Full translation of Yoshi interview, including his openness to F2P

[Lyrinn]

I think people are either taking things out of context, overreacting, or not considering every angle. I didn't read anything that was cause for alarm.

[Doo]

Well, SE would start making more money if they add F2P+cashshop. Whiteknights and SE zealots should be happy, no?

Come on now, they would be happy with either direction.

If FFXIV remains P2P:

"I told ya! In Yoshi we trust!"

If FFXIV goes F2P:

"I'm glad it's going F2P it means S.E will have more money to make the game better."

[Yshnal]

I've read what he said and I see that he probably understands why some of us dislike F2P, however I don't know how I feel about his last coment about his openness regarding that. The moment this goes F2P (if that ever happens), or starts selling things like vanity or minions for real money (and no, veteran rewards are a gift for paying the sub that covers the whole game, not an extra that you pay specifically), I'm out for good and I won't look back. I know that it wouldn't be a hit for them as F2P attracts a lot of people, but they would lose more than just players in FFXIV: trust in the company as a whole.

I came here partly because it was a FF MMORPG, partly because of the good job that SE did during the last stages of 1.0 and their goodwill by doing what nobody else had done before by redoing and relaunching the game (instead of taking the easier F2P route as everyone else does), and partly because it was P2P without in-game "extras" that you have to pay for if you want to have. If I wanted a F2P game or a cash shop money grabber I would have stayed in another game, to be honest.

As I've said a couple of times before, I'm all good with selling Fantasia, name changes and server transfers, but anything else and I'll seriously reconsider if I'll keep paying for what I would consider an incomplete service. Especially when some of the in-game systems and features revolve precisely around... well... vanity, so it would be limiting and selling content.

Disclaimer: All of the above is my opinion. Feel free to disagree with it if you really like to pay for every little piece of content (F2P), or pay for content that you're already paying for (P2P with cash shops).

[Kayo]

All he's saying is essentially that if 90% of the players want it to go F2P, he's not going to stand against them. Try reading the other things he said with regards to F2P as well, not only from this interview, but interviews from the past.

Im aware of the context on what he said and have read most of his later interviews ... the timing with the MT auto-gathering bank slots (a very common F2P "item") just sucks. Its starting to smell of a very bitter, yet familiar stench most of us have experienced at one time or another from the more recent MMO's.

[Naunet]

I've been burned enough times by supposed P2P games that this is enough to put my trust on very shaky ground with SE. :\ Not good.

[LordSliver]

Issue with F2P is they are actually in reality a P2W games, DCUO is a perfect example to that. I understand why people would quit playing the game if it became F2P because of the F2P games I played like DCUO. P2P is a perfect model or just a straight up Singleplayer game because they are straight forward with how you are to proceed in the game.

[Addicted]

While it may be exaggeration, these news have left me a bit disheartened. The retainer news are already treading the line on what I'm willing to accept. If worst comes to pass, such as F2P or a full-blown cash shop, I'll simply quit.

[Gramul]

That's discouraging. So many people where so adamant about him sticking with p2p so we wouldn't have terrible cash shop crap and the dreaded F2P crowd. Him being freely open to it just seems so backwards.

I just wish they were more clear and direct with their intentions. Not having to rely on "oh, well we never said this exactly." or "we didn't say we wouldn't do this."

It comes off as disingenuous. These past few announcements make the grounds of trust feel a bit less solid. I guess "concerned" is the best way to put it.

[Welsper59]

Im aware of the context on what he said and have read most of his later interviews ... the timing with the MT auto-gathering bank slots (a very common F2P "item") just sucks. Its starting to smell of a very bitter, yet familiar stench most of us have experienced at one time or another from the more recent MMO's.

It's actually possible they just want to incorporate those attractive features, be it originating or commonly found from F2P or not. It's understandable to have that sort of anxiety towards the possible future, but I really wouldn't look too far into it just yet. Paying to get certain non-progressive things (retainers are not progression/power/meaningfully related) is not uncommon practice, even from back during the beginning of the MMO boom.

[Yshnal]

Paying to get certain non-progressive things (retainers are not progression/power/meaningfully related) is not uncommon practice, even from back during the beginning of the MMO boom.

That doesn't make it a good practice, either. Where do we draw the line then?

As far as I'm concerned, if I pay monthly to access a service I expect to be able to access it to its fullest, not to pay for it then be told "oh, but if you want to have access to X feature/content you must pay an extra". To use the extra retainer as an example. We've asked many times for more utility to the armoire or for another retainer to put all the items that we get/collect, including those that we can't store in the armoire because it gets enabled in a later patch. I don't see it reasonable to then go and ask us to pay more to get that, especially when they're making us "waste" retainer space until they retroactively enable the armoire functionality on some items. I don't see that very honest, and much less for a P2P game, do you?