed you were finding bugs while I was still at 77%, lol.

I should point out that if anyone is scared off by my eonic (not a word) download, TESO was downloading as fast as my pipe could take it. 1mb downstream and 750k upstream is no way to go through the internet, son.

[MuzzyDev]

I really hope it's a hit.  My best friend is the head writer.  He' pretty happy with the feedback they've been getting in the media so far.

Chris--

[skeptical.platypus]

Very cool. I i ;Dagine a head writer for a project like TESO can put himself under some pretty serious pressure. Hopefully the positive feedback loops into even more awesome back story, plot, dialogue, puns, etc.!

I hope he gets to drop in some personal easter eggs, too. Ala Larry, Darryl, and Darryl from Baldur's Gate.  ;D

[Tpek]

Beta NDA has been lifted.

Also, it seems to require me to reinstall/redownload the entire game :P
EDIT: Seems the launcher updated, which caused my selected region to reset itself to Europe. So it downloaded the European version of the client.
Once I set it back to America all was fine :)

[Greybriar]

Elder Scrolls Online crosses the line?

and

[son_of_montfort]

^ That dude is full of NERD RAAAAGE!

It has been pretty standard for CE's and Expansions or DLC to offer pay-to-play races. Not sure the fuss of that.

[FlickJax]

I enjoyed the Beta but price up front and subscription putting me off, I dont think they needed such a large upfront price. I can live with subscription games when they are supported properly.

[jejo68]

^ That dude is full of NERD RAAAAGE!

It has been pretty standard for CE's and Expansions or DLC to offer pay-to-play races. Not sure the fuss of that.

Normally when you pay subscriptions you get access to all features of the game. Here they in essence tell you to first pay for the game, then pay subscription and on top also pay extra for certain features or in this case a race. Thats just not right

[spelk]

The 30Gb download is what has put me off. And the probability that it won't run in a playable state on my lowly laptop.

[Tpek]

^ That dude is full of NERD RAAAAGE!

It has been pretty standard for CE's and Expansions or DLC to offer pay-to-play races. Not sure the fuss of that.

Normally when you pay subscriptions you get access to all features of the game. Here they in essence tell you to first pay for the game, then pay subscription and on top also pay extra for certain features or in this case a race. Thats just not right

Not really.

WoW and most subscription based MMOs (if not all of them) DO require you to purchase expansions and the like.
It is only in F2P games that paying a monthly subscription offers similar benefits.

In anycase, this weekend another beta test is coming. And I've got a spare key if anyone wants.