Online Store is Getting Worse!

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Originally Posted by Jojoya

Unless someone is a registered investor in Square Enix, they don't have any right to that type of information beyond whatever public disclosures are required by law.

If you think a company is engaging in shady accounting practices, why are you doing business with them? Why not go find a game where you feel the company is properly investing back in their product?

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You misunderstand me. I am under no delusion that Square should publish any of that information. I'm simply saying that there's no reason to believe the claim that they're re-investing mog station money directly into the game.

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Originally Posted by LilyPendragon

You misunderstand me. I am under no delusion that Square should publish any of that information. I'm simply saying that there's no reason to believe the claim that they're re-investing mog station money directly into the game.

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There's no reason to believe they're not. People will have their opinions on what's being done, but the fact is the service remains pretty consistent and they're doing more and adding more.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

There's no reason to believe they're not.

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That's not how the burden of proof works. Don't get me wrong, I don't give two damns about the mog station one way or the other, but unless it can be shown to be true, the claim that they re-invest all their mog station money into the game will remain unproven. People just take it on faith that when they were told that is the case, that it is true.

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Originally Posted by Jojoya

Somehow I doubt that. If you were truly affected that badly, you wouldn't be subscribed to the game in the first place. You'd be cowering in a closet somewhere with your eyes clenched shut.

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We all deal with things we don't want to throughout our lives.
I also hate exercising, but I do it anyway cause if I don't it will literally kill me.

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Originally Posted by Lustre

Everyone knows XIV is the cash cow. they invest the absolute minimum (shout out to intern-san) and extract the maximum. If you dont agree with this cash shop stuff, vote with your wallet and dont buy anything off there. While whales will continue to urinate their money up the wall, at least you'll know you didnt contribute to the problem. There is absolutely 0 reason for the cash shop to exist when they charge a base fee and a sub cost. Maybe they could add these items into the game to be earned instead of brought to help with player retention and droughts but I guess mr shareholder wouldnt be too happy with that.

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Yeah you sum it all up. It’s a losing battle. At least we can pat our backs saying we didn’t contribute to that..

MMO Subscriptions have never gone above 15/month in about 22 years. If you think developers are really getting by just on that and the base entry / expansion costs, you're sorely mistaken.

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Originally Posted by MistakeNot

There is a very simple solution for all those, like me, who think most of the items in the Online store are far too expensive.
You don't buy them.

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I think its same problem as with current wow. You buy game and pay sub yet some parts of content released in bad quality while store items in much better.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

MMO Subscriptions have never gone above 15/month in about 22 years. If you think developers are really getting by just on that and the base entry / expansion costs, you're sorely mistaken.

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Some back of the envelope calculations on my part

Assuming:

1. Squenix reporting of 24 mil accounts as of Oct 21 is both accurate and each is a distinct subscription
2. Each of these is paying a 30 day standard sub in my region at 8.99/month

Thats ~2 billion (2,000,000,000) gross annually, not including Mogstation transactions or upfront expansions payments.

I don't claim to be an expert on MMO maintenance costs, but that seems like plenty of income to me.

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Originally Posted by Iyrnthota

Some back of the envelope calculations on my part

Assuming:

1. Squenix reporting of 24 mil accounts as of Oct 21 is both accurate and each is a distinct subscription

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I'm pretty sure that the 24m number is the total accounts ever created for the game, not active subscriptions

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Originally Posted by Hoaxtopher

I'm pretty sure that the 24m number is the total accounts ever created for the game, not active subscriptions

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I dunno, I was doing some googling, and it looks like more recent estimates have total number of subscribers at over 30 mil.

I was going to quote them, but most seems to be pulling that figure from here:
https://mmo-population.com/r/ffxiv

Hmm, looking further I'm not so sure. I googled WoW subscribers and got a place that claimed they have 4.8 mil, and there's no way ff has that many more.

