December 2011 is the end

Hey look! Another one of these!

I don't think the game will fail, but yea, until 2.0 it'll be pretty lame.
Empty servers.

It's thee end of the world as we know it - and I feel fine

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Originally Posted by Sagagemini

I don't think the game will fail, but yea, until 2.0 it'll be pretty lame.
Empty servers.

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Absolutely nothing to back that up with. Again the lodestone forums and polls don't account for the whole ff14 playerbase...not even close. You do realize that there is going to be ongoing updates, new content, etc up to 2.0. Maybe people should go back and look at the latest pdf's and the roadmap.

The servers aren't going to empty out. Your assumption that the majority are free to play leechers or everyone wants to wait till 2.0 is misguided. So the majority of players are just gonna stop playing until Oct. of 2013 and the game is just gonna be empty and on life support until then huh.. yeah good luck with that theory. Let the weeding out process begin please and it can't happen fast enough.

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Originally Posted by captainpicard

Another user made a forum post that had a "like" this if you are going to pay and another "like" this if you are not going to pay. I checked it a moment ago and it was at 600+ will pay and 200+ will not pay so it is basically sitting at a 1 out of 3 players will not continue to pay as of the writing of this article.

The results are misleading. This forum is heavily skewed towards people who are fervent players of the game. My guess is many people who still log on and play occasionally or even frequently do not post here. Thus, I really see this as 1 out of 3 players that still care will not pay.

The results do not account for the vast number of people who still log on but do not care enough to post. They also do not account for the vast number of people who quit long ago, and now will have no incentive to return (except for perhaps a very short time periodically to see any progress)

In other words, the forums put forward the voice of the very vocal minority, and do not reflect the majority of players.

Consider the following:

1. The very small current player base, which is propped up by free service
2. The forth coming premiere triple A titles
3. The road map that clues potential new subs into the fact that this game is essentially not going to massively change until 2013

These factors all lead me to believe that those choosing to subscribe through out 2012 will be very alone in the game.

I wish the game success, but I see this move as another in a long series of SE blunders. I understand they would like to start seeing a revenue stream from the game and do not wish to provide free services for another entire year, however, I can hardly fathom how saying the current title is 50% complete, stating that they would not charge until the game was "ready", and then announcing they were going to charge in December 2011, while putting out a road map to "readiness" showing 2013, is staying true to the course.

There have been many comments about the cost vs. people's budgets. I agree with most that the monthly service fee is not the issue, it is the principal behind it that is the issue. SE has exhausted all their personal currency with me, and these recent announcements just reiterate how that personal currency has been squandered.

Another user commented that the commercials for needy 3rd world children could not cause him/her to donate, so they certainly were not going to fund ongoing development of a game for a multi-national corporation.

I could not agree more. The company has other revenue streams, other IPs, and this is merely a money grab.

Ultimately, you can take the "those that won't pay" from the other forum post and multiply it by 10x. You can also take the "those that will pay" and subtract at least a third, because something will come up, a new title will come out, any number of circumstances will occur that change their mind.

This is now officially a sinking ship, until v2.0 is released.

I'll check it out when that happens, until then, I bid you farewell, if for no other reason then I do not anticipate there being many people left to play with after December, making the relative cost vs. benefit untenable.

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bye, no1 will miss ya

I'll be enjoying the exclusive content leading up to 2.0, and may gloat about it for those who chose not to play anymore :D

My thoughts:
Not releasing the 2.0 version would be true death for FFXIV.
For those players that really not want to see this game die are going to stay and pay.
The PlayStation 3 version will bring new life to this game.

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Originally Posted by NaniNaniX

My thoughts:
Not releasing the 2.0 version would be true death for FFXIV.
For those players that really not want to see this game die are going to stay and pay.
The PlayStation 3 version will bring new life to this game.

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Good lord I remember the week the 360 version came out. It was like giving a sudoku to a chimp and expecting him to not only get it right, but create their own too.

Some of those SATA parties that week caused me to lose a few years off my life I think :S

December won't be the death of the game, but we are going to see about 30-40% of the playerbase leave. Most of the folks that take the incentive to post on the forums are typically avid players, and will stay. Unfortunately, that's only about 15% or so, of the actual playerbase. There's no way of knowing how desolate realms will become until P2P comes around.

