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Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls Online will follow a subscription-based business model.
The general manager of Zenimax online confirmed monthly subscriptions for the game, revealing that players will have to purchase the game, which comes with 30 days free, after which they’ll pay $14.99/€12.99/£8.99 per month.
“The Elder Scrolls games are all about allowing the player to go where they want, be who they want, and do what they want. We feel that putting pay gates between the player and content at any point in game ruins that feeling of freedom, and just having one small monthly fee for 100% access to the game fits the IP and the game much better than a system where you have to pay for features and access as you play.
“The Elder Scrolls Online was designed and developed to be a premium experience: hundreds of hours of gameplay, tons of depth and features, professional customer support – and a commitment to have ongoing content at regular intervals after launch. This type of experience is best paired with a one-time fee per month, as opposed to many smaller payments that would probably add up to more than $14.99/month any way.”
With other games dropping subscription for Buy to Play or Free to Play with cash stores, what do you think of Bethesda’s choice?
During its Gamescon 2013 Press Conference, Sony announced that Gearbox’s open-world RPG shooter will be making its handheld debut on the Vita, published by Sony themselves. Randy Pitchford previously stated he’d like to see the game on Vita, and Gearbox is now collaborating with Divekick developer Iron Galaxy to make it happen.
No information is yet known about the specific release date, or any plans for DLC.
If you absolutely must have some of the best Playstation titles on the PS4, but can’t wait for the console’s launch to play them, Sony have you covered.
Perhaps a response to trade-in deals offered by some game retailers, today at Sony’s Gamescom 2013 press conference, Sony announced that gamers that buy Battlefield 4, Assassin’s Creed IV, Call of Duty: Ghosts, or Watch Dogs on Playstation 3 will be able to buy the Playstation 4 digital version for a “significantly discounted price” once it becomes available.
It was stated that EA, Activision, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. have all partnered with Sony to offer this program, which is expected to come into effect when the console launches on November 29th, 2013 in Europe and November 15 in the US and Canada. Presumably more games will be announced as part of this digital upgrade program in the coming weeks.
During their Press Announcement today, Sony took a brief moment to remind their fans that their augmented reality experiment, The Playroom, will be pre-installed on every PS4.
While the Playroom is nothing new to us – the idea was revealed in their E3 conference earlier this year – the reminder rung to me as an unfortunate example of shooting yourself in the foot. You see, the concept of the Playroom is to use your Playstation Eye to create an augmented reality experience on your console, connecting you to other players through a virtual playroom. By sensing the controller’s lightbar and using other features exclusive to the console, a Wii Sports-style experience can be played. However, Sony announced just several weeks ago that to cut the cost of purchasing the console at launch, The PlayStation 4 Eye camera will NOT be included with all consoles.
Reminding your next customers that your console will include a feature that they can’t even use without purchasing an optional accessory – as well as failing to provide said accessory when much of the console’s unique new abilities rely on it – smacks of a fail to me. Disagree? Let us know in the comments.