You might be right that "subscribers" in the ways that these places count is defined as "people who have been subbed at least once at some point" not "people who are currently subbed"

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Okay, revised figures. on the assumption of 2.2 mil active players with all other assumptions being equal, that would be ~237 million annually, gross.

Which seeing it written down sounds a lot more reasonable (2 bil? Really?) .
Don't know that it changes my opinion mind.

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Originally Posted by Iyrnthota

Some back of the envelope calculations on my part

Assuming:

1. Squenix reporting of 24 mil accounts as of Oct 21 is both accurate and each is a distinct subscription
2. Each of these is paying a 30 day standard sub in my region at 8.99/month

Thats ~2 billion (2,000,000,000) gross annually, not including Mogstation transactions or upfront expansions payments.

I don't claim to be an expert on MMO maintenance costs, but that seems like plenty of income to me.

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You don't seem to understand basic economics and the fact that prices for everything else have gone up, yet the subscription fee remains the same.

I don't claim to be an expert on the costs, but I've paid attention to this genre and what those in the industry have had to say on the matter. Years ago, decisions had to be made in order to support these efforts. One thought that floated around was actually in-game advertisements. Thankfully, that never happened and they instead decided to address the market for luxury goods.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

You don't seem to understand basic economics and the fact that prices for everything else have gone up, yet the subscription fee remains the same.

I don't claim to be an expert on the costs, but I've paid attention to this genre and what those in the industry have had to say on the matter. Years ago, decisions had to be made in order to support these efforts. One thought that floated around was actually in-game advertisements. Thankfully, that never happened and they instead decided to address the market for luxury goods.

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Nah, I reckon even these days they could sustain on subs alone. Obviously we'll likely never know for sure, cause they're never gonna release that info, but I even with the increase in costs due to inflation over the years they'd be fine.

Least I'm honest enough to put it up front where my opinions are based, not hiding behind mysterious industry insiders and thinly veiled insults.

Edit: There's a daily post limit apparently.

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Originally Posted by Iyrnthota

I dunno, I was doing some googling, and it looks like more recent estimates have total number of subscribers at over 30 mil.

I was going to quote them, but most seems to be pulling that figure from here:
https://mmo-population.com/r/ffxiv

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First and foremost, MMO-Population is a terrible website that has never once provided sources for their claims. Everything there should be completely disregarded.

Secondly, the whole 30-40 million players is just PR advertisement which ever game in the industry does. This number accounts for every single person who has ever registered an account, bots and trials included. If someone tried FFXIV for all of five minutes then uninstalled, they'll forever count in the "30 million players" advertisement. The reason companies stopped giving actual estimates dates back to WoW first fall from grace. Basically, Blizzard didn't want to advertise losing players. So they switched to "accounts made" despite still claiming it was the same thing. Other games have followed suit for similar reasons.

The best estimation we have of FFXIV's active playerbase is from an official census done by Lucky Bancho.

People keep buying so why not keep doing it? Also the exchange rate for dollars to yen is 142 right no so them making pretty much anything in dollars makes them INSANELY profitable in Japan. It really is worse then you think it is.

That is the devils barging we all make by playing FF14. They deliver a solid product and we all look the other way on their extremely excessive monetization.

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Originally Posted by Illmaeran

I'll argue that it's not predatory at all and people are using the term in a way that doesn't fit this game. Mogstation items are purely optional and cosmetic, and as such give no substantive benefit to the player. Predatory sales tactics are those in which the developer intentionally makes items that give substantive benefits to the player and design the game in such a way that said benefits are necessary to play the game at a more than sub-standard level. Predatory is a "create a problem then sell the solution" situation, or in other terms, design the game so the player is forced to spend money to make up for design deficiencies. In addition to that, having monetization schemes where the currency the person buys is in portions that are either insufficient or way more than is needed to buy items; forcing the player to spend much more than is necessary to get said item.

