I will never ever pre-order again. This is it, this game showed me that pre-ordering is the last thing a sane human individual can do if one wants to have a quality gaming experience. Lets focus on trials, lets focus on F2P models with a fully accessible game, lets focus on a pricing model that allows the player to clearly see and experience what he gets and then evaluate how much he will pay the creators of his just perceived joy. And of course he will throw tons of greens at a great game but on the other hand nothing if it is bad designed.

This forces developers to sit on their creative behinds again. I can not believe I am telling you or the developers this. I am the developer, I am creating art - I am the publisher, I let this art be created, unhindered and do my best to reveal it to the masses. I am the consumer, I am the observer, I enjoy the experience.

Pre-ordering is just a worse buffer to secure funds for development, it lets the developers lean back in their developing behaviour - instead of having to provide quality content, they procude what they think then fits the minimum gamers want. Maximum gain through advertisment, minimum output through development. And I am so digusted by this, I can not tell you in words! Playing games since 1995 and seeing how this trend evolved over the last years until now and continues to do so. I can spit on it! But that solves nothing for the rest of you, because we have to understand it - look it in it's eyes and see clearly what is happening here. And this only happens in a balanced state of mind, neither in rage nor in excitement.

No, this is no conspiracy and nothing is bad or wrong. It is simply the reaction to measures that have been done with you, gamers. a.) you buy a title and it is a clear Yes to everything the developers have done to create it, including marketing and pre-ordering or -purchasing IS a Yes -or- b.) you do not buy it and it is a No to how the developers have created the game, then having to reconsider.

Let us be honest and face the fact, that everywhere else on this planet this is the healthy norm: You buy something because it interests you, because you see it first hand and want to have it to enrich your life with it. And not live off promises. Nobody needs to promise anything if the evidence is clear that there is something about to succeed greatly. Promises are made if all is vague and not clear. Understand this, now and forever. I will not write a second post like this. I will spoon feed you consciousness right now. Unbiased clear sight.

You from now on never ever pre-order a game again. Never. Again. You wait for the developers and publishers to release reasonable F2P models, or trials, or betas which are fully accessible. A form of view into the game that clearly shows you what you get. This gives you a clear impression if you want to buy it lateron or not. Yes, you only buy then something you clearly want. Not coming from cinematic trailers or reviews from popular youtube or twitch-streamers, no, from Your First Hand Gaming Experience.

Every game has a feel to it. This feel has Nothing to do with cinematic trailers or hypes. It is a feeling you feel when playing it. This is crucial for the decision making process of buying a game.

And then when you follow this, you will not be disappointed. Then, you have finally understood a very important key factor of making powerful conscious consumer decisions. You are powerful. Without you a game can not be made. You decide if games are full of quality or lack there of.

There was an age where we did not have to help developers making a game.. we did not give them tips or hints on how to do things.. they just made great games and we enjoyed them, fully! You are no developer. I am no developer. You are a consumer, you are a gamer. I am a consumer, I am a gamer. Let it stay this way.

Quit this exploitation with pricing models! For ever! Both sides in trust again.

All the best.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I agree, i pre order but cant even install the game on my computer since it delets itself and keeps reinstalling it. I could better throw 80 euro in the garbage bin.

Well done for realising the obvious truth. Pre-ordering is just crazy from a consumers perspective and with digital products its even dumber. Sadly fools and their cash are easily parted and there are a lot of fools.

This is a fact of life. Sometimes you have to take chances. This is no different from watching a film trailer, buying a ticket and then being disappointed by the film itself. Do you complain about this? Maybe you do, maybe you don't. The point is that it was your choice all along and that the risk of pre-ordering or buying that ticket was always apparent. If you thought otherwise, well then that's an invaluable lesson you've just learned.

I want to touch one something else you said quickly. You mention that there are two kinds of people; the A and B. I don't fit into either of those categories; as I'm not entirely happy with everything they did, but I've still bought the game and will be playing it on launch day. I don't demand perfection; there are no absolutes here.

I feel like your real issue here is the subscription model. While you don't like it; I do. It gives the developers more money, so they can provide us with more content. Plain and simple.

Agreed, I think the OPs real issue is the subscription model and it is something alot of people have issues with now due to the influx of F2P games and other P2P games that have moved onto the F2P model.

Personally I have no issue with the P2P model, I work for a living and choose where I want to spend my money. There is nowhere else (that I am aware of) where I can get as much entertainment (albeit with some problems here and there) for this sort of outlay.

If you're not 100% sure you want to play the game and will enjoy it, you shouldn't pre-order. I myself preordered the game before I knew much about it. I basically heard it was 3 faction MMO set in the ES universe, and I bought it on a whim. With that mindset I don't really care if I like the game or not. After playing in the beta, I realized it was pretty much everything I was hoping it would be.

