What are the Chances FFXIV will go F2P?

Not happening ever

I can understand if it was one of their subsidary company(like Fantasy earth Zero etc) who made this game, but no this is one of their main franchise. I highly doubt it, reason it has the #14 in it,. FF never had a bad name since its start, 13 was too linear but it was new and many liked it, just wish it would have been longer. They will do w/e means to keep their history clean. ESP when FF13-2 and FF13V is on the line.

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Originally Posted by Jennestia

Yep plenty of them, including 2 new ones and they're all the same exact game with a different setting and different gimmick -- so there's no "competitive nature" of F2P games, as they're all basically the same and people choose whichever one has theme they personally like, they're just throwing out the MMOs in hopes to make money, not necessarily compete, because if you've played one F2P MMO, you've played em all as they say which is why the one thing that separates them is the theme of the world, e.g Lucent Hearts is a Romance/Zodiac themed one while Iris is a 'magical' themed one, yet plays the same.

The cash shops and microtransactions are also generally the same throughout them all, some companies try their best to not make "more money = get further", but you can pretty much guess what types of items would be sold.

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Could say the same about most MMORPGs. You quest and grind to get to end-game, story is about impending doom and fighting to stop it, end-game is mostly grinding for l33t gear or giant bosses that have gimmicky attacks or you just tank-and-spank them.

But in Perfect World, MOUNTS ARE FLYING SWORDS :O

EDIT: Oh and some gimmicky PvP stuff too, usually, where one class is always way out of balance at the lower levels.

it wont they would just pull it offline.

I would not be okay with playing a game where I can only compete by pulling out my credit card.

F2P games can end up costing players more than a sub model. If FFXIV went pure cash shop, I would probably quit.

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Originally Posted by Synapse

I can understand if it was one of their subsidary company(like Fantasy earth Zero etc) who made this game, but no this is one of their main franchise. I highly doubt it, reason it has the #14 in it,. FF never had a bad name since its start, 13 was too linear but it was new and many liked it, just wish it would have been longer. They will do w/e means to keep their history clean. ESP when FF13-2 and FF13V is on the line.

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But those aren't MMOs... they can still sell their single-player player games fine, even with a bad reputation in the MMO community. I would be pretty wary of any new MMOs SE released (all things considered), but I also know that the single-player games have usually been maintained with high expectations in mind (and usually exceeded as well).

However, they would want to maintain their reputation among the MMO community because MMO gaming is an extremely prosperous industry and it would be a shame for them not to have a presence in it

There is a stigma attached to F2P titles and I don't see Square including the Final Fantasy name in that. It would cheapen the franchise as a whole.

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Originally Posted by Verecund

But those aren't MMOs... they can still sell their single-player player games fine, even with a bad reputation in the MMO community. I would be pretty wary of any new MMOs SE released (all things considered), but I also know that the single-player games have usually been maintained with high expectations in mind (and usually exceeded as well).

However, they would want to maintain their reputation among the MMO community because MMO gaming is an extremely prosperous industry and it would be a shame for them not to have a presence in it

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if they dont fix this POS I would be wary playing anything SE came up with. what they created was an empty game of broken shit, it has nothing to do with being an MMO. THey know how to make an MMO, use FFXI as an example.

Technically, it already is. But if you mean in the literal sense, I sincerely doubt it. They'd probably shut the game down before they made it F2P.

I certainly hope not. I would rather see the game get shelved instead of F2P. I personally hate F2P due to all the micro-transaction crud. Even though EQ2 isn't completely F2P, I cancelled when they opened up their micro-transaction store.

Why do so many people I see still hate on this game? I for one have seen no sign that SE will just give up and quit, and I am sure they won't do anything so stupid as go the f2p route. (and I would hope anyone interested in playing wouldn't want that either) However I still can't understand why some ppl seem to act like this is the worst mmo on the planet. I only started playing a week ago, but I have followed the game since launch and from what I can tell it has improved more than substantially since then.