This game has plenty of items, emotes, mounts, minions, and dyes available strictly though in-game activities that one need not buy anything to get full benefit from their game purchase and subscription. If SE want to charge a premium price for luxury items that's up to them. It's up to the player to decide if that item is worth the price, aka has value to them. It may be distasteful to many to have a cash shop in a game that requires a purchase and subscription, but it's in now way predatory.


As a previous poster said; Mogstation purchases subsidize people who don't buy from it as the extra revenue helps keep sub costs down. Think what you will of people who buy Mogstation stuff, have extra retainers, or both, but realize they're the ones keeping your sub from hitting the $15 per month standard of other subscription models out there.

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Isnt sub 15 euros? am I stupid for paying that much?

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Originally Posted by Illmaeran

I'll argue that it's not predatory at all and people are using the term in a way that doesn't fit this game. Mogstation items are purely optional and cosmetic, and as such give no substantive benefit to the player. Predatory sales tactics are those in which the developer intentionally makes items that give substantive benefits to the player and design the game in such a way that said benefits are necessary to play the game at a more than sub-standard level. Predatory is a "create a problem then sell the solution" situation, or in other terms, design the game so the player is forced to spend money to make up for design deficiencies. In addition to that, having monetization schemes where the currency the person buys is in portions that are either insufficient or way more than is needed to buy items; forcing the player to spend much more than is necessary to get said item.

This game has plenty of items, emotes, mounts, minions, and dyes available strictly though in-game activities that one need not buy anything to get full benefit from their game purchase and subscription. If SE want to charge a premium price for luxury items that's up to them. It's up to the player to decide if that item is worth the price, aka has value to them. It may be distasteful to many to have a cash shop in a game that requires a purchase and subscription, but it's in now way predatory.


As a previous poster said; Mogstation purchases subsidize people who don't buy from it as the extra revenue helps keep sub costs down. Think what you will of people who buy Mogstation stuff, have extra retainers, or both, but realize they're the ones keeping your sub from hitting the $15 per month standard of other subscription models out there.

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The "just cosmetics" argument is complete nonsense. The biggest most sought after rewards in this game are all cosmetic in nature, ilvl holds very little value in the long term. Ultimate weapons, relics and savage gear are primarily useful as glams, savage mounts are purely cosmetic.

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Originally Posted by Saraide

The "just cosmetics" argument is complete nonsense. The biggest most sought after rewards in this game are all cosmetic in nature, ilvl holds very little value in the long term. Ultimate weapons, relics and savage gear are primarily useful as glams, savage mounts are purely cosmetic.

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Exactly right. FFXIV isn't at that point, but many games purposefully lock anything worthwhile behind the cash shop, lootboxes, premium battlepass, etc.. and thet get away with it, because it's "just cosmetic". For example, making anything attainable in-game of much less quality, or just plain ugly, to exacerbate the issue; to nudge players into the cash shop. Sometimes also providing enough "free" currency to get people into the cash shop, and cash in (literally in many cases) on the PR of this "free currency".

Very similar to "pay for convenience". The devs have to purposefully make the game inconvenient to allow for "convenience" features.

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Originally Posted by Bukachu

Isnt sub 15 euros? am I stupid for paying that much?

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I don't know what a sub costs in Euros, but I don't think you're stupid for paying it if you enjoy playing the game.

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Originally Posted by Saraide

The "just cosmetics" argument is complete nonsense. The biggest most sought after rewards in this game are all cosmetic in nature, ilvl holds very little value in the long term. Ultimate weapons, relics and savage gear are primarily useful as glams, savage mounts are purely cosmetic.

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The point of the paragraph you quoted from is that the Mogstation is not predatory, given the context of what I said in that paragraph. Purely optional and cosmetic, not "just cosmetics". I disagree that the argument of mogstation items being optional and cosmetic in nature is nonsense. I agree that the items most desirable over the long term are so due to their cosmetic potential. Reading between the lines, I get the message that because things in the game are highly sought after for their cosmetic qualities the Mogstation is a bad thing because it sells items for cosmetic purposes; therefore, making the sale of things bad because people do in-game activities to get cosmetic items. Am I understanding that correctly?

