No plans for micotransactions..

[Castanica]

Along with the July version update, we implement the Mog Wardrobe 3 & 4 optional service. I would like to let you know that this does not mean that the plan for FFXI moving forward is to go the microtransaction route, so please rest assured this is not the case.

I know many players like this, but to me this is a very sad statement. This shows that they have no intention of trying to make this game more profitable, that the game will never now move beyond the small and extremely shallow updates it is getting.

This game will never grow in terms of playerbase, the only chance it had was to make more money from the players it has via optional items. I was hoping this new $2=4 service would usher in some kind of store to sell cosmetics and other services, it seems that will not happen and now the small hope that they would ratchet up the content additions is gone.

You'll never have to pay more more items, you'll also never get anymore worthwhile updates ever again. The content you will be doing next year will be the same content you're doing right now, you'll just have a different mount to do it with.

It's just sad to me that there are so many games with much smaller populations than ffxi, running and making good profits, getting far bigger updates and we have to endure mediocrity.

[Sirmarki]

This game will never grow in terms of playerbase.

Of course not, its not advertised, nor marketed anymore... Companies spend millions advertising products to draw people in, if they are not advertising it then there will be no fresh player base.

With regard to updates, SE have already stated that there are to be no more major content updates.

[Elexia]

And what they actually meant was there will be no more expansion like updates. Unless of course XIV continues down its destructive path then, I guarantee XI will see the spotlight again because largely it's already the better MMO, it just hasn't had a foundation update in the 14 years it's been running.

[OmnysValefor]

It depends on where they go with microtransactions.

I have no problems with $5 to change your character model. Virtually everyone is surprised that was never a thing.

Name change, it can be done but it's not easy and it's expensive.

Server transfer, I have np with there being a fee for this except *right now*, I believe SE bears some responsibility to maintain decently healthy populations. If they'd done this earlier, a lot of transfers to Asura wouldn't have happened and the balance would be more level. So either give us a free-transfer campaign, or merges or say like "Your server will be shutting down in two weeks, you can go anywhere you like for free.", and if you don't pick it just puts you on a healthier server.

Obviously, I've made my opinion known about gameplay-related enhancements (even QoL). This doesn't need to transform into that conversation.

[Catmato]

I wish they'd go free to play and use what they learned with login points as cash shop items. Pay to win? Maybe, but at least there would be people to play with.

[Spectreman]

I wish they'd go free to play and use what they learned with login points as cash shop items. Pay to win? Maybe, but at least there would be people to play with.

If want want a pay to win game and is cheap enough to not transfer to a populated server, like Asura then you dont have ANY idea how expensive a P2W game is.

[Seiowan]

If want want a pay to win game and is cheap enough to not transfer to a populated server, like Asura then you dont have ANY idea how expensive a P2W game is.

Oh, come now. Everyone knows Pay-to-win is really cheap... as long as you don't mind wallowing in mediocrity. If you actually want to get anywhere, you need Bill Gate's bank account, but hey, at least it's free right!?

[Catmato]

If want want a pay to win game and is cheap enough to not transfer to a populated server, like Asura then you dont have ANY idea how expensive a P2W game is.

No matter how populated Asura is, it won't bring back people who refuse to pay $12.95 for a 14 year old game with minimal updates.

[Stompa]

I know many players like this, but to me this is a very sad statement. This shows that they have no intention of trying to make this game more profitable, that the game will never now move beyond the small and extremely shallow updates it is getting.

This game will never grow in terms of playerbase, the only chance it had was to make more money from the players it has via optional items. I was hoping this new $2=4 service would usher in some kind of store to sell cosmetics and other services, it seems that will not happen and now the small hope that they would ratchet up the content additions is gone.

You'll never have to pay more more items, you'll also never get anymore worthwhile updates ever again. The content you will be doing next year will be the same content you're doing right now, you'll just have a different mount to do it with.

It's just sad to me that there are so many games with much smaller populations than ffxi, running and making good profits, getting far bigger updates and we have to endure mediocrity.

During the time last year, when the press-conference was held, and FFXI Fans around the world were very upset because it seemed like our beloved game was going to be taken offline, there was a flurry of these threads saying "The game is dead! Only a Cash Shop can save it!"

I believe that those threads were written by one or two people. The threads lacked any real grasp of marketplaces or the concept of unique and novel projects, which fall outside conventional brackets.

And so, anyway, SE later informed us that the game will be around for many years and "we hope to see your smiling faces in the future." FFXI Fans around the world cheered, danced, lit fireworks. I personally wept with joy, as I learned the news.

However this great news has not stopped these threads from appearing, with the same "Cash Shop or death" memes, which remind me of hostage-taking ransom demands. The fact that the game is still online, with a healthy subscription base, and thousands of happy FFXI Fans, has obviously gone unnoticed by some.

and we have to endure mediocrity.

FFXI is not mediocre, in any way. FFXI is the greatest computergame in the history of the human race. I would be happy to write out another essay explaining why this is, along with references from my own computergaming history, which started when I built a kit-computer in 1981 and wrote my own machine-code Cricket Game. I have been playing computergames daily for 35 years, and FFXI is the greatest computergame in the world.

I have taken onboard the slurs by Haters who have insulted FFXI since 2002, that small but vocal minority, I listened to them because I am a respectful person who believes in free speech. But they are wrong, because FFXI is the greatest computergame of all time.

The other sad fact is that these "Cash shop or dead game" threads, always come alongside "there's no new content and that's why the game sucks." This is a contradiction of enormous proportions. If you have actually beaten all the existing content, and have built your Empys etc. then you wouldn't have any use for a Pay-To-Win cash shop. The only reason you would need to buy stuff in a Cash Shop, is because you have been unable to challenge the game using the existing stratified-attainment system, you have failed to win, you have not beaten the existing content - so the calls for endless new content is contradictory.

Again, I am a FFXI Fan, until I die. The backbone of FFXI is the "stratified attainment system" which challenges players to go adventuring and obtain hard-to-get gear. This is the most addictive and enjoyable part of being a Gamer. A real challenge, with no short cuts. This is also why FFXI has been online for so long, because real Gamers love a challenge. A Pay-to-win cash shop would instantly kill this righteous challenge system, along with the subscriptions of loads of real Gamers.

I'm playing FFXI today, and enjoying every moment. It is the greatest computergame of all time. I'm happy paying the current subscription, and I would actually pay higher subs if it kept Vana'diel online. Because I love FFXI, forever.

[Immortta]

Nice post Stompa