I love everything I'm reading... but

it just seems kind of low of them to tell us we will need to start paying in November, then turn around and tell us that the new version of FFXIV won't be out until October - December 2012.

As far as I'm concerned, the game is still in beta and will be until version 2.0 is out. So what they are telling us is that we will have to pay for a beta version for a year.

Of course, I will pay and continue playing, but I'm not happy about it.

I'm also worried that a good chunk of people will be angrier than I, and just up and leave when subscriptions are introduced next year.

Right when I honestly start thinking the game will succeed, I read this news and now I'm back to seeing it's imminent failure.

The well will run dry eventually, so they need to start bringing in revenue to keep moving forward to actually reach 2.0

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Originally Posted by miqokini

it just seems kind of low of them to tell us we will need to start paying in November, then turn around and tell us that the new version of FFXIV won't be out until October - December 2012.

As far as I'm concerned, the game is still in beta and will be until version 2.0 is out. So what they are telling us is that we will have to pay for a beta version for a year.

Of course, I will pay and continue playing, but I'm not happy about it.

I'm also worried that a good chunk of people will be angrier than I, and just up and leave when subscriptions are introduced next year.

Right when I honestly start thinking the game will succeed, I read this news and now I'm back to seeing it's imminent failure.

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I think it's a genius idea.

1) Starts bringing in revenue, so that FFXIV 2.0 can further be realized.
2) Gets rid of a high OP population at the start of 2.0 (which will help new players that come during the release).
3) Those who stay and pay get to experience not only the story leading to 2.0, but most likely will get "legacy" items to carry over to 2.0.
4) It will get rid of all the people that only play F2P games (I mean, XIV is like $15 or something? Not much investment), and player polls and suggestions will have more substance (which helps the development of 2.0).
5) It's a business.

I mean, it's a very smart move, in my opinion. However, it could also just be the higher-ups wanting to see some mitigation to their loses.

Those "quitting" now and expecting to come back for 2.0, I wouldn't expect your character to still be here when you get back.

If someone dislikes the game so much that they aren't willing to fork out 13 dollars a month, why are they even playing? If paying a very small monthly fee will help them reach their goal of 2.0, I have no problem paying. If you don't like this game, don't play! STRANGE CONCEPTS! lol

Hopefully they hold it off till december, even if its just an extra month. By then another patch will be out and I wouldn't mind paying. I mean 15 bucks really isn't much at all. As long as they come through with there promises I'm happy to support at this time, but if they start slacking... then .... no soup for you.

$13 out of the WHOLE month, not a day, not every week, ONCE a MONTH is nothing honostly. I hope they make enough money to make 2.0 hit home and hit hard, because it honostly looks completely incredible! I can't express how awesome the new version of FFXIV looks!

Not paying for beta, sorry.

You say its low to do this, BUT

think of it as an expansion at this point

we have the game as is now, and like any MMO, they are going to charge til the expansions come out
not stop, then restart for the expansion cuz "its only fair you not have to pay for the game cuz the next versions not out yet"

I'd pay now, you can leave if you want, but first can I have your gil and armor? I need some more materia. :)

I'm pretty much mixed on this.

I want the game to succeed and V2 does look amazing, but telling us we're going to be charged when there's still a lot of issues seems like one hell of a bold (and stupid) move to make.

An expansion to a Beta? That's normally the retail version.

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Originally Posted by Molly_Millions

I'd pay now, you can leave if you want, but first can I have your gil and armor? I need some more materia. :)

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How long have you been waiting to use that line, troll.

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Originally Posted by miqokini

it just seems kind of low of them to tell us we will need to start paying in November, then turn around and tell us that the new version of FFXIV won't be out until October - December 2012.

As far as I'm concerned, the game is still in beta and will be until version 2.0 is out. So what they are telling us is that we will have to pay for a beta version for a year.

Of course, I will pay and continue playing, but I'm not happy about it.

I'm also worried that a good chunk of people will be angrier than I, and just up and leave when subscriptions are introduced next year.