On the topic of mounts, I agree that they are a cosmetic thing. Given how a person acquires them, they give visual proof that the person riding it has accomplished something in the game; whether that be trials, dungeons, PoTD, or what have you. We know that someone on the Nightmare mount has put in the time and effort to get it and we respect the player for that. We also know that someone riding the Megashiba bought it and as such, don't hold that player in regard the same way we do a player with the Nightmare mount. Yes, both are cosmetic, but I would argue their cosmetic importance is based on the mode of acquisition, not the mount itself.

The sort of item you referred to are all available in the game, through in-game actions, and are not sold on the Mogstation. Also, some of the items in question, such as armor and weapons, have substantive benefit to the player. We're not seeing items that provide anything other than cosmetic benefit being sold on the Mogstation. Therefore, the Mogstation doesn't fit the definition of predatory I provided. We may disagree on the definition of predatory, but we must agree that everything sold on the Mogstation is optional, cosmetic in nature, and has no substantive impact on the game, barring the Fenris motorcycle's speed thing.

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Originally Posted by Iyrnthota

Which seeing it written down sounds a lot more reasonable (2 bil? Really?) .

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The Yen to US dollar conversion is usually around 100:1, so 237 million USD is roughly equal to 237 billion Yen. It's really easy to see the 2 billion and think it's in USD rather than Yen, which is likely the cause of misunderstanding/mis-stating reported income.

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Originally Posted by Illmaeran

I don't know what a sub costs in Euros, but I don't think you're stupid for paying it if you enjoy playing the game.



The point of the paragraph you quoted from is that the Mogstation is not predatory, given the context of what I said in that paragraph. Purely optional and cosmetic, not "just cosmetics". I disagree that the argument of mogstation items being optional and cosmetic in nature is nonsense. I agree that the items most desirable over the long term are so due to their cosmetic potential. Reading between the lines, I get the message that because things in the game are highly sought after for their cosmetic qualities the Mogstation is a bad thing because it sells items for cosmetic purposes; therefore, making the sale of things bad because people do in-game activities to get cosmetic items. Am I understanding that correctly?

On the topic of mounts, I agree that they are a cosmetic thing. Given how a person acquires them, they give visual proof that the person riding it has accomplished something in the game; whether that be trials, dungeons, PoTD, or what have you. We know that someone on the Nightmare mount has put in the time and effort to get it and we respect the player for that. We also know that someone riding the Megashiba bought it and as such, don't hold that player in regard the same way we do a player with the Nightmare mount. Yes, both are cosmetic, but I would argue their cosmetic importance is based on the mode of acquisition, not the mount itself.

The sort of item you referred to are all available in the game, through in-game actions, and are not sold on the Mogstation. Also, some of the items in question, such as armor and weapons, have substantive benefit to the player. We're not seeing items that provide anything other than cosmetic benefit being sold on the Mogstation. Therefore, the Mogstation doesn't fit the definition of predatory I provided. We may disagree on the definition of predatory, but we must agree that everything sold on the Mogstation is optional, cosmetic in nature, and has no substantive impact on the game, barring the Fenris motorcycle's speed thing.

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I think you definition of what qualifies as predatory monetization is a bad one because it only considers pay to win aspects. In reality looking good and showing off is a considerable driving force in any game that allows for customization, the acquisition of that is evidently only one aspect of it. If the acquisition was the only thing that mattered no one would buy mogstation stuff for their looks. It would only be a questionable means to show off wealth. It is then no surprise any greedy salesperson would drive up prices on what people care for most and within their own game they have an absolute monopoly.

You say that everything sold on the mogstation has no substantive impact on the game (excluding the bike) but looking good has a substantive impact on our enjoyment of games in general.

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Originally Posted by Puremallace

People keep buying so why not keep doing it? Also the exchange rate for dollars to yen is 142 right no so them making pretty much anything in dollars makes them INSANELY profitable in Japan. It really is worse then you think it is.