Part of the defection is obviously that it's too early (let's be honest) to start paying, even for those of us who are interested in seeing the game survive. Part of it is that there are three or four other top-tier MMOs getting released before we see significant ground covered on the road to 2.0.

Regardless, it was clearly stated that the plug isn't getting pulled until at least 2.0. I believe Yoshi stated several months ago that PS3 would likely be the make-or-break point, it's just that now we have final confirmation this is the milestone SE has in mind. If 2.0 and PS3 launch continue to lose money, then it's the true death of XIV, case closed.

Most of my LS's are staying. I honestly think people are over-reacting about having to pay. OOO...a whole 10-12 dollars...


Honestly, I've only heard a few people complain about it, but no one has said they were leaving of the people I know.

in regards to ppl playing game that supposedly don't 'care' enough to post, i don't think we have to worry about them leaving and ppl not posting or playing... i am pretty sure SE is aware of those numbers

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Originally Posted by Dreadnought

they probably just should have spent all this time and money remaking VII to shut everyone up (including me XD) and re-top the video game industry

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Why? That's not a game worth remaking with a mediocre storyline and poor characters. My money is better spent on XIV than something like that.

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Originally Posted by BreeWhisperwind

Most of my LS's are staying. I honestly think people are over-reacting about having to pay. OOO...a whole 10-12 dollars...


Honestly, I've only heard a few people complain about it, but no one has said they were leaving of the people I know.

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Granted, the original pricing points probably don't hold water to what the new sub fees will be, but they were around $13/mo. for base subscription and one character. If I remember right, it was $9.99 base sub, and $3 per character.

I know a lot of my LS members have said if they charged a flat $10/mo, they'd stay. I'm not sure why the extra two or three dollars makes a difference, but it's probably the same psychology that applies to pricing anything with " .99" at the end.

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Originally Posted by Dallie

Granted, the original pricing points probably don't hold water to what the new sub fees will be, but they were around $13/mo. for base subscription and one character. If I remember right, it was $9.99 base sub, and $3 per character.

I know a lot of my LS members have said if they charged a flat $10/mo, they'd stay. I'm not sure why the extra two or three dollars makes a difference, but it's probably the same psychology that applies to pricing anything with " .99" at the end.

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People are weird sometimes. ~.~

Some people are really stupid.
The problem is not the amount we are going the pay! The problem is paying for something that does not deserve our money.
Stop with the "It's only 12$, anyone can afford that"

If you like the game as it is now, great!
But some of us are not paying for a game that is still incomplete.

I'd rather flush the 12$ than giving it to SE.

Ya I could care less about the 12$ a month, but I wont pay to play a beta for another year. Its clearly a very unfinished product by their own words but they want you to pay them to develope the game for them....ok sure.

I played FFXI for 6 years, I bought this game day one 75$ for CE edition. But I wont pay, the servers are already disgustingly dead whether I pay or not I already know over half of the player base will leave come sub time if not come SWTOR time. So why would I pay to play a mmo....with nobody.

Yes, December 2011 is the end.... of worthless-thread-spam like this one.

Why does every nobody thinks he have to open a new thread about this, to show everyone how he feels about the monthly fee?
I dont get it...

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Originally Posted by Sagagemini

Some people are really stupid.
The problem is not the amount we are going the pay! The problem is paying for something that does not deserve our money.
Stop with the "It's only 12$, anyone can afford that"

If you like the game as it is now, great!
But some of us are not paying for a game that is still incomplete.

I'd rather flush the 12$ than giving it to SE.

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you obviously dont enjoy the game then, at which point it must be asked why are you even playing it

the point is in the end, people who enjoy it will pay
and ALOT of people enjoy it

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Originally Posted by Judah

What's sad is that 90% of the ppl who defend S-E and say they will pay are max lvl 20-30.

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Did you know that 98.2% of statistics are bullshit and made up on the spot?

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Originally Posted by TheVedis

you obviously dont enjoy the game then, at which point it must be asked why are you even playing it

the point is in the end, people who enjoy it will pay
and ALOT of people enjoy it

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I like the game, but not the enough to pay for it.

And i agree with you, but that's not my point.
It's just pretty lame that people(mostly fanboys) are trying to convice us to play the game because it only costs 12$ a month.
Enough with the "OMG You gotta help SE!" or "Everyone should quit now, the game does not have a future!"

I'm looking forward to December 2012, because i believe the game will be worthy of my money by then.

