It's not that they aren't profitable, it's that the global economy is still in such a shit state right now. As to the "why's" of that is a topic for a different discussion, which can get stupidly heated because of the divisive nature of politics these days.Quote:
Originally Posted by kyuven
Seriously SE???
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02-20-2015, 04:58 AMNoshpan
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02-20-2015, 04:59 AMZakka
40 bucks for a game is a steal these days,
I will be ordering it once it get a little closer to release date. xD -
02-20-2015, 05:01 AMCGMidlanderYou're making that assumption based off what, exactly? The superficial details you glanced from the trailers?Quote:
Originally Posted by Moqi
Until we see the quality of lore written about them, the amount of new and unique movements that have been motion captured...etc. , it'd be unfair to assume. -
02-20-2015, 05:14 AMMoqiWe have artworks and models, it's really not just an assumption. Lore and animations have nothing to do with sticking a bunch of dragon ears and a tail on a jailbait and calling it a day. Coming up with that look wasn't a 40$ effort, you can tell that much already.Quote:
Originally Posted by CGMidlander
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02-20-2015, 05:25 AMRaistWell, as a company they directly employ just under 3600 people (http://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/company/outline.html)Quote:
Originally Posted by Phe
Note their revenue figure in there (155B yen, or ~1.3B USD). According to their own financial statements they profited just under 11B yen from 31 March, 2014 to 31 December, 2014. That works out to just over 90M USD in profit for the last 9 months of 2014. That was after shelling out over 5B Yen (~45M USD) in taxes alone. They also had over 16B yen (~13M USD) in combined liabilities to account for. You can review the reports yourself if you want:Code:Corporate Profile
Company Name SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
Established September 22, 1975
Headquarters SHINJUKU EASTSIDE SQUARE 6-27-30 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
160-8430, Japan
MAP
Representative Director Yosuke Matsuda, President and Representative Director
Stock Ticker Information The First Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange(9684)
Common Stock 15,368 million yen
(As of March 31, 2014)
(Number of Shares Issued and Outstanding) (115,575,696)
(As of March 31, 2014)
Net Sales 155.0 billion yen
Digital Entertainment 94.6 billion yen
Amusement 47.0 billion yen
Publication 10.2 billion yen
Merchandising 3.8 billion yen
(Fiscal year ended March 31, 2014)
Number of Employees 3,581
(As of March 31, 2014)
http://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/
Percentage-wise, they aren't retaining a gross amount of revenues if you compare the figures to other players in the industry. -
02-20-2015, 05:39 AMCGMidlanderLore and animation most certainly do have importance in differentiating races.Quote:
Originally Posted by Moqi
Otherwise, Miqo'te are just Hyur with cat ears and tails right?
Roes are just resized Hyur with different skin colour?
Elezen are really tall Hyur with pointy ears and small heads.
Lalafell are small, fat Hyur, I guess.
Au Ra are Hyur with scaly patches, a tail, and dragon horns.
Damn, SE is so uncreative with all these bipedal races. -
02-20-2015, 05:39 AMRaistYou do realize that there was a large portion of players that migrated to 2.0 for free.... and periodically BOTH 1.0 and 2.0 went on sale for considerably less than the list price right? I saw 2.0 frequently up on newegg and other sites for $20 both shortly before and after the relaunch. Not to mention the odd Steam sales and such that crop up from time to time. Just saying.. you can't just do simple math like $30 list price X 1M users.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phe
They also have to account for distribution costs for those sales as well--even for digital distribution, there is a cost they incur even if it is indirect. Bandwidth is not cheap. Stamping, packaging, and shipping product costs money.
You seem to be looking at the price tag and assume that is profit (or at least the bulk of it). You'd be surprised how much loss some companies actually take selling a product up front in order to make money on the back end in order for you to continue using that product. Look at consoles, printers, and computers for example. They practically give you the hardware in comparison to the cost to eventually get the product to the shelf (not just production/shipping mind you, there is also the long cycles of R&D, testing, marketing, etc.). But, they get money back through the consumable items and additional licensing as you spend money to use them after you buy them. -
02-20-2015, 05:48 AMRaistHave you ever tried to render custom animations on a computer? Much less 3D models? A lot of time can go into designing and testing the models to try to safeguard against anomalies. You never know just what the impact of altering the wire frame of a character may have on additional layers that must be applied to it--especially when those existing assets may not have been designed with flexibility that would account for the new wire frame modifications. A slight alteration in the core shape of an object can cause some really strange glitches down the line when other things are made to interface/interact with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Moqi
And then there is all the peripheral content as was already mentioned. Story, missions, voice acting, new motion capturing.... a lot more may be going into this than you realize. -
02-20-2015, 06:02 AMCatsby
#Nopreorders 2015
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02-20-2015, 06:07 AMMoqiVisually, they don't. That's what I'm talking about but you keep bringing up lore like it's got anything to do with it. Mi'qote too are humans cat ears, yes. It's lazy and cheap, we had them and Padjal already, for 40$ they'd better put more effort in it. You can justify it lore-wise anyway you want, but female Au ra still look like a bunch of 17 year girls at a Mean Girls halloween party.Quote:
Originally Posted by CGMidlander
Big whoop, it's their job. It's not like I'm paying SE every month for them to do exactly that...Quote:
Originally Posted by Raist
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02-20-2015, 06:09 AMPheactually yes. i'll buy the expansion for 20 when it costs 20.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magis
the 40$ is just to rip off the hardcore that desperately need to cap their iLV asap.
