Please make FFXI f2p!

[Castanica]

The thing to keep in mind is that Square think this game is not worth the effort right now, they did a simple calculation of subscribers - the loss of console players and said it's done.

If they went with a f2p model and it became more profitable that could very well change, that could very well convince them to add content to it again.

A f2p game does not need a massive subscriber base to be profitable. This may be the only lifeline the game has going forward, it would be a travesty if a) the game died and b) the mobile app version (which you can bet will have in-app purchases) makes more money than this one does.

It saddens me that people are being so short sighted, once November comes players are going to be shocked how few players stick around.

[Stompa]

The thing to keep in mind is that Square think this game is not worth the effort right now, they did a simple calculation of subscribers - the loss of console players and said it's done.

If they went with a f2p model and it became more profitable that could very well change, that could very well convince them to add content to it again.

A f2p game does not need a massive subscriber base to be profitable. This may be the only lifeline the game has going forward, it would be a travesty if a) the game died and b) the mobile app version (which you can bet will have in-app purchases) makes more money than this one does.

It saddens me that people are being so short sighted, once November comes players are going to be shocked how few players stick around.

I don't think anyone can be short-sighted on this, because nobody knows what is going to happen in the future. We are all guessing. These are uncharted waters. FFXI is not the same as those other games. FFXI is a unique game in many ways, with a famously loyal core playerbase. We simply do not know how many people will stay on next year and beyond. You say hardly anyone, I think maybe quite a lot. But we don't know!

In the beginning you were saying that you shouldn't have to pay money for a game that has no updates, but then later on you're saying that you will be happy to spend money in FFXI, if the money goes directly to buying gear/progress. In both cases you are paying money for a game that has no updates, so it sounds like you're saying the updates aren't the real issue, but getting gear/progress without actually farming it, is.

And you talk about longevity, don't you see that FFXI has survived this long partly because of the fact that people worked on long-term projects like RME and crafting mastery etc. A snapshot of the FTP/cash shop system, in terms of longevity, is ; player X buys their capped jobpoints/craft skills, buys afterglow RME etc., wanders around hitting some mobs, stands around glowing in town, gets bored, walks away and never comes back.

You don't know how many people will quit when updates stop and neither do I. However I know a lot of legitimate players who have been building their Empys for years, and who want to finish their Empys, and <wait for it> when they've finished their Empys they want to actually play the game using those Empys! People are not spending years building RME and afterglows, capping jobpoints etc. just so they can quit. They are investing all that time and effort, because they want to play the game using that nice gear and those skills.

Which raises the final point, did you consider all those people who built / are still building RME, all those who levelled jobs the legit way, got craft mastery the legit way. How do you think those people will react if there was suddenly a FTP/Cash Shop with people buying all the stuff that other players had worked so hard for? Do you think that would encourage longevity? Do you not think that might actually lose the faithful playerbase who like to play RPG Adventure games by actually going out in the RPG world and <gasp!> Adventuring in it.

I know a lot of people who will keep playing this game so long as it is online, and are happy paying subs for it. But I don't know anyone in my friends community who want to see gear/progress going on sale in a FTP model. So I think there will still be a lot of people wanting to play after updates end, but this is only my guess - I'm not stating it as a fact, since nobody knows the future.

I agree with Vienne and other posters, a slight lowering of subs makes sense, when the major dev work stops. But subs are still important to keep the unadulterated version of FFXI online and supervised.

[Dale]

It saddens me that people are being so short sighted, once November comes players are going to be shocked how few players stick around.

I don't think they are being short-sighted. Rather they are just hoping for the best.

I hate to say it though - but I think you're right. If new content stops I think most players will move on. MMORPGs depend on the evolution of its gameplay to survive. If there is no future - people are going to start looking for a game that has one.

[Castanica]

I don't think they are being short-sighted. Rather they are just hoping for the best.

I hate to say it though - but I think you're right. If new content stops I think most players will move on. MMORPGs depend on the evolution of its gameplay to survive. If there is no future - people are going to start looking for a game that has one.

November is really going to open peoples eyes, I just hope it opens them in such a way to realise that you have to evolve or you die. F2p could save the game and I hope people see that, there are a lot of people that want to keep playing this game and it could also usher in renewed interest from Square once they see they can make more money from f2p than subs. You only have to look at xiv to see that players will spend a lot of money on their cash shops buying ponies and silly hats.

Before someone says well ffxi is old, the most profitable mmo titles on the market are the old titles. Lineage 1 makes more money than Guild wars 2, blade and soul and wildstar combined. Everquest 1 is still popular, profitable and gets updates. I don't even need to mention WOW do I? All these titles are as old or older than FFXI and are among the top of profitability.

The wait and see approach honestly might be waiting too long, there will only be a short window where Square will bother to care one way or the other.

Evolve or die, simple as that.