The Elder Scrolls Online Now Open for Business
The wait is finally over for The Elder Scrolls fans.
Bethesda announced on Friday the launch of The Elder Scrolls Online for PC and Mac at retailers nationwide, and on the official online store. The Digital Imperial Edition costs $79.99 via Bethesda and Amazon, and $59.96 for the vanilla version on Amazon.
By purchasing the Imperial Edition, gamers will get to play as an Imperial and serve on any alliance. Gamers receive the Imperial White Horse to mount and journey through Tamriel with increased speed. Imperial Edition customers will also get the Mudcrab Vanity Pet, which will scuttle along by your side, and the Rings of Mara. Players can even craft Imperial gear, and transform any gear the player owns into Imperial gear.
"The Imperial White Horse is purchasable for 1 gold from any stable in the game, as soon as the player starts the game," reads the launch FAQ. "The Mudcrab Vanity Pet will be in the player's in-game mailbox starting from launch on 4.4.14. The Ritual of Mara will be in the player's in-game mail as soon as they start the game--they should simply perform the ritual with their desired partner to get the Rings of Mara."
Players who participated in the beta will receive a monkey vanity pet to call their own. This pet should be available via the in-game mail system on 4.4.14. The Q&A also reveals that beta players can use the beta client; they simply need to patch the client using the ESO launcher.
"We are grateful for the overwhelming response to The Elder Scrolls Online," said Matt Firor, Game Director of The Elder Scrolls Online. "With 5 million people registered for beta, it's clear that a large number of fans are eager to jump online and experience everything the game has to offer. We couldn't be more excited to get it into everyone's hands."
Unfortunately, there is no free-to-play mode. Gamers wanting in on the action will be required to pay $14.99 per month. Other price plans include a 90 day plan which equals to $13.99 for 30 days, and a 180 day plan that equals to $12.99 per 30 days.
What will be interesting to see is Blizzard's World of Warcraft subscription numbers in a month or two to see how much damage The Elder Scrolls Online has done to the MMORPG's subscription numbers. As Matt Firor pointed out, the beta reeled in 5 million beta players, meaning World of Warcraft could see a big drop in numbers as curious gamers take The Elder Scrolls Online for a spin.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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kancaras i havent seen a comunity where eso launch was a big thing. yeah few hardcore skyrim fans bought it, but thats about it. free wide open beta is a very different thing from very expensive product with a lot of competition. 5 mil in beta could become 100k first week sales including preorders.Reply -
Jake Lloyd I was very excited to check out the game, I still play Skyrim from time to time and loved Oblivion. I got invited to 6 beta weekends and played in the first 4. The game was fun and you could see great improvements every build.With all that said, I haven't picked up the game. Partly due to not wanting to shell out $15 a month when I can play everything else for free (stopped playing WoW a year ago).Second reason is the imperial edition. In no way should a company ever make you pay more to get actual game play changing stuff in a subscription game. You can't have your cake and eat it too.Reply -
kiniku Most of you that even saw it tried beta for a short while and quit. This MMO is amazing. Just wait when the release reviews start coming out. Its so much what's been missing from MMOs in years. Old school MMO'rs will love this in particular. And the PvP is unreal. I was skeptical at first but now I'm a believer. so much fun, detail, depth, and design. I never would have thought.Reply -
Achaios-1328513 At last, a real medieval fantasy game as opposed to a game based on Kung Fu Pandas, Pokemon, Mangas/Anime and Transformers that is the travesty so-called "WoW". I really enjoy all the hate from the Kung Fu Panda & Pokemon loving WoW fanbois. This means that Elder Scrolls is really hurting WoW. I think that a move away from the retarded Kung Fu Panda/Pokemon WoW paradigm towards a more faithful rendering of a medieval fantasy world is good for true fans of the genre not to mention the awesome graphics versus WoW's modified Warcraft III engine that dates from 2002.Reply