Mid June = monthly subscription?

If there is a BIG patch mid june, that will probably bring the game back to enjoyable levels. I already see more people running around my server. They said once the game is back to enjoyable levels that they will continue with monthly subscriptions.
Does anyone know when they will end the free trial thing and continue with monthly subscriptions?

Well they've said they will let us know 1 month in advance before they start charging. I wouldn't count on 1.18 starting the charges simply because it's not the entire battle update. Maybe 1.19, I'm personally predicting it will coincide with PS3 launch as they share a common condition.

IMO it will start being charged and PS3 version will be released in september or march.

So expect your wallet to start bleeding in 4 months...which is good IMO...if i had the option of already be paying for more retainers, i would've be paying gladly for 6~8 more.

I would expect at least version 1.20+ for this to be considered.

1.18 = june
1.19 = july
1.20 = august
1.21 = september

So yep, i agree with Ash! =P

Yeah, I definitely don't think they're going to start charging us AT LEAST until they get the foundation on solid ground. Being that they are just STARTING the renovation to the battle system in the mid-June patch it may still be a long time before we see a fee. Even then, I think they are going to need a HUGE content patch before they can justify charging us. I know we are getting a lot in June, but the people with multiple 50s are going to burn through that content like hotcakes and we won't pay for a game that we have nothing to do in.

I think it will take more then 1 big patch for them to fix the game, I expect 1.18 to be good and add content and fix things but alone that will not be enough.

But them charging before at least another 4-5 big updates would be a bad thing. People cannot come back to the game and hate it again or square is screwed. There are alot of people waiting on square to say ok we fixed it to give it another go.

Honestly square cannot just make this game good, they have to make it great or they will not recover from the launch. If I where them I would not charge anyone until ps3 release. And release ps3 with the first expansion and give the pc players a free download of it. Then charge. All the changes and a whole expansion of goodies should be more then enough content to qualify for a completed game.

I don't think they necessarily need to give PC players a free copy of the expansion as they've let us play all this time for free, losing a lot more money than they would from just giving out a free expansion. Honestly if the game is worth it at that time, and I believe it will be, I will be 100% okay with paying for the expansion.

Otherwise that is the most logical plan of attack for SE, the know the game must be fantastic come PS3 launch as that is the second chance for the game. If it flops there it's all over.

I'd expect a PS3 version before we are charged a monthly fee.

Christmas would make a good release timeframe for PS3/Expansion content, so I think November/December makes a lot of sense. Assuming they finish the fixes in September that gives a few months of real player testing before they go live with a relaunch event. The game has to be stable, it has to recapture the interest of the people who left, and it has to hold that interest more than a month or two. The content has to work and be well ballanced. If I were SE I would want to be sure of those things before undertaking a media blitz to relaunch the game. That will undoubtedly be an expensive undertaking by itself, and if it fails their reputation will be damaged. This is all total speculation on my part though. I think they also have to beat Blizzards new MMO out the gate, but I have no idea how close that is.

I don't think they owe us a free download, but I would sort of like an ingame item for sticking it out. Nothing fancy just the FF equivalent of a t-shirt that says 'I stayed the course through a year of fixes, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt :D'

I am sure the game will become great, and I think all of the players who stayed the course deserve some recognition for that from future generations of Eorzeans.

They shouldn't do anything that would drive the current player base away, so that probably means no fee till the game is 100% in their minds and ours. I am sure they know that players who didnt stay this past year won't give them a third chance if the relaunch isn't a success. Thats a big chunk of the XI player base too, and they can't aford to lose that. Personally I am happy enough with the progress I wouldn't object to a fee, but I have only been crafting, and I can't comment on the progress they have made on the battle system. I did watch my LS kill Cactaur Jack recently, and they seemed to have a lot of fun doing it.

They won't start charging until they regain a sustainable player base. You can probably expect some "Welcome Back/Refer a Friend" Campaigns the month or so before they start subscriptions. Like people said they'll probably set it up to start alongside the PS3 release.

Awesome, made some good points. I thought it was going to start coming june-july. I can see why they might want to hold it off a bit longer. I don't think the last couple months and few to come are going to make a financial impact on SE. I think they got hit harder from the bad release and majority leaving the game and word of mouth probably just made the game almost flop...some left for good, some may come back. I think the game is tons better already. Still needs a lot of work but at least XIV heading in the right direction. I enjoyed XIV from BETA except for the PC UI and old MW's.

I don't think they'll start to charge till they release the PS3 version and they won't release the PS3 version without the first expansion; which is at lease a year or more off, my guess would some time between June and Sep. next year.

