Uh, what's sad? I just watched several minutes of the videos and they haven't actually said yet. They're busy talking about themselves. One is 40 minutes long.

Totally agree with Shoddy. This is a major step in the wrong direction, and a step against what some of the developers had promised long ago.

I sincerely hope ZOS is hurt enough by this to do something. Full price+sub+cash shop+premium race is just absurd and insulting.

As a long-time guild leader, and one with plans for TES:O, this makes me EXTRA sad that I can no longer in good conscience try and convince some of our more skeptical friends to play.

Zenimax Media Inc is just money grabbing. Content is cover under the sub fee. I want to be nick and dime to death, I can play a different game. I have faith in ESO, with moves like this, ZMI is pushing many people of the door.

//ZMI own ZOS, and BGS

BGS = Bethesda Game Studio

In short...

They dislike what they see as day 1 DLC, possible pay 2 win, and the precadent set for the subscription model + cash shop and future.

So what would your stances be if the imperials were unlockable in-game?

I mean, you'll already reap the benefits of the increased cash injection pre-release, and then you get to unlock the race post-launch without spending the extra cash.

Isn't that sort of a win-win here?

I can see why they're trying it. Rumour has it the project budget has ballooned to $200m. So they need to make that back.

Either people will pay it or they won't. I paid for early access.

Sub fees pay for DLC -- not $$ extra for it.

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.

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.

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.

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.