I have played nearly every other mmo to date both f2p and p2p and I just don't see the "empty game of broken shit" that some people keep talking about.
Yes, I can certainly see where some areas need development, as well I can see where some silly choices have been made in production but I think the game is great, and I began my gaming 'career' in the very early 80's so I would like to think I am educated in that department lol!

If SE introduced micro-transaction however I have to agree with the majority of you in that would be it for me. I simply can't afford to pay cash everytime I want the new hip armor, or break out a credit card so I can run around on the new red and green 'Christmas Chocobo' they have for sale.

(Apologies for the off topic 'rant' in the body of my post. I just can't help myself to wonder though why ppl who act like they despise the game spend so much time on it's forums?? What's the point?)

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Originally Posted by Rjain

You say that as if it's easy.

I agree with it but considering how much money this game has lost and is still continuing to lose, and given the fact Square-Enix said they plan on cancelling a crapload of projects because of their extreme losses in general, I don't think they're going to spend too much more on a project that has record low players.

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SE has said that having 2 - 3 concurrently operating MMO is central to their business strategy. Hence the decision to fix this game rather than scrap it. I'm betting they will spend a lot of money to make this work if only to establish/maintain their rep as a maker of MMO. SE wouldn't be the only major software vendor to take a lackluster product and turn it into something well respected by applying sufficient amounts of cash. In point of fact that's exactly how Microsoft turned its SQL server into something competitive with Oracle.

If SE has the cash they can make it work it will just take time. They may loose some players, but new gamers are being born every day. Honestly I was only ever really worried XIV might be eliminated right after the earthquake. A lot of Japanese businesses had to make major adjustments to their business strategies in the aftermath of that. SE turned off some of the lights, reduced their air conditioning, and XIV managed to keep off the non-essential list.

I've been to Japan in August, and the devs have my sympathy on the lack of AC. XD

I think they will try to stay away from f2p simply because it's a Final Fantasy game. But that of course all depends if they can pull the game out of the mud. They still have a long way to go, a lot of stuff to add, and a lot of stuff to fix.

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Originally Posted by Crica

Going free to play?

The game IS free to play right now...

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No it's not. You still have to purchase the box set. It's free while the devs are going through their damage control.

Its very unlikely. Yoshi mentioned if the PS3 version fails they're giving up on xiv. They're only thing they can do now before they make it pay to play again is
Fix copy pasted terrain
Change combat system into an action oriented system that way its not slow paced.
Add end game PVE instances more notorious monsters etc
Add Mounts (chocobo's)
Add more maps
Add a more diverse set of armor and equipment
Remove leve's as the main content of the game (in progress apparently)

Once thats all done the games ready to be a pay to play game. Afterwards they just have to keep up with adding side quest type things for players to do and end game content. Pretty much :o

I am hoping their goal is to experiment with and eventually implement the fixes necessary to make this game what it can be. Right now I feel like they are just testing things out so they can have a more concrete release with their 3rd title. They still have quite a bit to go but with a good release for PS3 and some good press and marketing this game could recover enough to be profitable.

As far as this game going F2P? Not if they can make some huge strides by Christmas. I see them laying the groundwork right now for a game that is going to be quite a bit different from the original release. If that is good or bad remains to be seen. They are walking a fine line between alienating the people currently loyal to the game and bringing back those who were disappointed or attracting a new base of players with these changes they have planned. If something comes out at the holidays that catches peoples attentions and this game is not back on its feet and headed in the right direction then they are pretty much sunk. If they can put the "RPG" back in "MMORPG" while making the mechanics of the game work effectively they will only be taking the first step toward getting off the ropes and back in the ring. After these 3 patches they need to throw about 3-4 epic updates that blow our hair back with gratuitous amounts of storyline/lore quests and side quests that put our characters in the story and link us to the plot line. I am not talking about the "warp here, do this, warp back and done" quests. I am talking about the 5-10 part quests that have something to do with something that is actually transpiring. It is about time they start to tie us to our fate. It is time for "Masta-blasta" with his fancy forearm cannon and his angry little spaceship to be sitting on my mantle. I don't need the echo to find out what's on his mind either, just gimme one of those yummy gunblades...that will do just fine. Let's get hopping with the juicy stuff and quit fiddling with the filler.