I think they would try to do a big launch and relaunch on PS3/PC and pretend like the last 2 years didn't happen.

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Originally Posted by Asmodean

I don't think they'll start to charge till they release the PS3 version and they won't release the PS3 version without the first expansion; which is at lease a year or more off, my guess would some time between June and Sep. next year.

I think they would try to do a big launch and relaunch on PS3/PC and pretend like the last 2 years didn't happen.

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I think 2 years is too long to run development plus operations on an MMO with no fee. Even if SE is footing the bill without investors. Granted I am no expert on running a game company, so I may be wrong :D

Well, server don't cost as much as you think even for an MMO, one of the reason they are so popular to develop these days ,even a small paying user base generates a decent profit. The other thing to note is that SE is not really loosing money on this game, you still had to buy the software.

Obviously I'm being a bit optimistic saying we'll have to pay starting next September, but I really don't think it's in SE's interest to to effective relaunch the PC version without a new hook (ie. added expansion) to draw in a new audience. I also don't think it's a good idea to start charging the users who were loyal to the game through thick and thin before the relaunch, as I don't see SE giving the current users the expansion for free, I know I wouldn't give it away for free; having current users buy the expansion is what's going to make them back the revenue lost from the extended free play.

Form a Marketing perspective it also makes sense, SE want this to be their flagship MMO and a competitor in a market that about to go to war (TOR vs. WoW/Bizzards next MMO), they have proven that they're willing to do what it take to make sure it succeeds. However without the continued good will of the current user base; plus they need reviewers to take a new look at this game once it's relaunched, which means they need users to be the driving force behind the interest in the game.

Without both of those SE might as well pack up shop and start to develop FF XVII as their next MMO, heck even if what I say is right, FF 14 would be starting out forth in a three man race, SE is going to have to prove even after relaunch that this game can stand up to the big boys that are coming on the field or are already there.

i wouldnt think FTP would end until the battle system is complete and in place (at least most of the bugs worked out/balances) as well as there being more than a few end game dungeons (who knows how many are coming in june). If all they add is one end game dungeon in june and start FTP, ill cancel subscription until more content comes or just move to a new game lol

very unlikely. June patch is the start of "out with the old, in with the new", it's still not even close to worth money.

I'm inclined to say PS3 release as a good many others have or if not that then no earlier than Dec 2011 / Jan 2012.

I don't think that the game will be in an enjoyable state until June 2012. With that said, I suppose subscriptions could come before hand, but I think that subscription fees and a PS3 release before December would be a death knell for the game.

I have no reason to believe it would be a good idea in December, either, however.

Also, for PC players, I'm really expecting a Diablo 3 release at the end of this year. I know Blizzard's release schedule for this year previously had nothing on it, but I do believe it's feasible. If that's the case, that will be extremely stiff competition to start a subscription environment in. There are often many opportunities for PC games to take advantage, however adding a subscription fee alongside of the release of Diablo 3, SWKOTORO, or Guild Wars 2, or even a holiday lineup would be an incredibly poor idea, which really scratches away at a December start to fee payment.

I would have to peg the fee payment between February-June of next year, but I'm basing that off of a "generic" development schedule that doesn't consider what explicit features and content are being put in.

I am quite confident that I would not consider paying a fee for this game at any time in the near future.

I think that asking to pay for this game at the moment is pure Sci-Fi. It would make the game a bigger fail than it is right now.

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Originally Posted by Geezer

I think that asking to pay for this game at the moment is pure Sci-Fi. It would make the game a bigger fail than it is right now.

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Unfortunately I agree, they still have a huge list of things I think they would need to do to make this game successful with a monthly subscription.

1) Fix the battle system
2) Fix the armory system
3) Add classes
4) Add these dungeons
5) Add chocobos
6) Add Airships
7) Add a keyboard friendly UI.
8) Add a lot of long quest lines.
9) Open up Ishgard
10) Get rid of fatigue
11) Add player housing
12) Add the missing genders
13) Add a mailbox
14) Adjust the market wards or add an auction house
15) Add linkshell management abilities.
16) Add more weapon skill and spell animations
17) Fix memory leaks and other stuff to make he game run better
18) Fix the updater

And that's just off the top of my head. I believe they need to do everything on that list before they start charging. Most of the stuff I listed was in the NA release of FFXI

Let's not talk about paying for the game until at least Version 2.0. The game is still not ready for my 13/mo. Nowhere close. It's currently a boring beta.

This game needs a Hell of a lot more changes then a "big" patch in May or June to have it be paid. So far they haven't done much but add on stuff, nothing really changed in mechanics. I wouldn't expect to pay till no sooner then Winter, if that.