That is the devils barging we all make by playing FF14. They deliver a solid product and we all look the other way on their extremely excessive monetization.

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Who is looking the other way? The line seems to be drawn between those that see the cash shop for what it is and zealous SE defenders. Thing is, the battle is being fought on SE's land. What side do you think SE is going to listen to? The minority who see the mogshop as a EA inspired creation or the legion who will blindly clap when the dev's parent company tell them to? lol

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Originally Posted by Illmaeran

We know that someone on the Nightmare mount has put in the time and effort to get it and we respect the player for that. We also know that someone riding the Megashiba bought it and as such, don't hold that player in regard the same way we do a player with the Nightmare mount. Yes, both are cosmetic, but I would argue their cosmetic importance is based on the mode of acquisition, not the mount itself.

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Cosmetic importance is a big factor, otherwise people would literally not buy most cash shop mounts. The mode of acquisition is certainly a factor, but if something that isn't desirable is locked behind a grind, or achievement, less and less people will do it. There will always be collectors and the like out there, but the more aesthetically pleasing something is, generally, plays a big factor. Similarly, if something very desirable is locked behind low chance in a lootbox or the like (gacha games?), for example, people will feel a very similar sense of 'prestige' for having this item.

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Originally Posted by Iyrnthota

I hadn't considered comparing it against expansion prices.
Where I am, to buy Endwalker on Steam currently it's 29.99, this glam set alone is 15.00.

It would cost me more to buy this glam set for two characters (which I would have to do, because it's Single Character only) than it would to buy the most recent expansion.

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I think it's eye opening for sure. It's clear that the prices of these sets far exceed how much it takes to produce them. If SE really needed anywhere near $10 per sale to cover the cost of creating an outfit, how much of the budget was put toward the default ones in the $50ish game?

Willingly paying these prices doesn't make someone a bad person, but I think it should be fairly obvious why they create so many negative reactions. It's not just about affordability, but obviously milking profit to extreme degrees. I'd like to buy some mogstation outfits and I'm always willing to support developers for good work, but I can't justify paying $20 for $1 worth of effort despite being able to part with that $20 very easily. I don't think that it's inaccurate to say that it's beneficial for everyone if the prices of options items were more reflective of their cost of production, even if you can afford them as is. Given how massively inflated the prices are right now, even an 80% cut would almost certainly still leave SE with profit. I'm also sure that such a cut would not lead to a proportional drop in income as with lower prices they would likely increase sales.

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Originally Posted by Iyrnthota

Nah, I reckon even these days they could sustain on subs alone. Obviously we'll likely never know for sure, cause they're never gonna release that info, but I even with the increase in costs due to inflation over the years they'd be fine.

Least I'm honest enough to put it up front where my opinions are based, not hiding behind mysterious industry insiders and thinly veiled insults.

Edit: There's a daily post limit apparently.

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I'm not hiding anything. I just don't keep it handy. It's 20 damn years of articles. The proof is out there. Just google it.
There's nothing thinly veiled about my insults. Why it's insulting to state the obvious lack of understanding on your part is another thing.

My point is this shop and its patrons are helping keep the sub cost down.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

I'm not hiding anything. I just don't keep it handy. The proof is out there. Just google it.
There's nothing thinly veiled about my insults. Why it's insulting to state the obvious lack of understanding on your part is another thing.

My point is this shop and its patrons are helping keep the sub cost down.

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Source: Trust me bro. :^)

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Originally Posted by Raoabolic

Source: Trust me bro. :^)

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That's their source for all the evil SE is doing. :D

The last time I had this conversation was probably around 5 years ago. Like I said, you can find the info out there if you bother to look. I can't be arsed because ya'll aren't worth the time and won't listen anyway. :)

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

That's their source for all the evil SE is doing. :D

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I agree! I don't see why everyone gives EA so much flack. :^)

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Originally Posted by Raoabolic

I agree! I don't see why everyone gives EA so much flack. :^)

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Now you're fishing for a proper rant. :p They have really ruined so many good things.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

My point is this shop and its patrons are helping keep the sub cost down.