Right when I honestly start thinking the game will succeed, I read this news and now I'm back to seeing it's imminent failure.

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I agree with you for the most party. I read into that first part of his statement about how hard the "new" team had been devoted to the game and this and that. I took that as, "listen folks...We are taking huge paycuts at the moment, how about we give you a good bit of content in 1.19 & 1.19A and you pay for the game now. Now, here is our time line on how your money is going to be worth it and how we are using it since all these upgrades are not free."

Just my opinion. However, SE has never disappointed me with any of their games and I would gladly start to pay for the game with those changes coming. Now I may have had been skeptical if they hadn't introduced all of that information and had just said that the game has to be paid for now. But of course, it went the other way.

I will be happy to sign up to be billed now. I am just a satisfied customer.

-Netheos

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Originally Posted by JackDaniels

How long have you been waiting to use that line, troll.

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And I didn't even say I was leaving...

I bet the same people complaining about this are the people that will spend $30+ a month on free games like League of Legends or Team Fortress 2 on microtransactions, but the fact that they're "forced" to pay $10-$15 a month to play a game where everything else is free is blasphemous.

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Originally Posted by JackDaniels

How long have you been waiting to use that line, troll.

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Like 2 seconds. how about you?

I'll be glad to put my money into this game if it means less Micro-transactions, less F2P type grind content, and a better end-user experience.
Subbing 2 accounts likely in support of SE's direction.

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Originally Posted by miqokini

it just seems kind of low of them to tell us we will need to start paying in November, then turn around and tell us that the new version of FFXIV won't be out until October - December 2012.

As far as I'm concerned, the game is still in beta and will be until version 2.0 is out. So what they are telling us is that we will have to pay for a beta version for a year.

Of course, I will pay and continue playing, but I'm not happy about it.

I'm also worried that a good chunk of people will be angrier than I, and just up and leave when subscriptions are introduced next year.

Right when I honestly start thinking the game will succeed, I read this news and now I'm back to seeing it's imminent failure.

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Wada said they have to start payments. "Have to." They need to eat too. XD

Actually, just after 1.19 I started feeling like the game was finally out of beta. But, everyone feels different.

I'm not worried personally. After what they've shown us they have planned I have a feeling most who quit will come back later. If not.. their loss. Game looks awesome. :x

It was a bit of a shock, and I don't have the money to pay for it now so I'll have to stop for a while. D: Hope it's easy to start up again without worrying about my character.

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Originally Posted by Oscillate_Wildly

It was a bit of a shock, and I don't have the money to pay for it now so I'll have to stop for a while. D: Hope it's easy to start up again without worrying about my character.

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Well, if you go, I hope you keep in touch with the forums. Wouldn't be the same without that crazy siggy!!!

I agree that it's a good thing. So you're saying Aion shouldn't be paid for pre-3.0 (the big turn-around patch)? WoW was released with just as many problems and Blizzard didn't even give them over a year of free play-time because of it.

So you're saying they should give us TWO YEARS of free-play? That would bleed SE dry, folks. We all know the game is "like a beta" at the moment, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun.

Think of your $13 a month as a means to a better XIV 2.0 in the end. The more subs they have, the more funding they have to make the game better.

This sentiment that Square Enix needs the money to fund development is laughable.

Do you think that Square Enix is some struggling, up-and-coming indie developer?

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Originally Posted by Len

This sentiment that Square Enix needs the money to fund development is laughable.

Do you think that Square Enix is some struggling, up-and-coming indie developer?

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Not an indie developer, but they ARE struggling. They've put stupid amounts of money into fixing this game, and no way in hell are they going to let another year go by without having people pay for a service they provide ESPECIALLY at it's current level. Sure, it's not complete, but it's getting there, and I'll be happy to pay for it until I find someone more worthy of my money.

SE is a business, and they want to make money off their product otherwise it's just dead weight.

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Originally Posted by Kailok

I agree that it's a good thing. So you're saying Aion shouldn't be paid for pre-3.0 (the big turn-around patch)? WoW was released with just as many problems and Blizzard didn't even give them over a year of free play-time because of it.

