What are the Chances FFXIV will go F2P?

[Crica]

Going free to play?

The game IS free to play right now...

[Khalus]

I'd leave in a heartbeat if it goes f2p, there are enough mature players in p2p games, no need for mature underage players.

Thats just a ridiculous statement if ever I did see one. I've played my fair share of MMOs for the better part of the last 14+ years and it don't matter if its entirely free or paid subscription only. You will always be privy to the immature jack-asses no matter what. There is no such thing as only mature gamers in the P2P only MMOs...

Prime example is WoW...thats entirely P2P and its horrible, look at how AoC was/is even though its F2P now, and even LOTRO was pretty bad, and many others. I've actually seen better communication now that there is an influx of new players in all these AAA MMOs that have gone F2P. There is more average blood to go around and getting group content done, no longer is it just the elitist pricks that sit on there capped out high horses spewing how horrible everyone else is cause they don't rush to the cap or have the best gear within a month.

And besides, why havn't you quit XIV already then, cause its been basically F2P for the past 10 months. I've seen it on clearance for as low as $5-$10 before, so that can barely be called B2P...

[Chardrizard]

Its obviously sarcasm if you cant spot the italic

Also you still cant play xiv without a CC access, which is the reason why the kiddos doesnt play.

[BlackHawkGS]

I wouldn't completely count out the idea of a F2P model. Square-Enix isn't exactly a small company, but at the same time they can only allot so much money to each product.

FFXIV was a project they went into with the intention of a subscription to keep them going. They've had absolutely none of that now for coming close to a year. If they still don't want to charge a subscription to keep going, a F2P model might have to do. Investors can only take so much.

I've seen a number of AAA games go F2P, and there's even been some indications that WoW might do it at some point; it's not an unusual thing for this industry anymore. Heck, I remember hearing about how LOTRO's profits TRIPLED after they went F2P. That certainly has it's appeal.

[BlackHawkGS]

Going free to play?

The game IS free to play right now...

They mean the inclusion of something like a cash shop, or micro-transactions. That's what is considered to be a F2P model.

[Khalus]

They mean the inclusion of something like a cash shop, or micro-transactions. That's what is considered to be a F2P model.

Still, as long as its a fair system like LOTRO and DDO have, I'm all for it! However, if it were like EQII, AoC, EVE, FE, and others to come...no thanks. Those examples are too limiting and costs far too much...its better to just pay the monthly sub instead!

[Loki]

never!

And personnally i prefer to pay each month ^^

[Ava]

I think their best option right now is to offer a hybrid system. Unless the PS3 version is a huge success (i have a feeling if it is, they wont have the servers prepared and people will leave), a hybrid system is probably the best way to go. They could do what many other games do and offer 2-3 different ways to play the game. They could give the option to players to buy content with crysta, pay a monthly fee to unlock everything, or play in a restricted free environment. If people are concerned about community, they can put a level cap on the free mode and ask people to pay ~$5-10 in order to remove it.

Microtransactions make a TON of money if done right. My only concern is 1 in about 5 games do it right, and it's even worse for MMORPGs that try it. So, in my opinion it's a huge risk, but so is banking on the PS3 version and going with a monthly fee model.

[BlackHawkGS]

Still, as long as its a fair system like LOTRO and DDO have, I'm all for it! However, if it were like EQII, AoC, EVE, FE, and others to come...no thanks. Those examples are too limiting and costs far too much...its better to just pay the monthly sub instead!

lol, exactly. There's been plenty of implementations of F2P models that keep the game fair.

I think many people are more afraid of the audience this will bring in... to which I rebuttle, I don't believe that immature audience has a powerful enough computer to play this game in the first place XD

[Corrderio]

Considering Yoshida said it himself the game won't go F2P: Never