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I don't know if that is necessarily true. It'd be nice to think of the mogstore as having a positive effect on the game, but as the years have gone on, I don't think it really is. I personally don't mind non-predatory cash shops, as I have said before on these forums. If the game likewise has desirable things to earn, then buying something desirable off of a cash shop - something that wouldn't have been created otherwise - only enhances the experience, in my opinion. I like outfits! However, I'd like to see a certain level of quality, especially if players are going to be paying a premium for said item, and this more and more doesn't seem to be the case. They also seem to be adding things that were already in the game to the store - not referring to seasonal items (although, some would argue those should be available in-game as well).

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

Now you're fishing for a proper rant. :p They have really ruined so many good things.

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Let me tell you about a fun series called Dissidia... lol

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

MMO Subscriptions have never gone above 15/month in about 22 years. If you think developers are really getting by just on that and the base entry / expansion costs, you're sorely mistaken.

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And over those two decades the cost of operations has dropped significantly which more than makes up for any increase in wages.

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Originally Posted by GeminiReed

And over those two decades the cost of operations has dropped significantly which more than makes up for any increase in wages.

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And you base this on a deep undestanding of the current architecture, which appears to remain unchanged since 2013? Hardware costs are the only thing that has dropped significantly over the years. Network costs, data center costs, electricity costs, et al have not experienced that sort of drop. As hardware gets older, those costs tend to increase, not decrease.

(For reference, I have been working in and around data centers professionally for the last 35+ years, and have developed operating budgets for IT departments.)

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Originally Posted by PyurBlue

I'm always willing to support developers for good work, but I can't justify paying $20 for $1 worth of effort despite being able to part with that $20 very easily.

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The development cost is somewhere between us$2-4k if they're using in-house developers. If they offshore some of the work that could drop well below us$1k. If they sell 10 or 100,000 the cost is the same other than transaction fees. I'm willing to bet the sales figure will be closer to 100k (20 cents per piece) than 20k (1 usd per piece)

In other words, it's fountain soda.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

My point is this shop and its patrons are helping keep the sub cost down.

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Hardly. No matter how much profit the cash shop makes they'd dearly love to jack up the sub fees. The don't because there's sufficient competition in the MMO space that any attempt at such would cause enough unsubs for them to be required to make a note in the next annual report. (I do not miss working for publicly traded companies).

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Originally Posted by DPZ2

(For reference, I have been working in and around data centers professionally for the last 35+ years, and have developed operating budgets for IT departments.)

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(Funny I have a similar reference)

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Originally Posted by Saraide

You say that everything sold on the mogstation has no substantive impact on the game (excluding the bike) but looking good has a substantive impact on our enjoyment of games in general.

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Personally, I would understand this argument if the game didn't already offer a huge variety of great glamour options. But it does. Glamours are my favourite part of the game and I for one am very satisfied with the amount and quality we get.

If it comes down to people simply wanting to own EVERYTHING, I think that's people's problem.

It has been overpriced from a long time. $5 for a face emote? I pass. $22 for the car hoodie? I painly pass (that hoodie is fire).

But i see it this way: if you enjoy the game and play it every day, you can spare a little in the store. I DO wish for better prices tho, we already pay a monthly fee so the store is not the main income for SE in FF XIV.

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Originally Posted by Saraide

I think you definition of what qualifies as predatory monetization is a bad one because it only considers pay to win aspects. In reality looking good and showing off is a considerable driving force in any game that allows for customization, the acquisition of that is evidently only one aspect of it.

You say that everything sold on the mogstation has no substantive impact on the game (excluding the bike) but looking good has a substantive impact on our enjoyment of games in general.