So you're saying they should give us TWO YEARS of free-play? That would bleed SE dry, folks. We all know the game is "like a beta" at the moment, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun.

Think of your $13 a month as a means to a better XIV 2.0 in the end. The more subs they have, the more funding they have to make the game better.

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WoW's launch period was not as bad as you claim. Yes the servers were unstable and crashed multiple times, but this was due to high player demand: not terrible engine optimization.

Furthermore, Blizzard has compensated my account plenty of times for even a couple days of server instability. SE didn't really "compensate us" because the game was still and still is terribly flawed.

SE is literally remaking the core systems of the game, that tells you the game is closer to an alpha stage, rather than a BETA.

Why would you pay for a beta? Not only that, but you'd be paying for a beta for nearly a full year!

The game they are putting out and working towards near the end of next year will go into BETA TESTING for two months. During that time you get a two month free beta test. So, I fail to see why you're going to pay a year's worth of money -- roughly equivalent to two fully completed triple A titles (120 dollars), and then say it is fine.

I agree SE cannot continue another full year. But charging now is not the solution unless it is half price, or severely reduced.

I'd rather see a payment option introduced when the server fixes and brand new UI goes live, rather than pay now for a product that still has a lot of core and fundamental work before any of the battles can be engaging, exciting, or even meaningful.

On a side note, everyone who claims they are happy to subscribe, are somehow justifying their purchase. "I'll just cut back on going out each month," "I'll have one less coffee each week," etc etc... You shouldn't have to justify wanting to pay for a proper product. I certainly don't.

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Originally Posted by Tibian

WoW's launch period was not as bad as you claim. Yes the servers were unstable and crashed multiple times, but this was due to high player demand: not terrible engine optimization.

Furthermore, Blizzard has compensated my account plenty of times for even a couple days of server instability. SE didn't really "compensate us" because the game was still and still is terribly flawed.

SE is literally remaking the core systems of the game, that tells you the game is closer to an alpha stage, rather than a BETA.

Why would you pay for a beta? Not only that, but you'd be paying for a beta for nearly a full year!

The game they are putting out and working towards near the end of next year will go into BETA TESTING for two months. During that time you get a two month free beta test. So, I fail to see why you're going to pay a year's worth of money -- roughly equivalent to two fully completed triple A titles (120 dollars), and then say it is fine.

I agree SE cannot continue another full year. But charging now is not the solution unless it is half price, or severely reduced.

I'd rather see a payment option introduced when the server fixes and brand new UI goes live, rather than pay now for a product that still has a lot of core and fundamental work before any of the battles can be engaging, exciting, or even meaningful.

On a side note, everyone who claims they are happy to subscribe, are somehow justifying their purchase. "I'll just cut back on going out each month," "I'll have one less coffee each week," etc etc... You shouldn't have to justify wanting to pay for a proper product. I certainly don't.

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I agree. You do make a good point. However, it's not going to keep me from playing/paying simply because I've made a home of the game. The game has made leaps and bounds from what it was at release and I'm having loads of fun and I'm willing to pay to be able to keep being allowed to play with the people I enjoy playing with. Sure, it's not the complete experience yet, but I'm going to stick around and experience what I can and help build the game for the future.

Again, I agree. It is indeed still in beta phase, but again, I'm willing to pay for my experience here. It's a fun game, and while we're limited on content, I'm happy to wait on the content to come. But...perhaps that's because Guild Wars 2 isn't out yet. ^^

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Originally Posted by PEANUT

$13 out of the WHOLE month, not a day, not every week, ONCE a MONTH is nothing honostly. I hope they make enough money to make 2.0 hit home and hit hard, because it honostly looks completely incredible! I can't express how awesome the new version of FFXIV looks!

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Same thing was said about FFXIV before it launched.

ITT corporate apologists vs people who realize paying to beta test for a developer is ridiculous.

Tired of the argument that Square-Enix somehow needs more money to make this game function.