I wouldn't mind an EVE Online style 'F2P'. I think that was the only MMO to get 'F2P' right.

In EVE Online, it technically wasn't F2P. Players, if they chose to, could purchase additional play time to sell on the market from the owners of the game. Those players, in turn, would sell this game time on the market for in game currency. The end result is normal players were able to play the game for free by spending in game money to buy game time from other players on the 'market wards'.

Also, it nearly irradicated RMT. At least it became much less of an issue.

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Originally Posted by WillRiker

I wouldn't mind an EVE Online style 'F2P'. I think that was the only MMO to get 'F2P' right.

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Say what? Did you miss the recent 60$ monocle debacle? O.o

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Originally Posted by HappyHimitsu

I have played nearly every other mmo to date both f2p and p2p and I just don't see the "empty game of broken shit" that some people keep talking about.

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I know alot about where you're coming from. An MMO can still be an MMO with only 1-2 servers. There are far worse games out there in terms of population. As long as there's a good 500-2,000 that play we should be fine (but it would be nice to see the game prosper).

@ OP: zero chance.

But i would recommend SE seriously discuss the monthly fee, cuz having it too expensive wont make the game better.
Or even better, have a poll on how much would we consider an fair monthly fee.
(an official one, not some random crap post made by a player wich will involve alot of flaming etc)

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Originally Posted by Cendres

Say what? Did you miss the recent 60$ monocle debacle? O.o

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As well as charging for something they initially said would be free and not forced? People always leave out the fine details that may hurt their argument.

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Originally Posted by Laughlyn

@ OP: zero chance.

But i would recommend SE seriously discuss the monthly fee, cuz having it too expensive wont make the game better.
Or even better, have a poll on how much would we consider an fair monthly fee.
(an official one, not some random crap post made by a player wich will involve alot of flaming etc)

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Players hate paying for video games, especially monthly -- so a fair price would be "free" or serverly under the cost to break even or make a profit; There's a reason most P2P MMOs are at least $12+ a month or have a $120-$220+ yearly sub option.

i think the game is to difficult to go f2p. but I don't mind I like free stuff anyways

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Originally Posted by viion

If ps3 version fails, (which it will if its release anytime this year / early next year) then it will have to stay free to play.

In its current state up until way past 1.20 if they went p2p or micro-transactions people will leave in a heart beat.

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If the game isn't worth paying for after 1.2 then they may as well shut the servers down because they'll have failed. It's people like you expecting the game to stay free forever that will kill this game. Developing extra content and expansions relies on funding, if it remains FTP for much longer after 1.2 you'll see many people leaving. I don't wish to play a FTP game.

well they could theoreticallly go b2p like guild wars 1, and i think gw2. There is also ftp/subscription models that arent that bad.

But problem is to be f2p/hybrid you need to have consistent content updates, to have b2p, you have to have very beefy expansions with full story lines, new gears, and you in general want to release one, 2x a year, maybe 1 if the sales are really great. But since they are used to getting more, for less, with ffxi, i doubt they will want to go either route. FFXI sold expansions, and charged you each month while they rolled out the story line from each expansion slowly. Dunno if the devs are up to it

After what's happened to FFXIV, they're not going to reinstate the subscription fee. Charging players to play when there are no players playing is more costly than opting for a F2P system with micro transactions.

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Originally Posted by Physic

well they could theoreticallly go b2p like guild wars 1, and i think gw2. There is also ftp/subscription models that arent that bad.