If you don't have the money to "throw-away" on whims then you shouldn't preorder something you don't know you'll enjoy.

Having said what I did above, I see the OP ranting about pre-ordering elsewhere on here.

Nobody is forced to pre-order, the developer hasn't got a gun at your head! Get over yourself, if you don't want to pre-order then don't. If other people want to take that chance then let them do it, how does it in anyway impact your life?

Way to throw a blanket statement over hundreds and thousands of people. Has it ever occured to you that the risk of not getting their monies worth is minimal to some people? It all depends how much enjoyment one expects from said amount of money. ￡70 would usually cover a meal in a restaurant for me and my partner or a night out on the town with my friends; both lasting an evening or less. If I get an evening or less enjoyment out of the Elder Scrolls Online, I consider that money well spent.

As it stands I can picture myself playing this for many evenings.. for weeks on end in fact. There is absolutely no risk of me not getting my monies worth from this product; so in this case, for me, it was a smart move.

THANKS FOR THIS THREAD. T R U TH - O N L Y

What a rant!

I didn't preorder until I went through 2 betas. I didn't even pick a guild until just recently. I am very happy I preordered because this is an AWESOME game. Like it or not, that's up to you. Don't want to pay a sub, go somewhere else. You knew what you were getting yourself into and frankly, if you didn't play the beta, you should not have pre-ordered.

I just paid 72.00 at Appleby's on Friday and I didn't even enjoy the meal. It wasn't the first time I spent 70.00 at Red Lobster and the lobster was overcooked. I'd much rather spend 80.00 on a game that I've played 4 times in beta and really enjoyed.

The influx of whining during beta weekends is unbelievable...

Playing the beta. Went and signed up for imperial digital edition. Will happily subscribe when the time comes. Leave out the f2p2p and a soul-svcking cash store / cartel market and I'll be here forever.

The logic in the OP is flawed.

The devs are not simply out to sell copies of their game, they need people to continue playing and paying their sub fee.
If they were to take the approach of not putting any effort in after launch, the game would rapidly lose subs from day 1 and be a failure within 12 months.

The game purchases cover development costs, the subscriptions keep the game alive. ESO needs both.

He he.. Silly thread by the OP...
Attention seeking IMHO.

It's the wave of negativity before launch that usually happens with video games. Sometimes it is justified, other times not.

I despise everything about the so-called free to play model. I will never buy a MMO that starts that way and I will stop playing any one that converts to that approach. I don't want wallet checks gating new things. I don't want all of the development resources on the cash shop. And I have zero interest in shallow games like Guild Wars 2.

I don't think I am alone.

When people get older (like me) they stop fantasising about what a game will be like and also stop expecting something to arrive as perfect every time.

Pre-ordering a game is helping the developers in many ways: immediate development funds, long term funds (investors and the game creators will be likely to spend resources on something getting pre-orders); and last but not least Developers morale that the game is being received well.

So when we pay in advance we should still have realistic expectations and understand that even if things don't go great at start, we are greatly improving the chances of having a fantastic product and service in the future. It's not always like this but most of the time. Let's be more optimistic and look forward to the adventures ahead.

My only experience with a f2p was with SWTOR after I had already been subbing for a year. Being a SW fan since I was a kid, I put up with a lot of crap from that game, bad design, bad engine, feeling like everything was bolted down to the ground and plastic coated, but it was that stupid Cartel Coin market that killed it for me once and for all.

This.

You're not.

That argument works (to an extent) if your talking about small developers without publishers who are funding their game through the likes of Kick Starter. It simply doesn't work that way with big AAA games through major publishers.

I'm an old fart too, old enough to remember that Pre-ordering is relatively new. There was a time when most people waited to read reviews before they ran out and bought games.

Yep, and we have not even seen the final product yet.. let us put cart before horse..

Welp I found a pre-order sale for about 40 bucks and had to take it. No sale, no pre-order.

Also, OP seems more bent on having a free game, and is more pissed about paying for the game, pre-order or otherwise.

Pre orders done right...

1. Pay a minimal fee up front to secure the pre order
2. Play the Beta
3. Decide whether you will or wont pay/play the game
4. Pay off the remaining amount at launch or ask for your pre order amount as a refund.

This is why i never buy a digital edition of anything..

if you cared about ur money then you would not buy the most expensive version of the game when you haven`t tried it yet and if you don`t care about the money then wh did u open up this thread!

i personally pre-ordered after playing in the first open beta despite all the negativity i loved the game and preordered it from GMG for a mere 45 euros. and having seen cyrodiil this beta , i don`t regret it.