Originally Posted by
Stompa
FFXI was not the first, the first was D&d tabletop pens paper dice games in the 1970s. They had statistics and jobs etc. which FFXI borrowed heavily from. I played Dungeon Master for the first time in 1980, for a tabletop roleplaying group. Four of our original D&d group from 1980 are still playing tabletop roleplaying, and I still sit as Dungeon Master for them, after 34 years. One of the things about sitting as DM is that you learn to respect Rules, Balance, Fair Play, and trying to keep the game atmospheric and playable for a long time. These things are ingrained into me and are the reason why talk of a FFXI gear shop fills me with dread.
I did not allow our roleplaying group to treat me like a Cash Shop, and pay me $10 when they wanted to level up or obtain a powerful weapon. If I had tried to do this, the people buying stuff would have got bored quickly, and the rest of the group would have quit the group in disgust, and probably punched me on the way out of the door too. But because progress was orderly and fair and effort/skill based, our RPG group still plays after all this time, and we have great fun doing so.
Square Enix is the Dungeon Master for the FFXI roleplaying game, they are expected to uphold rules and fairness and maintain an atmospheric and exciting journey, just like Dungeon Masters have done since the 1970s.