Is FFXI getting a cash shop?

[Deirdre]

Wow does it pretty well, all they sell are mounts and pets, and a few plushies, none of which really effect actual game play at all. They also have paid race/gender/faction changes. It's also made them a toooooooooooon of money. Their first store bought mount made them millions in the first couple hours.

Espeically if some of the money goes back into stuff like improving the game, future x-pacs, possibly customer support, something similar would be nice for ffxi.

Well, as FFXIV forums are convinced that cash shop money will go to fund other SE projects, that works out wonderfully, because their money can then go to funding XI, just as XI's money went to funding the original 1.0 ...we know that won't happen; and odds are excellent, excess cash shop money from XI would go to FF15 or FF16 or random phone game. XI has a higher sub fee than just about any MMO out there, and it's a game that doesn't require an enormous amount of support. What does that translate to? Not getting a lot of money funneled that way if it turns a higher profit than normal for a given month.

[Jeanna]

Wow also has a paid character boost (60 bucks gives you a level 90 - current max level is 90 with the new x-pac coming out bumping it 95) which is something I'm a bit on the fence about. There's a bit of an argument there that it's an advantage. It's not like it's hard to level in either game though, ffxi especially as most people just leech in abyssea or other places and aren't really learning anything as they level up. I'd personally probably pay for some max level jobs on some of my chars if they ever offered it in 11.

[vienne]

Hah a living breathing world, some people surely are pathetic but i don't know what to expect after seeing some of the fools that went to final fantasy 14 fan fest truely the dregs of society.

Get used to it, if the shop works well for 14 and im sure it will they will add one to 11 to keep pumping more profit from the game and tbh i don't see the fuss vaniety items who really gives a damn, no one forces you to buy them so stop moaning about it. If you don't want to use the shop don't but i'm sure plenty would.

Every thread has its obvious troll, I probably shouldnt bite, but I will.
Some people have played this game for many years and not all are people who have no life with every obtainable piece of gear out there. And no its not about seeing others buying X piece of gear with rl money for which themselves have worked so hard for... xi with a cashshop just wouldnt be xi. XI has many years on the counter without a cashshop i'd prefer it as it is cause little chance the money will be used on the game itself.
Also dont forget those "Pathetic people" you are referring too also are the ones who pay a sub for the same content you are playing, which deems you equally pathetic (you even get extra pathetic points for insulting everyone who has a heart for this game, maybe you can go spend them at your nearest cash shop).

[Pixela]

Wow does it pretty well, all they sell are mounts and pets, and a few plushies, none of which really effect actual game play at all. They also have paid race/gender/faction changes. It's also made them a toooooooooooon of money. Their first store bought mount made them millions in the first couple hours.

Espeically if some of the money goes back into stuff like improving the game, future x-pacs, possibly customer support, something similar would be nice for ffxi.

I've played a lot of mmos, I've never seen one mmo that added more content after adding a cash shop (Wow, Rift, Tera, Aion, AoC etc). They make more money but it does not go back into the development of the game, if anything it gets less money going back into the game. The game turns into a reason to keep people around to buy cash shop items (like a shopping mall adding plants and seats etc) instead of keeping people around to play and enjoy the game.

A) they put more effort into making cash shop items over all else
B) they seem to lose respect for the players and see them as nothing but sheep after a cash shop is added
C) they start pushing the boundries with the cash shop to see how far they can push it, and this is a long way because there are always a lot of people that want xp boosts and content lockout removals
C) actual game development becomes a factor in cash shop sales, shall they add this new mount that looks cool and detracts from the cash shop mounts? hmm no put that new mount in the cash shop and make a lesser looking one for content reward.

There is no world where a cash shop is a good thing for an mmo unless it's near death and it's the only way to save it from closing, even then it damages it to the point an avid fan may not like what it devolves into.

As was said, when FFXI was at it's most profitable they took most of the money it was making and fed it into FFXIV. They also took away ffxi devs to work on it, these 2 things along with releasing an mmo directly competing with it led to this games major decline. So if you really think anything they do will improve the game you should think again. It's never that simple.

