The fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online aims to rehabilitate the cash shop notorious in other MMOs.
A cash shop in MMOs relies on microtransactions (MTX): Players can purchase virtual items and advantages for “real” money. In The Elder Scrolls Online, such a feature is set to be introduced in March, when TESO transitions to Buy2Play .
According to statements from TESO staff, they want to distance their own cash shop (the “Crown” store) from the negative image that cash shops have received from other games. This is noted in a statement from the last ESO Live, a streaming show by Zenimax. Responses to viewer questions were summarized and published in the official forum.
The bad reputation, it is said, stems from “cash shops,” as games force their players into them. They design and manipulate the game so that players have less fun without using the cash shop. TESO does not want to do that.
In The Elder Scrolls Online, while they want to offer items in the shop that allow for time savings, they do not intend to redesign the game so that this time savings becomes “necessary.” It is also okay if players only purchase the base game without spending money in the Crown shop.
We operate with this philosophy: The more players have longer gaming sessions with their friends and simply have fun in the game, the more opportunities will open up for the community to buy something in the Crown shop. We want to fill our shop with offers that encourage players to spend even more time in the game and thus improve their experiences. We understand that there will be many who simply buy the base version and will only play this version – and that is also fine!
Prices for the cash shop are not yet mentioned by Zenimax. Although the shop will open on the test server for a stress test on Monday night, there will only be preliminary prices there as well.
We are dealing with the cash shop and potential dangers in The Elder Scrolls Online in this article.
