loyalty-rewards
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Elder Scrolls unveils its six-month loyalty reward
ZeniMax has revealed its six-month subscriber reward for players of The Elder Scrolls Online. The devs are continuing with the vanity pet theme introduced for the three-month reward, only instead of a High Hrothgar Wraith, this time we have the Dwemer Sphere. Keep in mind that the reward months accumulate whenever you have an active sub, so if you leave for a month or two and then resubscribe in the future, you'll retain your progress in terms of loyalty rewards.
Leaderboard: How do you feel about loyalty rewards?
Elder Scrolls Online announced its vet reward program recently, and while it doesn't take effect until next month, it got me to thinking about similar incentives in other MMOs. They're pretty common, of course, and even F2P games offer them provided that they also offer an optional subscription tier. Personally vet rewards aren't much of an incentive. I mean, sometimes they offer a neat-looking vanity pet that I'll look at once and subsequently forget to ever summon again, but I can't recall ever anticipating a loyalty reward or remaining subscribed in order to get one. What about you, Massively readers? Are loyalty rewards nothing more than a nice bonus, or are there some that go above and beyond in terms of desirability? If so, which ones? Don't forget to vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Elder Scrolls Online introduces subscriber loyalty program
ZeniMax has just announced a subscriber loyalty program for Elder Scrolls Online that is slated to start in September. If you're eligible, you'll receive an email and subsequently a High Hrothgar Wraith vanity pet provided that you've been subscribed for three months. "The loyalty program will keep expanding over time," ZeniMax says, and you'll be able to collect pets and other upcoming rewards once you meet the requirements, so don't worry if you've canceled your sub already but plan to return.
The Daily Grind: Should MMOs put an end to veteran rewards?
In previous Daily Grinds, we've asked you whether you sub for veteran rewards, whether they should be recycled, and whether they should be more awesome, but we've never asked you whether they should exist in the first place. Massively reader The_Grand_Nagus wrote to us pointing out that while old-school gamers, accustomed to playing a single game for years, take for granted veteran rewards and expect them from studios as something they "deserve" as compensation for their loyalty, other players consider that attitude to be selfish and entitled, believing that what vets got for their loyalty and money was the game they paid for and that they deserve nothing more, certainly not rewards that future players or new players can't realistically earn. The Ultima Online community, for just one example, spent the summer storming over whether new players should even be allowed to use veteran rewards purchased from actual veterans. Some players genuinely believe that all new players should wait another 16 years to erect a garden shed in their yards. Garden sheds are serious business. It all starts to seem a little silly in the context of our modern, free-to-play, game-hopping MMO culture, where veteran rewards teeter on becoming an outright waste of developer resources since few people stick around long enough to become vets (and games seldom stick around long enough to accrue such devotion). What's your take? Are veteran rewards a product of a bygone era of subscriptions and loyal communities? Should studios do away with them? Or should modern MMOs use veteran rewards to encourage loyalty in a market that seems to provide fewer and fewer reasons to stay faithful? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Do you subscribe for loyalty bonuses?
Just because a game labels itself free-to-play doesn't mean that it lacks the option to subscribe. In fact, many so-called F2P titles offer a hybrid business model that seeks to attract the bees with the free honey and convince them to eventually rent out a spot on the honeycomb. As a frugal eagle, I don't like to subscribe if I can help it. Yet once in a while I do, either to support the game or (far more likely) to nab some of those sweet loyalty bonuses that subscribers get. Whether it's extra currency, boosts, cosmetic items, or that fancy forum title that makes me the envy of absolutely no one, subscription has its perks. So do you subscribe to an MMO to enjoy those extra frills? Are you eager to see what the next round of veteran rewards will give to you? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Vanguard update brings new loyalty rewards for subscribers
As Vanguard straddles the line between its old subscriber-only business model and this summer's free-to-play transition, the team is still plugging away at minor updates to the game. Today's patch brings a smattering of updates and fixes as well as the May loyalty rewards for current subscribers. Active players will get to haul away five goodies from SOE, including a brown sloop ship, unique tack and barding, and a "Kamelott Overland Onslaught Life-Sustaining Exo-Skeleton" mount. Players can also pick up free supply crates and veteran's caches (the latter are available only for level 50+ characters) every 44 hours. The update also fixed a few small issues with quests, retweaked some skills for Rogues and Bards, and changed a couple of items to make them work properly. SOE will continue to dish out loyalty rewards until Vanguard goes F2P.
