Why do Vanity items / Player housing / Pets exist?

[shadowrell_d-_-b]

Final Fantasy is about exploring, killing monsters, leveling up and gearing your character, not building a house.

Wrong, first off every final fantasy is different and give new things to do in the game beyond just lvling and killing monsters (this is fact so don't dare deny it) from various systems of character development to even in game minigames like card games, sports ect. FF games are about enjoying a world far different from the last but with those same little things that bring back a familiar feel!

you obviously aren't a hardcore FF fan or else this would be a no brainer to you! as for FFXIV this game is also about more than mindless lvling and monster grind, to high gear aswell some ppl just want to lvl crafts and not fight mobs at all, they want to kick back rake in a lot of gil and enjoy their time in a huge mansion with every little vanity and craft they can aquire, I don't see anything wrong with that!

edit: people really need to relax the game is just been released and clearly in the stages of adding more options and things to do for everyone to enjoy! allow the Dev's to do what we are paying them to do and make this game as big and amazing as we all know it can be!

[Cigaran]

Most of these things that keep the player enjoying and engaged with the game during times when the player has finished all the content that they wish to do while waiting on new content.

As far as player housing goes, I've played games where the community that grew up around the housing aspect of the game is what kept many of them playing when they admittedly would have canceled their accounts without that element. Typically in an MMO, the average player is going to invest a ton of time playing over the life of the title. That player is going to become attached to the game world and the character(s) they play in that world. Giving options to customize part of the world around them gives the player that much more of a connection and new ways to identify with their characters. The same really goes for vanity items but on a personal level as opposed to the community aspect of housing.

Pets are a similar idea in that it offers the player a goal they can set and work towards outside of the normal content of the game. Maybe you want to get every last Minion possible. Maybe your goal is only to collect those that are a nod towards classic Final Fantasy elements. Maybe you only go after those found in Gridania. The whole point is, it's allowing the player to customize their game experience, set their own goals, and to then have a reward for attaining those goals.

The long and short of it is that many, if not most, players will eventually tire of the quest-kill-quest cycle that every MMO is made up of. By offering alternatives to that such as housing, crafting, collecting minions, or what have you, you offer a way for the player to remain playing and enjoying the game when they would have otherwise closed their account and moved on to a new game.

TL;DR

Some of us tire of the endless kill-loot-kill mentality and would like an alternative to that that allows us to remain playing a game we like. While you see this as a waste of resources, the same could be said about the upcoming PvP system. Regardless though, every aspect of the game should be represented for the player base to enjoy.

[IndigoHawk]

The OP asked for new visuals for weapons and armor in the same post they complained about wasting dev resources.

If OP was really hardcore, they wouldn't care if endgame items look the same as starter items. All that matters is stats!

That's pretty boring. It's more fun to get new armor.

That's the same reason why people want other fun things in the game. Things don't have to be necessary or even useful to be fun.

[Grogin]

Think of it this way. Some people who are out at work, and then stay out in their free time, have very few furnishings at home, while others who spend more time at home, like to decorate. In order for a MMORPG to stay "massive" you need to cater to both types of people.

Also, this will be a part of the economy. Some players will buy a lot of furnishings for their houses. Others will gain money by crafting furnishings and selling furnishings they find. All in all, it does not hurt anyone to add these things, and it makes the game more enjoyable to people who might quit otherwise.

[Kat_Manx]

Heh, when I played FFXI, a lot of players were doing endgame content: getting their gear, camping notorious monsters and stuff. I was the oddball in some corner doing what most other people didn't: chocobo raising, chocobo racing, Mog House decorating, taking care of my Mog Garden, regular gardening, buying all the costumes and dressing up in them, buying fireworks and music boxes.

I had fun.

[Cendres]

I'd like some insight as to who thought that we all "wet" ourselves in excitement over "cute" pets, mounts, and sunshades.

Stop wasting dev resources in "Player Housing" - Why should I care about a housing area that's just a deliberate attempt at adding more padding to time-consumption. That will have little to no effect to me. Seriously, they fleeced people already by saying "earn an Ahrman pet (that does nothing)" for 90days upfront. - Yeah you can wait but many people paid all upfront.

Why do people ride this horse? - I'd rather they invested this time into creating dark/complex looking Armour weapons.

MMO gamers gone soft? - Is this the norm for Japanese games to include full on vanity, or housing?. What is going on.

Please someone explain the reasoning behind all of this, and why it has started to become a big thing in all MMORPGs?

This is why I sometimes wish we had a dislike button.

Once upon a time and MMORPG was more then the eternal quest for epic lootz and repetitive dungeon grinding. Once it was about playing in a virtual land where anything was possible, where you could be whoever, whatever you wanted. This means diversity in races, starting zones, classes. It means places to discover, friends to make and to take on your journey through this world. In a game like that, housing, crafting, an economy, is ALL about community AND world building.

These things matter because we're not just trying to build a GAME, but a WORLD. The more alive your MMO is, the more visceral the story and the overall experience.

Furthermore I would never dream of asking for less time spent on developing hard mode dungeons or PvP simply because I don't do those things. I understand that for a game to thrive to a wide audience it needs to appeal to a wide audience. And those other people that enjoy things I don't actually do help in keeping this game alive so I can play it.

[BoomerOU]

Because other players enjoy different things than you do? Not sure why this is a question, besides "people should be robots and be just like me". Try to be less self centered.

[Malamasala]

Most stuff for MMOs are mind boggling that they even spend time on development.

PvP? Always fails in games that use class systems.

Mini games? So I am supposed to start up Final Fantasy 14 to play tetris? To play pokemon? Just pointless.

If you ask me, all the time on a Final Fantasy should be spent on story driven content. Because everything else is probably available in a better version outside the game.

[Talec]

I do not care about pets or mounts or player housing. But I like vanity Items because they make my character look better and more individual. In a game like these were everybody runs around in the same cloths (i.e. Clone-wars) it's really awfull for my eyes.

[Keres]

Those things are fun.

This is a video game; ostensibly, something that people do for fun.