I don't mean to be rude or anything, but what is the point of this thread? All you've really said is that the population of the game will drop until v2.0 releases, which is pretty obvious and doesn't require any real experimentation to figure out. For any other game post-release this would definitely be an issue; however, it means far less in the case of XIV. Why does the population between now and 2.0 matter at all if they'll be re-marketing the game to draw in those that haven't played as well as those who've left? Do you believe anyone who had an interest in this game will hold such a grudge over subscriptions going live as to avoid trying it out again during the v2.0 free trial period? Sure, you might not want to pay for a "half finished game" and that's completely understandable, but that doesn't really matter in the long run as the "full game" (i.e. 2.0) is on the way and ultimately the real indicator of the game's longevity. The server populations now have almost no bearing on this game's future and really only represent what it will be like between now and 2013.

The game will be lonelier between now and then, which sucks, but it's no real indication of the "end" of this game. Regardless, I do hope anyone that leaves does give it a shot upon re-release. I do really want to see this game succeed once its transformation is complete.

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Originally Posted by Sagagemini

I like the game, but not the enough to pay for it.

And i agree with you, but that's not my point.
It's just pretty lame that people(mostly fanboys) are trying to convice us to play the game because it only costs 12$ a month.
Enough with the "OMG You gotta help SE!" or "Everyone should quit now, the game does not have a future!"

I'm looking forward to December 2012, because i believe the game will be worthy of my money by then.

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same goes for those trying to convince people not to play

let people decide for themselves since im pretty sure pretty much everyone has

It's not like they ever intended to keep the game free to play. I'm really suprised this is causing so much drama. I took it as hey we're about to relauch the game so if you wanna enjoy the new content you'll need to start paying, if not hope you enjoyed your free year because it's ending.

Actually most people are using the "like" leaving as a "do I want to pay" vote.
Let's face it, people are hoping the "ill leave" threat will buy them more free play months.
I'm sure there will be a small percentage that doesn't renew, but if the "I'm cancelling my sub if....." threats of XI are any indicator, it's all bluff.
At the state the game will be in in Decenber, insisting it should be free is just being downright rude.
If you didn't have to pay for something until YOU thought you should, no one would ever pay for a damn thing. You'd always find a reason regardless of it being reasonable, or even real, to keep your wallet in your pocket.

Only 11 pages, i am disapoint. The other thread is up to 33.

OP - Even if it's only me playing next year, they'll still earn £10 more a month than they are now, which pays for yoshi's coffee.

It doesn't matter if people leave as long as the reboot goes well in 2012.

It's all about the money mate. £10 is better than £0. FF's brand is already on the up because of the announcement.

I don't really see your point. The ship is sinking, erm, yes. They sunk it themselves, because they're building a new one.

If you want to pay, you can goof about on the old one for a bit just to say you were there. I like that. It's only £10 max.

Stop moaning and go play something else, we don't care.

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Originally Posted by kurokawa

OP - Even if it's only me playing next year, they'll still earn £10 more a month than they are now, which pays for yoshi's coffee.

It doesn't matter if people leave as long as the reboot goes well in 2012.

It's all about the money mate. £10 is better than £0. FF's brand is already on the up because of the announcement.

I don't really see your point. The ship is sinking, erm, yes. They sunk it themselves, because they're building a new one.

If you want to pay, you can goof about on the old one for a bit just to say you were there. I like that. It's only £10 max.

Stop moaning and go play something else, we don't care.

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Thank you. It's nice to see someone else pointing out the obvious.... that regardless of how many people leave after subs are reinstated, that the revenue is still going to be more than SE has been getting for the 15 months leading up to the start of subscriptions.

Simple math folks:
Currently 100% of the playerbase - however many people that is - is playing for free. SE is not getting a dime from them beyond the box purchase, which was likely used up months ago already.

Now, let's say 60% of the current playerbase leaves. That leaves 40% of the playerbase left, paying subs.

The revenue from that 40% paying subs is more than they've been getting for the past year-plus from everyone.

In other words: SE still comes out ahead.

Why people don't understand this is beyond me. I'm inclined to believe that many do recognize this, but are dooming-and-glooming it up for no other reason than they want to continue playing for free.

SE has kept it afloat despite the fact that they've gotten not a dime of revenue for all that time. Yet, despite all that, people are claiming "oh, if they start subs, people will leave and they won't be making enough money to keep the game going...."