look at the maps of the new heavensward Coerthas areas and you will learn that it's the same 2010 maps in new design.
but why release these redesigned areas with the major updates when you can charge for it?
well... somebody has to make up for 10 years FF15 development, so why not us.
STFU. and take my money. -
02-20-2015, 06:09 AMMageBlack
Cant wait for the CE to be released. I have the CE for both 1.0 and 2.0 so I will be getting the 3.0 CE as well. If $40 is too expensive for you, then I guess we wont be seeing you in Heavensward. Enjoy your entitlement while I enjoy the game for what it is, not what I think it should be. Take care!
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02-20-2015, 06:11 AMMagisHe was pointing out that it isn't "recycled", that is the "big whoop". Recycled would be reusing models which is not the case.Quote:
Originally Posted by Moqi
If they are "in a new design" how are they recycled? That literally means they had to redesign and remake it. Even the new game engine means they had to put man-hours into buildings the content. Why did you by ARR then? Most of ARR content is just recycled 1.0 content by your measure!Quote:
Originally Posted by Phe
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02-20-2015, 06:16 AMaisustrong
id love to see all you whiny babies spend your time working on a product that actually requires thought and creativity (instead of just only time/menial labor) to put out a quality product and then think its somehow unreasonable to charge 40$ for something of this magnitude
seriously, stop being so entitled.
youre probably the same kind of people that dont want to pay for music. -
02-20-2015, 06:18 AMPheI don't talk about the overall content, which I like.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magis
I talk about space.
People have to pay 30$ once and 40$ again to get back the amount of space they had 5 years ago. -
02-20-2015, 06:32 AMMoqiExcept it's not only 40 because part of my sub has been going towards its development already and I will still need to pay a monthly sub after I buy it in order to play that. I have no problems paying 60-70 for a videogame, but not for the kind that asks me for money before and after as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by aisustrong
It sounded like an excuse as to why all the races look awfully similar. I would care that it's too much work if I didn't pay them every month, but you can't keep asking me for money and tell me "this is too much work, I'll take the easy way out" at the same time. The limited time/resources narrative worked for 2.0 but it doesn't cut it anymore. They had more resources and more time for 3.0, I expect more effort put into it as well.Quote:
He was pointing out that it isn't "recycled", that is the "big whoop". Recycled would be reusing models which is not the case.
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02-20-2015, 06:55 AMLeigaon
$40 isn't bad compared to what I'll most likely pay for the CE. If the expansion money is something you have to consider whether you want to buy or not because of its price then you most likely shouldn't be paying for this game. If it's "not the fact I can't afford it" then that person is here to complain to complain. I have no problem with the price and the unknown price, at least unknown to me, about the CE. I'll buy the CE and be happy with it. If you think that paying $40 is too much and also having to pay a monthly fee afterwards, thinking you're not getting your $$ worth, this isn't the game for you.
A lot of work goes into this game and that doesn't count the behind the scenes people, or the people supporting the people behind the scenes. It's not just 8 guys in a room with Yoshi holding a cattle prod.
Where is your money going? Into other games or funding employees sure but it's going into the details of the game that make it beautiful. It also goes into the nagging threads that demand decisions be made. For example the whole "men should wear bunny outfit" and calling out SE for inequality against..guys who want to dress up like chicks, that takes part of your $40 + subscription. Meetings with supervisors and officers takes time which at that level takes $. It just keeps going.