SOE showers Vanguard loyalists with gifts
While many newcomers to Telon might be checking out Vanguard for the first time when it goes free-to-play this summer, loyal subscribers wondered, "What do we get, apart from an influx of newbie chat questions?" To that, SOE replied: "GIFTS. And lots of them." The studio announced a series of loyalty rewards for current subscribers that can be grabbed in-game by going to a Herald of Telon in a major city. The first rewards are a "Loyal" title, a Banshee pet, and a Bracelet of Lucky Charms. Currently only players on Halgar can obtain these rewards, with Telon's inhabitants gaining access tomorrow. Each set of rewards will only be available for a limited time, with more sets to come between now and the F2P relaunch.
GameStop finishes nationwide rollout of PowerUp Rewards program
GameStop has announced that its PowerUp Rewards program, which offers various bonuses to card-carrying loyal customers, is now available in all retail locations across the country. For those who missed the specifics of the program when it was dreamed up earlier this year, customers can now sign up for a free or a $15-per-year "Pro" membership -- both give Rewards points (exchangeable for gift cards, Netflix or Xbox Live subscriptions and other freebies), but only the latter comes with a discount on pre-owned goods and a subscription to Game Informer magazine. To celebrate the program's nationwide rollout, GameStop has gussied up its NASCAR ride with a sweet custom paint job, featuring an airbrushed wizard and some fire and ... well, just the name of the program, actually. Which is less exciting. Perhaps they could add the chart posted after the jump, which breaks down the two tiers of PowerUp Rewards membership, as a bitchin' decal?
The Daily Grind: How important are loyalty programs to you?
This past week, EverQuest joined the growing number of MMOs that include some sort of loyalty or veteran rewards program: "For simply continuing to subscribe to our game you will gain 'crowns' every week that can be spent on items to improve your game play. There is no additional charge for the items you find on this vendor... The amount of crowns you gain increases for every month that you have a continued subscription to EverQuest. This increase in points per week caps out after 12 months." The basic idea behind such programs is to provide additional incentive for players to stay subscribed. These incentives can be as trite as a new title or a badge only you can see, or as substantial as cash shop currency, special outfits or unique skills. While companies like NCsoft, Cryptic, Icarus and SOE have utilized loyalty programs as part of their subscriber strategy, plenty of other studios (Blizzard, Turbine, CCP) do not. We'd like to know: How important are loyalty programs to you? Do they make a difference in choosing which game to play? Have you stayed subscribed to an MMO you're not even playing just for the rewards? Would you like to see your current MMO offer a veteran rewards program like this?
Shopkick, Best Buy team up to use location-based app for loyalty program
I've been a member of Best Buy's rewards program for a little while now -- as long as I'm spending way too much of my hard-earned money at the big box retailer, I figure I might as well try to get some of it back. And I was pretty impressed with what they've done on their website with the program -- you can track your status and check out whatever deals are available to you whenever you sign in. And now, Best Buy has partnered up with an iPhone app called Shopkick, set to go live later this week. Shopkick is an app designed to automatically "check-in" with partnered retailers, so you can earn rewards bucks or other loyalty currencies whenever you stop by a specific retail location. Instead of using GPS, the app uses the smartphone's speaker to pick up a certain audio signal being played in-store, so "checking-in" at a Best Buy with the signal running will apparently grant rewards or discounts to customers. I don't know if the process actually appeals to me, even as a loyal Best Buy customer -- I haven't been interested in the whole "check-in" fad, and Shopkick sounds more like adware than anything else. But we've heard already that Apple themselves are interested in location-based networking, and this seems like exactly the kind of system that retailers and app creators alike are trying to build, enticing customers to visit and interact with brands and products in their stores. Shopkick goes live later this week and has already partnered with 25 malls in cities across the US, so we'll see how customers react to it.