But problem is to be f2p/hybrid you need to have consistent content updates, to have b2p, you have to have very beefy expansions with full story lines, new gears, and you in general want to release one, 2x a year, maybe 1 if the sales are really great. But since they are used to getting more, for less, with ffxi, i doubt they will want to go either route. FFXI sold expansions, and charged you each month while they rolled out the story line from each expansion slowly. Dunno if the devs are up to it

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Well, that's not really the only reason Guild Wars could do a B2P model. It was also very heavily instanced, from the overworld to the cities, everything was broken down into many instances. This can really help with server load when it's being hosted on other people's comps, hence why games like Call of Duty on consoles can refrain from charging extra for online.

FFXIV can't exactly do that since the world is all one giant instance; there's no real cheap way to break that down, lol. They unfortunately need an extra source of income, whether it be via micro-transactions or subscription fee, to pay for maintenance on servers hosting all this on their end.

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Originally Posted by BlackHawkGS

Well, that's not really the only reason Guild Wars could do a B2P model. It was also very heavily instanced, from the overworld to the cities, everything was broken down into many instances. This can really help with server load when it's being hosted on other people's comps, hence why games like Call of Duty on consoles can refrain from charging extra for online.

FFXIV can't exactly do that since the world is all one giant instance; there's no real cheap way to break that down, lol. They unfortunately need an extra source of income, whether it be via micro-transactions or subscription fee, to pay for maintenance on servers hosting all this on their end.

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GW2 is going to be full MMO, and it also offering b2p, the whole server thing is highly overated, look at private servers, they usually work off of donations, the real costs are in the development side.

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Originally Posted by Quoc

After what's happened to FFXIV, they're not going to reinstate the subscription fee. Charging players to play when there are no players playing is more costly than opting for a F2P system with micro transactions.

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XIV hasn't been fully released nor has it ever had a subscription system yet either, as in no one paid monthly for this game yet -- also no it's not more costly, it's more costly to bleed money than make SOME profit.

Um... are we F2P now? lol

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Originally Posted by Miyochan

Um... are we F2P now? lol

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Technically we are buy to play atm.

If square was to let people download the game off the website without needing a registration code, then we would be free to play.

Chances are random, but if you think about it you can come with this conclusion.

0% due to the amount of money spent of this game. XI still isn't F2P.

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Originally Posted by zaviermhigo

0% due to the amount of money spent of this game. XI still isn't F2P.

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Except FFXI didn't getting publicly disemboweled by the press. Not to mention how they openly apologized for how "bad" the game was and fired the old producer.

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Originally Posted by Jennestia

XIV hasn't been fully released nor has it ever had a subscription system yet either, as in no one paid monthly for this game yet -- also no it's not more costly, it's more costly to bleed money than make SOME profit.

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Once a game goes retail, I think it's been "fully released".

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Originally Posted by Quoc

Once a game goes retail, I think it's been "fully released".

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Not if its 1/x systems, which means it hasn't hit all markets yet -- if you recall, most multiplatform games tend to release on all venues at once.

Its not gonna go free to play. They would drop the game if there wasnt any sorta income or future investment.

Hell I would love if they failed FFXIV and changed it from MMORPG to single player game if things happen that way.
I want FFXI to sorta become a single player game someday when it loses its playerbase and they easyly redo the game by raising HP,MP,Attack. Then they put the game on like PSP Vista with enough hard drive support...

It would give some people a chance to play the game. Mainly the ones that arent into MMO's and hate the idea that main FF shouldnt have went MMO and everyone that dont like paying for online games.

I haven't read the whole thread but FFXIV will never go Free-to-play, they generate money from FFXI to fuel FFXIV which means there is absolutely no loss in this game, just bad reputation. And people would rather go play a free-to-play MMO like Forsaken World, has tons of content, more than FFXIV.

FFXIV is about quality as far as SE are concerned, not quantity. They will of course grow, bringing more content and such, but the whole idea around the game is the opposite of how the free-to-play system works. I don't think the subject would even come to discussion within the company. It's just not going to happen.

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Originally Posted by viion

If ps3 version fails, (which it will if its release anytime this year / early next year) then it will have to stay free to play.

In its current state up until way past 1.20 if they went p2p or micro-transactions people will leave in a heart beat.

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I would leave in a heartbeat.