-Cue Facepalm-

I don't know if it's wishful thinking, willful ignorance, intellectual dishonesty or just plain stupidity... but if people can't see by now that SE is committed to turning this game around at almost any cost, then they're hopeless.

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Originally Posted by kurokawa

OP - Even if it's only me playing next year, they'll still earn £10 more a month than they are now, which pays for yoshi's coffee.

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This made me lol for real. I agree!

Sorry I didn't take the time to read all 100+ replies, but just for sake of saying, 200 people out of 800 (the poll) is 1 in 4 quitting, not one in 3.

I agree with your general analysis OP. However your math is bad. 600 paying vs. 200 not paying implies 25% will stop paying according to that (obviously biased) poll, not 33%.

The way I see it is that the game will have less lag when all these ppl go away :)

Though I hate what SE is doing by charging their players before FFXIV 2.0 release, I can't blame them for doing so. Business-wise, this is a good move for them. SE knows that the people playing now will most likely return when 2.0 release, so instead of letting people play for free, why not charge them and get whatever they can.

Those who decide to stay and play, good for them, support SE and get your head start for 2.0, but don't act all mighty and saying you'll pay for two accounts and that SE deserves our money, especially when the company itself says the game is incomplete. I don't know about you, but when I'm playing an MMO, I like it when there's more people and competition, god I hate it when people say then don't play!

Long story short, SE is just trying to get what they can before the release of 2.0, the lost of players aren't important to them before 2.0 releases. Let the players play for free till 2.0 or charge and get some money knowing that most of them will return anyways?

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Originally Posted by Meleena

The way I see it is that the game will have less lag when all these ppl go away :)

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You're right!
Less lag
Less players
Less linkshells
Less parties
Less items
Less everything!

oh and less of a MMO.

GL with your paid head start, I think I'll enjoy it more when 2.0 comes out, maybe even create a new account just to get the full enjoyment of how the game was suppose to be. Okay I'm lying about making a new account, but I am saving some class so I can level when 2.0 comes out.

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Originally Posted by mrpoohbear510

You're right!
Less lag
Less players
Less linkshells
Less parties
Less items
Less everything!

oh and less of a MMO.

GL with your paid head start, I think I'll enjoy it more when 2.0 comes out, maybe even create a new account just to get the full enjoyment of how the game was suppose to be. Okay I'm lying about making a new account, but I am saving some class so I can level when 2.0 comes out.

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To be honest, that's one of my biggest concerns: a big loss of the players community. Nobody likes to play in a "private" server with desert cities and empty fields.

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Originally Posted by Fanzeron

To be honest, that's one of my biggest concerns: a big loss of the players community. Nobody likes to play in a "private" server with desert cities and empty fields.

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I wouldn't let it concern you too much. I won't say we aren't losing anyone, but the people leaving are the minority. Plus, we can't speak for the people who don't use the forum.

Nearly my entire LS is staying as well as many other friends who have their own shells. I'm not going to feel the impact that badly, and I don't think most people are either.

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Originally Posted by Alerith

I wouldn't let it concern you too much. I won't say we aren't losing anyone, but the people leaving are the minority. Plus, we can't speak for the people who don't use the forum.

Nearly my entire LS is staying as well as many other friends who have their own shells. I'm not going to feel the impact that badly, and I don't think most people are either.

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No one is leaving from my LS and 95% of them don't Use the Forums at all

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Originally Posted by Starlord

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No one is leaving from my LS and 95% of them don't Use the Forums at all

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Aye, exactly. I would say people are being a little too pessimistic about the whole thing.

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Originally Posted by Starlord

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No one is leaving from my LS and 95% of them don't Use the Forums at all

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most forum goers are either hardcore fans, people who just like to hang in forums(like me) or people who have an extreme beef with the game(mostly this)
this holds true for most forums in most games


people who are enjoying the game are too busy playing to be on forums usualy

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Originally Posted by Starlord

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No one is leaving from my LS and 95% of them don't Use the Forums at all

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Yep, This^ We had one person on the fence but he is turning around and saying he is going to stay. And most people I talk to in game say the same about their shells. I wouldn't let the tantrums here worry you.

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Originally Posted by Alerith

Aye, exactly. I would say people are being a little too pessimistic about the whole thing.

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The 1k people that are on here are like 5% of the Total FFXIV population... and 75% of them on here are staying, so I wouldn't worry to mush on people leaving.. they stay here this long because they like the game, not because its F2P for a Year