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You bring up a good counter-point. I agree that looking good and showing off are considerable driving forces; though I can only look good as I'm not good enough to show off. :) You're right though, customizing appearance is a significant and meaningful aspect of how people enjoy the game. Frankly, it's one of the reasons I love this game so much. Perhaps substantive wasn't the right word, but I can't think of anything more succinct than that to describe an item with stats that gives a tangible improvement to gameplay outside of strictly visual considerations. IWSTGATITGOOSVC? :P

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Originally Posted by SturmChurro

Cosmetic importance is a big factor, otherwise people would literally not buy most cash shop mounts. The mode of acquisition is certainly a factor, but if something that isn't desirable is locked behind a grind, or achievement, less and less people will do it. There will always be collectors and the like out there, but the more aesthetically pleasing something is, generally, plays a big factor. Similarly, if something very desirable is locked behind low chance in a lootbox or the like (gacha games?), for example, people will feel a very similar sense of 'prestige' for having this item.

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As I said to Saraide, I agree that appearance is a big and important factor. I've spent a fair amount of time unlocking raids I never intended to do or leveling jobs I never intended to level strictly for a piece of glamour (NiER dresses anyone?). I've also passed up a lot of things because they're locked behind a grind, achievement, or raid/trial that I don't want to do.

I get where you're coming from and in the context of what you and Saraide have said, perhaps Excessive would be a better term than Predatory. Everything on the Mogstation is still a luxury item, in that they're not required for play but enhance enjoyment of the game, and as such command a luxury price. Would it be nice if the prices were lower? &$@( yes! Do the normal prices stop me from buying stuff? Absolutely. Do I think the prices are outrageous? $42 for a whale mount?? Nnnnooooooooothankyouverymuch. Even so, I can't blame a company in a capitalist nation for charging what the market will bear, or in this case, cat.

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Originally Posted by Saraide

I think you definition of what qualifies as predatory monetization is a bad one because it only considers pay to win aspects. In reality looking good and showing off is a considerable driving force in any game that allows for customization, the acquisition of that is evidently only one aspect of it. If the acquisition was the only thing that mattered no one would buy mogstation stuff for their looks. It would only be a questionable means to show off wealth. It is then no surprise any greedy salesperson would drive up prices on what people care for most and within their own game they have an absolute monopoly.

You say that everything sold on the mogstation has no substantive impact on the game (excluding the bike) but looking good has a substantive impact on our enjoyment of games in general.

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If all of the "free" gear looked like crap in the game and the only way to get good looking gear was to pay extra on the cash shop, you'd have a good example of predatory monetization.

That's not what is happening with FFXIV. It's a small percentage of cosmetic options that are only available through the cash shop, and most of those on the shop are to give JP/NA/EU players access to past event and China/Korean "exclusives".

Not buying from the cash shop does not prevent anyone from looking good. It just prevents them from using a relative handful of specific looks. We've got hundreds of looks to choose from that are available directly from game play so it's not predatory monetization.

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Originally Posted by Raoabolic

Let me tell you about a fun series called Dissidia... lol

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Just like the Tsukihime anime, Dissidia NT does not exist.

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Originally Posted by Jojoya

If all of the "free" gear looked like crap in the game and the only way to get good looking gear was to pay extra on the cash shop, you'd have a good example of predatory monetization.

That's not what is happening with FFXIV. It's a small percentage of cosmetic options that are only available through the cash shop, and most of those on the shop are to give JP/NA/EU players access to past event and China/Korean "exclusives".

Not buying from the cash shop does not prevent anyone from looking good. It just prevents them from using a relative handful of specific looks. We've got hundreds of looks to choose from that are available directly from game play so it's not predatory monetization.

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Considering you are the person who said that island was long lasting content and repeatable by "changing the places of the landmarks and swapping their spot", this post is not a surprise in any way.

Compare the store glams and in game glams and tell me the quality of the in game ones is anywhere near the shop ones.

Also "a small percentage" is laughable