[Stompa]

Every thread has its obvious troll, I probably shouldnt bite, but I will.
Some people have played this game for many years and not all are people who have no life with every obtainable piece of gear out there. And no its not about seeing others buying X piece of gear with rl money for which themselves have worked so hard for... xi with a cashshop just wouldnt be xi. XI has many years on the counter without a cashshop i'd prefer it as it is cause little chance the money will be used on the game itself.
Also dont forget those "Pathetic people" you are referring too also are the ones who pay a sub for the same content you are playing, which deems you equally pathetic (you even get extra pathetic points for insulting everyone who has a heart for this game, maybe you can go spend them at your nearest cash shop).

I like the way that was their first post on the forums, they created a new forum account, and in their very first paragraph they call other players ; "pathetic" & "fools" & "moaning" & "dregs" !

Also they miss the point, the immersive online game / cybernetic ecology / virtual world - in terms of being atmospheric and believable & a "living breathing world" - the point is that all forms of entertainment ; books, plays, movies, games - these all require something called "a willing suspension of disbelief." This basically means that you have to be able to remove yourself from cynicism and your Earthly surroundings, and allow the medium to absorb you and take you to another place. If the book/movie/game is very good, this will help to draw you in, but it still requires a certain open mindedness on the part of the viewer, to be able to let go and accept the movie or game or w/e as a possible real world. Suspend your disbelief, and allow the medium to give you new beliefs, just for a few hours. This is what all imagination and fantasy work, and role playing has always been about.

I don't see why the "real" world is more enticing than Vanadiel anyway, the real world is traffic jams to drive in, dishes to wash, jobs to work etc. I find that world less worthy of my belief, than a world with knights in shining armor who battle ferocious dragons. I can choose where to place my belief, and I choose RPGs over Earth any day. But that is only my opinion, and I would never call people with other opinions, those bad words that the troll just did.

[Comeatmebro]

putting down others for being enthusiastic about their hobbies just reveals your own lack of self confidence

go back to high school if you want to bully people, your antics won't upset any adults

[Finuve]

I'm not trying to bully anyone i just seen a bunch of nerds fawing on the ff14 fan fest twitch.tv i was forced to watch and i'm sure it's going to be more of the same in London on the weekend.

Also 11 is on it's last legs the server population is at an all time low and yet you still have people on here claiming it's a "living breathing world" it's just pathetic and i really fear for those kind of peoples safety once the game finally shuts down.

I took a step back recently and stopped playing as much and it really is sad to see how serious some people take this game and i honestly hope the servers shut down within the next year.

you expect these people not to be passionate about something they have been involved in for 5-12 years? You're delusional. You are also ridiculous for thinking these people can't handle normal life without XI.

With every single modern MMO being absolute $%&! its not surprising to see people clinging to XI and being passionate about whats still there, that doesnt mean once it actually dies these people will be suicidal, they just will probably quit playing MMOs, find another hobby, have a few nostalgia trips on message boards.

[Blazeoffury]

I agree it really is time for the game to be given an end date. It has gotten old stale, boring. Watching the playerbase wank themselves silly over redoing af/relic armor to 119 it's time for this old dog to be taken out back and given the old yellow treatment.

[Pixela]

I agree it really is time for the game to be given an end date. It has gotten old stale, boring. Watching the playerbase wank themselves silly over redoing af/relic armor to 119 it's time for this old dog to be taken out back and given the old yellow treatment.

These games rarely ever shut down until they become totally unprofitable, given that ffxi still has a large playerbase that's not going to happen for a long time.

They don't just wake up one day and decide to close them, there won't be an end date simply because you think it's stale. If you don't like what the game is then why are you here? There are still more than enough people around to keep ffxi running for a long time (especially in Japan), it may even outlive XIV...at least as a p2p title.

[Blazeoffury]

Well with the state of the na servers right now i wonder how long it is until it becomes unprofitable to sustain na gms, na translation teams etc sure you maybe right about the game living for a long while yet in Japan at least they still have solid numbers online the na/eu not so much and sooner or later they will pull the plug on it.