They weren't concerned about making the game function when they released it incomplete and suckered all of us into paying 50-80 dollars for it. What makes you honestly think that you paying a monthly subscription is going to change anything moving forward? They make more money off taking their Super Nintendo titles and sticking them on PSN than monthly subscriptions ever will.

Stop making excuses for it. It's just corporate greed.

You may find yourself surprised with how many people actually stick around, remember FF XIV is a global MMO with worldwide servers. I do think they really need to start getting some good stuff out now though to make people want to pay.

I just sincerely hope that character information for players who have been absent for some time won't be deleted. -needs to go find a job- But I'll definitely be back to see this game approach it's full potential as soon as I can.

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Originally Posted by Kailok

I agree. You do make a good point. However, it's not going to keep me from playing/paying simply because I've made a home of the game. The game has made leaps and bounds from what it was at release and I'm having loads of fun and I'm willing to pay to be able to keep being allowed to play with the people I enjoy playing with. Sure, it's not the complete experience yet, but I'm going to stick around and experience what I can and help build the game for the future.

Again, I agree. It is indeed still in beta phase, but again, I'm willing to pay for my experience here. It's a fun game, and while we're limited on content, I'm happy to wait on the content to come. But...perhaps that's because Guild Wars 2 isn't out yet. ^^

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While I won't be sticking around until 2.0 is released, I think Kailok's words speak volumes.
Yes, XIV is seriously flawed. But it is still an enjoyable experience and beautiful world; a world one could easily call their virtual home.

"Sure, it's not the complete experience yet, but I'm going to stick around and experience what I can and help build the game for the future."

/respect Kailok
:)

Well here's the thing for me, and there are likely others that feel much the same:

I like FFXIV. But before the last two patches I rarely played it any more. In fact, it was deleted off my computer until I just decided to try it again. Then, over the last couple of months I've been playing it more and more, really liking the changes. I especially like the addition of chocobos and the simplified, more logical crafting. No doubt the game is going in the right direction, and the vision for the version 2 looks awesome in it's own way (although it looks like solo players will be completely dumped on by it).

But here's the thing: it may seem like, "Well, it's just thirteen bucks. Mere chump change." But in mid-November I am going to buy Skyrim and play it. When SWTOR comes out, I am go to buy it and check it out. No doubt I will be playing Guild Wars 2, probably for a long time. So basically, right around the time these guys are planning to start charging for a game that is only now really getting on track, I'm going to have some other game expenditures that will definitely make me think twice about paying now for it, not to mention all the Christmas presents I will have to buy.

In a nutshell, whereas just before the announcement I was planning on leaving it on my computer and logging in from time to time and keep checking it out, and maybe deciding finally that yes, this is indeed the game I want to play and pay for in the long term, now instead I am probably going to just delete it off my computer and forget about it for at least a year. Instead of me logging in and doing stuff and thinking, "You know, this really is cool. I like every change they make. I think I even like it better than SWTOR even...." Now it will just be big blank nothing.

It's the timing of charging for it that makes me shake my head. In three months, the game might be where I'd say, "Okay, I've played SWTOR, Skyrim's a side thing, and GW2 was buy to play anyway, so yeah FFXIV is shaping up to be my main game that I'll pay a subscription for." Instead right after Skyrim's released, right around the time of SWTOR's release, and with GW2 peeking around the corner (and even a revamped and buffed up TERA on the way in the west), here they are wanting to charge a full subscription for a game still being fixed from a badly broken state, right at the time I'm going to be paying for 2 to 3 new Class AAA COMPLETED games and a possible SWTOR subscription for at least a month or two to fully check it out. So in the grand scheme of things for me, a subscription fee to keep experiencing the changes in FFXIV doesn't sound too appealing, since I wouldn't be playing it full time anyway.

But they think it's a good idea, so either they will find they're right, or they will be in for a huge shock come December.

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Originally Posted by Oscillate_Wildly

It was a bit of a shock, and I don't have the money to pay for it now so I'll have to stop for a while. D: Hope it's easy to start up again without worrying about my character.

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You better come say hi before you stop!