I think the game is going to stay free...

[Eugenics]

Even if it does get released for PS3 i don't see many people shelling out 40-45pound for a PS3 game when its selling for under a fiver for the PC.

[TheVedis]

Even if it does get released for PS3 i don't see many people shelling out 40-45pound for a PS3 game when its selling for under a fiver for the PC.

5 on a pc doesnt matter if YOUR PC CANT RUN IT
most people dont go for good rigs for their pc and dump everything into consoles

dont underestimate that crowd

pc gaming is a thing of the past for many people, and the only reason certain games sell as well as they do on pc still is cuz they have really really low requirements to run them

[Azurus]

I could maybe see that if AoC was a major player on the MMO stage, but their subscription base is equivalent to Ultima Online. Which was released 10 years prior to AoC. In short, they have the same subscription base as a game released in 1997...all things considered, if I were involved in MMO developement/marketing I wouldn't be looking at AoC to see where the trends are being set, nor attempt to follow in their shoes.

It will stay free. Until they fix it. If they manage to fix it, then it will return to subscription base. If it's never fixed hopefully they'll admit defeat and shut the operation down. But with as much as SE has invested in this endeavor, I think failure is not an option.

Thing is AoC was actually set to be a major player on the MMO stage however it had a failure of a launch, much like 14, so you could look at AoC and see what 14 may end up being like. MMOs with poor launches rarely recover to a good point.

[Amsai]

I don't think it very likely. Though I do think it is a small possibility given the state of the game. Then again this is a flagship title and not something like Fantasy Earth Zero. I think because of that alone, it wiould be more likely to shut it down then sell off FFXIV to somebody else like gamepot etc. I think they will strive and struggle for some preset amount of success (measured by SE execs in money within a certain period of time), and if it doesn't reach that amount then they will look into other options. If that option is shutting it down, then I cant say I'd be suprised and would watch for their next MMO. If it did become F2P, that just equals B2W more than likely and just about ensures sh*ty and infrequent content, which would in turn ensure I would never play it.

[Levian]

Thing is AoC was actually set to be a major player on the MMO stage however it had a failure of a launch, much like 14, so you could look at AoC and see what 14 may end up being like. MMOs with poor launches rarely recover to a good point.

That's exactly my point. Regardless of what it was set up to be, it failed. That's why it's f2p. Not because the dev team wanted it to be, not because of some new shift or trend in the market, but because it's not doing all that well. In other words, it's in the same hole FFXIV is trying to dig itself out of, and has been for over 3 years.

You can look at the two and draw parallels of what FF may become, but honestly I think SE would scrap the project before letting it flounder around for another 2 years and wasting resources on something that just won't pan out.

[Wolfie]

It's been 9 months and the game is still nowhere near pulling itself out of the hole it's in. It has maybe one saving grace if they nail it for the PS3 release and sell it for 50%-70% the regular price of a PS3 game to entice people.

But if they screw the pooch with the PS3 release, then this game will never see over 50k users, will never be pay to play, and will likely see dramatically less developer activity.

[Corrderio]

F2P = Crap.

[Wolfie]

F2P = Crap.

The corollary is that FFXIV is F2P because it's crap.

[Levian]

It's been 9 months and the game is still nowhere near pulling itself out of the hole it's in. It has maybe one saving grace if they nail it for the PS3 release and sell it for 50%-70% the regular price of a PS3 game to entice people.

But if they screw the pooch with the PS3 release, then this game will never see over 50k users, will never be pay to play, and will likely see dramatically less developer activity.

Yup...kind of a dreary outlook, but it's the honest truth. Then again, there are a lot of people hanging around and hoping for improvements, so just fixing it alone should bring in a good number of players.

On a side note, all the f2p = crap comments are precisely why I say if it can't be fixed they should just put it out of it's misery.

[Wolfie]

Yup...kind of a dreary outlook, but it's the honest truth. Then again, there are a lot of people hanging around and hoping for improvements, so just fixing it alone should bring in a good number of players.

On a side note, all the f2p = crap comments are precisely why I say if it can't be fixed they should just put it out of it's misery.

I'm sure Age of Conan and Dungeons and Dragons Online had just as many people saying that the game is fine or that it will be fine. The truth is that no, the overwhelming probability is that it won't be fine. First impressions are extremely important in MMOs.