Sorry to those who feel the price is too high or not getting enough in some areas. I feel the same way about a lot of things too but I know what's happening behind the scenes, so it makes it better. I'll buy 3.0, be ready and happy. Those who aren't thrilled..don't pay and don't play 3.0 until it comes down. Or do pay and play for it then come on here and complain...doesn't matter. Now i'm lost..I was looking for 3 / 4 star rotations. Off to the DoH forums until 2.5b! -
02-20-2015, 07:10 AMKerii
My math says that I have paid SE about one dollar per day since I started playing. After thinking back on it... Considering I've been playing since the relaunch and how much I've actually played the game... I'm okay with that. This game isn't great, there are a lot of things wrong with it, but considering it's strongest competition right now has been around for a decade, I can live with it. 40$ for an expansion is a drop in the bucket compared to having to buy multiple console games a month for 60$ each. Which is why I became a pc gamer in the first place.
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02-20-2015, 07:14 AMScarletDawn
Where is the official link to the official price?
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02-20-2015, 07:31 AMMasamuneBranford
If $10 creates undue hardship - wouldn't the smart financially responsible decision for that person be to not play a game that requires monthly payments?
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02-20-2015, 07:43 AMObysucaQuote:
Originally Posted by AsahinaMyLove
^ ThatQuote:
Originally Posted by Obysuca
>_> Because 99% of mmos now follow the same overused formula and people get tired of itQuote:
Originally Posted by kyuven
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02-20-2015, 07:52 AMAvenger
I'd like to see the download edition be cheaper than the disc edition (why are downloads just as expensive when no physical product needs to be manufactured, stored, or shipped?) but I want the physical CE anyway, assuming I can afford the price and storage space! :D
Since the original poster was comparing pricing with FFXI's, it's worth noting that Chains of Promathia was $29.99 in 2004 - about $38 in 2015 dollars - so FFXIV's standalone expansion pricing is starting about where FFXI's did. Not to mention that on the PS2 FFXI was $99 since it included/required the HDD... -
02-20-2015, 08:08 AMLexiaI can see them dropping the price for the expansion when they release 3.1, that ok for casuals but a large percentage of their play base will not want to be playing catch up on 3.0 content when everyone else is doing 3.1 content so yes people will spend the $40.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phe
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02-20-2015, 09:41 AMWelsper59The download editions are often a matter of argument. To be fair, there IS cost to hosting and distributing downloads of a product, a cost that physical copies do not have (because the cost is in production of said physical copy). Enough of a cost to make it worth the same price tag? Probably not, but that's how it is right now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Avenger
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02-20-2015, 10:15 AMGilthasPhysical and digital games often cost the same because otherwise brick and mortar stores would refuse to stock them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Avenger
EDIT: Now that I've caught up on the discussion, holy ****, the amount of whiny that I skipped.
Only two things to say:
1. The obvious: assuming that monthly fees have been pure profit for SE is at the very least asinine. No one knows how much money SE is making, though given that SE's finances have been getting better I think we can assume a nice profit. For now at least.
2. The most important part: I see so many people expecting SE to put all the profits made from FFXIV back into FFXIV. If SE had to do that (hell, if any company had to do that) they would just shut down the game. -
02-20-2015, 10:22 AMZumi
Even if you get the physical edition in the store you won't miss out and people won't pass you up in leveling much. SE will have to take down the servers for a long maintenance when the expansion launches and usually their maintenance end like at 3am pst. Most people will be asleep anyway. Unless you were really going to stay up late in the very early morning to play soon as the servers go up most people will be asleep. Then you can wake up go to the store to pick up your physical copy and play the game only a few hours after people who got the digital version can play.
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02-20-2015, 12:42 PMSeifIn no way whatsoever is that comment true. SE has necer said that there's THAT much content and starting that kind of rumours without any quote nor fact helps nobody.Quote:
Originally Posted by KamikazeMan
On the topic itself: this pricetag does seem kind of bonkers given that based on what they've shown us, only a few new areas are being added.
Can't say this will stop me from buying it but I can't assume the rest of the player base is on the same level of enthusiasm. -
02-20-2015, 01:03 PMMeierYes they did:Quote:
Originally Posted by Seif
http://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comme...0_heavensward/
http://www.usgamer.net/articles/fina...-the-base-gameQuote:
Expansions are more like WoW's rather than FFXI's in volume (e.g. a whole new game at the release instead of implementing the expansion content over-time).
So you were saying?Quote:
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Yoshida's comments, however, is that he claims the game's first expansion, whatever it ends up being, will include "the [same] amount of content released with the relaunch." That's a ton of new content, on top of what the game already offers plus the regular, free updates.
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02-20-2015, 05:31 PMObysucaSE is also known for saying things and not following through, so don't get your hopes up >_> Anyone else here remember the road maps for XI with "new avatars!" within a few months, only to come like 3 years later? lolQuote:
Originally Posted by Meier