Nexon Job Listings with some FFXI Mobile screenshots

[Nyarlko]

Here are your possibilities:

1:The mobile version is a Nexon cash grab with constant "buy crystals now!" prompts, that is a stage based mobile game akin to every other mobile game.

2:The mobile version actually turns out to be amazing with no subscription, masses of ffxi players unsubscribe from FFXI and that in-turn causes a crisis that could either shut the game down or force cuts in the size of the dev team.

1: Seems likely. I've been not looking forward to Mobile ever since the earliest screenshots showed 3-4 buyable currencies at the top of the screen. >_<
2: I think you are overestimating how many players would leave the real game for the mobile version. Even if it is F2P, the content is only supposed to go up thru CoP, and we've all done all that before.

[Alhanelem]

1: Seems likely. I've been not looking forward to Mobile ever since the earliest screenshots showed 3-4 buyable currencies at the top of the screen. >_<
2: I think you are overestimating how many players would leave the real game for the mobile version. Even if it is F2P, the content is only supposed to go up thru CoP, and we've all done all that before.

It seems pretty clear to me that development has taken a different turn. First, the image you saw was a mockup and second, a lot can happen in 3-4 years. Third, nobody really knows anything about wh at this game is or how it will play, its all just assumptions, there's been no official reveal or anything. The scope may have changed (for more or for less, anything could happen), the development teams may have changed (hi duke nukem), literally anything could be happening.

Like I said, I won't pass judgement one way or the other until we have an official reveal with details about features, content and monetization model.

And as I said before, I don't understand the Nexon hate. One thing I can tell you is I played maplestory on and off for years, as well as Vindictus, both of which are still in operation and neither of which directly pressures you to buy currency (that is, "Buy crystals now!" prompts like your example). Maplestory funny enough was super pay to win when it came out and in recent years they've been gradually reducing that, and for those that didn't satisfy, they even set up a special server where all non-cosmetic items are exclusively obtained through play and not the cash shop (the only carveat is no trading, you have to earn everything yourself).

Nexon aren't half the scumbags that EA is, even at their worst. So I really don't understand the hate.

[Elexia]

Nexon Hate in a nutshell:

"I was 7-12 years old and played Maplestory..I seen you had a cash shop and can purchase some cute/cool looking cosmetics as well as a pet and some buff items. I also noticed the items expire after 30 days."

It's similar to how people hate "korean grind mmos!" because they played the original Ragnarok Online. Nexon is a great company, it's just the western audience never had a GREAT experience with them as a publisher. Let's not forget that SE kinda charges players more than Nexon ever has or ever will with the Mog Station stuff for FFXIV.

SE is only one step away from Crysta being usable in their MMOs before they beat out the reason a lot of people hate Nexon.

I think people are (rightfully) confused by Freemium and Free to play games.

Phantasy Star Online 2 = Freemium, which you can consider Sega "greedy" by paywalling basic features.
Maplestory and equivillent = Free to play, nothing in the game requires payment, but the cash shop has stuff you might want.
Final Fantasy XIV = Weird lovechild of Free to play and Pay to Play. The cash shop was a features many players wanted and it has far too many items/"boosts" to be offered in a Pay to Play game.

[Alhanelem]

The Mog Station is a matter of opinion, other than the eternal bond ceremony and character recustomization which is usually a paid service in any MMO, most of the offerings are meh at best, and they're overpriced, I've never really evne felt a desire to buy anything from it.

That being said, it has been claimed that revenue from mog station sales supported the addition of the EU data center, so I can't complain about it too much, and if true means at least the money spent on it is partially contributing to the game itself in some way.

I half expect there would be some money in such a service in this game if the players were convinced it helped support the game beyond what their subscription does.

[Shiyo]

Mogstation has only funded FF15 DLC.

[Alhanelem]

Mogstation has only funded FF15 DLC.

[citation needed]
More likely it was funded by sales of the game and season passes for content that has been planned but not finished.

[Pixela]

[citation needed]
More likely it was funded by sales of the game and season passes for content that has been planned but not finished.

Games like this always have a yearly assigned budget, any money made over and above go into the company to put into other projects. Money from cash shops etc never go back into the games in the way many people seem to think they do.

The producers can argue for a bigger budget the following year due to making more but that rarely happens and surely won't with Yoshida on the board of directors, usually it's reduced. If you play ffxiv you should know which way the budget is going.

[Shiyo]

Citation needed? Called playing FF14 and FF11. Games developers are literally 2 guys in a garage while making buttloads of money(especially ff14).

[Alhanelem]

Games like this always have a yearly assigned budget, any money made over and above go into the company to put into other projects. Money from cash shops etc never go back into the games in the way many people seem to think they do.

The producers can argue for a bigger budget the following year due to making more but that rarely happens and surely won't with Yoshida on the board of directors, usually it's reduced. If you play ffxiv you should know which way the budget is going.

Right, so the more truthful statement might be "Mogstation funded other projects after fully funding what its income was budgeted for."

Rather than the way you worded it which implies that none of the money customers spend on a project has anything to do with that project, which is simply not true. Having said that, no person should be expecting every dollar spent to go straight to the game they're playing, since no company in the history of ever does that- People need to be paid, new projects need to be made, its just part of business.

I just really don't like it when people make comments like yours, like all the people salty over FFXIV"s existence presuming that every penny they put into their subscription went into developing that game, which is something nobody can prove without working in SE's accounting office. The fact is, FFXI still costs money to operate, and the money you pay to play goes toward the game at a minimum up to the point that those costs are met plus some modest amount more to pay the salaries of those people still working on this project.

[Pixela]

Right, so the more truthful statement might be "Mogstation funded other projects after fully funding what its income was budgeted for."

Rather than the way you worded it which implies that none of the money customers spend on a project has anything to do with that project, which is simply not true. Having said that, no person should be expecting every dollar spent to go straight to the game they're playing, since no company in the history of ever does that- People need to be paid, new projects need to be made, its just part of business.

I just really don't like it when people make comments like yours, like all the people salty over FFXIV"s existence presuming that every penny they put into their subscription went into developing that game, which is something nobody can prove without working in SE's accounting office. The fact is, FFXI still costs money to operate, and the money you pay to play goes toward the game at a minimum up to the point that those costs are met plus some modest amount more to pay the salaries of those people still working on this project.

The point is that many ff14 players think spending money on the cash shop means more money is spent on the game, that's simply not how the world works at all.

The game gets the budget assigned that it requires (which is almost always lowered year on year) and the extra money it makes is simply more profits, making more money off of optional items doens't mean it gets funded to a greater degree at all and is a complete nonsense. It just means the guy that convinced the players to accept the cash shop gets a better paid job, which he did. He is now working on the board of directors as one of the top brass of Square Enix.

The "the money you spend on the cash shop means more content" lie was one of the main ways so many accepted it, and it's complete nonsense. The cash shop rakes in millions, and updates have drastically slowed, expansions have become smaller, content have become more cheap and grindy, more lockouts, less big changes, excuses have become more common and "lack of staff" is a very widely used reason for not being able to add things.

If anyone playing ffxiv currently would like to explain how they think the game is better funded in 2017-2018 than it was 2-3 years ago feel free, cause it sure does make a lot more money now than it did then and I ain't seeing it.