Free to Play vs Pay to Play Ideas

[Eldaena]

Which is why you are currently not paying a monthly sub. Also SE is a very wealthy company, they dont need to run cash shops in order to afford development. Not sure what spice you are talking about, fluff items? If so you dont need a cash shop to add fluff items to the game.

Wealthy or not, I can say with confidence that a large portion of players and ex-players had issues with the development and what felt like rushed or lazy content of this game. The idea of the cash shop would be something that could be fun to do whilst trying to help promote a better game overall. You're right, that they are wealthy, and it should have produced a stellar game. But right now, it's not. And other than making suggestions here, what more can I really do to help? I can't just donate to them. They won't start charging to play until it's really ready for it. So...why not a cash shop? IF it doesn't unbalance the game, why not?

[Eldaena]

Seriously Kilta. Stop it.

[SIZE="5"]The forum hath spoken.[/SIZE]

Stop trollin'.

[Jynx]

Wait, so pay to play games aren't trying to hook you either? They don't hold back content at all while the months pass and you continue to pay, waiting for the next update or expansion?

Again, ideas posted in my free to play ideas were not completely unbalanced the way you are making it sound like it would be. Don't label a possible free to play model on this game when it could be completely different.

You obviously don't know what held back content is. Updates are not "Held back content" when they release everyone is able to play it without the need to pay extra or seperate fees. If you want a F2P game there are plenty of them out there.

I can and will lable a "Possible free to play model" as horrible, because it is horrible.

Pay to play obviously wants to hook you, but I get what I pay for. A totally equal experience as the next guy. F2P your experience can be crap because your not going to pay $4.00 for that sword of amazingness +12.

[Felis]

lol technically it is free to play now.

Technically this is a beta

[Naylia]

You can donate....

Go buy a bunch of Crysta - sure they'll have to owe you service time on their accounting books. But in the mean time...well, they'll have your money and be re-investing it and/or earning interest on it.

I'm pretty sure they've got 3-6 months of my cash already....

[Eldaena]

See it's not benefits that I'm talking about....it's Disney World vs the Carnival. Disney World = pay your money and everyone gets to go ride its a small world = everyone has a good time, no one ever thinks about money while they enjoy things together (except for that $8 hamburger) once you paid to get in (cause it's a sunk cost). Carnival = you can get in, but then all these activities cost money individually and so you just stand around not enjoying the activities, but instead thinking about how much activities cost (because each bit of fun has an incremental charge). I want Disney World, not the Carnival. However, that said I'm still ok with fees for extra retainers, extra characters, server transfers, renaming, remaking look...outside of the game. When people are in Eorzea, I want them playing, enjoying and experiencing the game, and not trying to decide whether they should spend $1 to access some bit of content that their friends also accessed.

Also...another note. The simple things you mention are likely insufficient funding to keep the game F2P for very long. F2P games always put in cash shops that in someway enhance your ability to play beyond just hair cuts and mount type. I'd like an example of a F2P large scale MMO that is running on Hair Cut/Color and purely aesthetic items that don't impact your ability to advance in the game.

Again, I've said it a few times that the cash shop idea was more just a way to bring in a bit of income to help support the game whilst giving us, the players, something to play with in the meantime. I am all for promoting better development, but what more can we really do? If the game becomes good enough to be pay to play, then great, wonderful, stellar. But just because a game is free to play doesn't mean it's bad. And with regular updates to a cash shop with vanity, inventory, and useful but balanced items, it possibly could run off that. (Again, I'll say I'm not interested in paying for unlocking content unless it's a true expansion.)

I've never played LoL but it seems pretty popular and free to play. The only recent free to play game I've played is Vindictus, and I'd have to say they probably do make the majority of their money from cash shop vanity items. With inner armors, hairs, dying system, and so on, I would say that makes them quite a bit.

[Kam]

How many lengthy and convoluted ways do people have to say 'no' to you though. I've been reading every post. They are politely telling you many, many ways in which this is not practical, and its not where this game is heading.

Yet you come back every time with "I'm just throwing Ideas out there, what else can I do? How about..." response.

Everyone is saying no.

SE said no to this around a desk in Tokyo long before you even conceived of a game named "FFXIV".

If theres anything to be taken from these forums - its that sometimes SE reads to much into them. (and that is why you suck.)

[Naylia]

LoL is not an MMO and from what I've heard there is often a wait to log on, because it's free 2 play and servers are limited.

[Eldaena]

You obviously don't know what held back content is. Updates are not "Held back content" when they release everyone is able to play it without the need to pay extra or seperate fees. If you want a F2P game there are plenty of them out there.

I can and will lable a "Possible free to play model" as horrible, because it is horrible.

Pay to play obviously wants to hook you, but I get what I pay for. A totally equal experience as the next guy. F2P your experience can be crap because your not going to pay $4.00 for that sword of amazingness +12.

Well, in my original post I had nothing about buying gear that gave you any stats of any kind. Also, I never mentioned holding back any content and forcing them to pay for it. (Even though, technically that is what an expansion is and that is what we will have in a pay to play game.) It's really not that different.

[Eldaena]

How many lengthy and convoluted ways do people have to say 'no' to you though. I've been reading every post. They are politely telling you many, many ways in which this is not practical, and its not where this game is heading.

Yet you come back every time with "I'm just throwing Ideas out there, what else can I do? How about..." response.

Everyone is saying no.

SE said no to this around a desk in Tokyo long before you even conceived of a game named "FFXIV".

If theres anything to be taken from these forums is that sometimes SE reads to much into them. (and that is why you suck.)

1. Not everyone is saying no. 2. Some people are convinced a free to play system here would be like <insert their bad experience or rumor they heard about some game that happened to be free to play.> 3. At least others are polite. You need to stop trolling my thread.