In the fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online players are upset about a system message advertising a promotion in the cash shop.
Currently, the Senche-Leopard is being advertised in The Elder Scrolls Online crown store with yellow text in 3 languages in quick succession. Players are complaining in the forum that it disrupts the “atmosphere”, pulling them out of immersion. Furthermore, they fear this is just the beginning and TESO will misuse the system message for such promotions more frequently and become increasingly brazen. The system message should only be used for important information.
In a survey in the official forum, only 20% of about 630 players find the advertising acceptable, while 80% see it as unacceptable.
At TESO, they are not really aware of the fault. They want to ensure that everyone knows about the offer for the Senche-Leopard because it is only available for a short time, they say. They send this message only once a day, but in 3 languages. They have registered the criticism and will forward it.
The German community manager also speaks up and asks to refrain from the wildly sprouting conspiracy theories.
Please refrain from crystal ball reading, exaggerations, and conspiracy theories. None of this is helpful.
No one has been spammed with messages, no one intends to send something like that hourly – on the contrary, today there was no in-game notification at all.
Mein MMO says: Interesting problem. TESO is currently praised for its atmosphere and the depth of quests, how immersive the game can be. Such “advertising insertions” can certainly be disruptive. Perhaps the advertisement for the leopard would be better placed upon logging into the client, i.e., in areas that the player still clearly perceives as “outside of Tamriel”.
On the other hand: TESO has switched to Buy2Play, and advertising for additional offers is one of the downsides that comes with it. It is certainly understandable that players react allergy-like to such changes and then take a “nip it in the bud” approach against possible future developments. However, compared to how Free2Play games repeatedly prompt players, even in the middle of action, to buy game content X or Y, it seems like they are making a mountain out of a molehill.
Even before, the most fervent fans of The Elder Scrolls Online feared that with the transition to Buy2Play certain bad habits would arise and advocated for remaining with the subscription model. They now feel confirmed by such incidents.
