Cash shop confirmed

[Catsby]

things

I've already witnessed several MMOs doing this over the last couple years and even helped develop one. It always went the same way. At first they just offer some conveniences and things newer players may have missed (already a mistake because you're disrespecting your early adopters) but then they realize they can basically print money by making more stuff for the cash shop. Eventually you find yourself standing around in town with your friends looking awesome instead of together in a dungeon or some other bit of content.

[IveraIvalice]

to be allowed to log so we can play. aka p2p

Our monthly payment is paying for developing items that they can sell to us for more money.

We're paying them to making us things to buy from them.

[kyuven]

I've already witnessed several MMOs doing this

A list would be nice.

[Asierid]

A list would be nice.

Shh. That would require factual evidence. We don't give that here. Tin foil theories only.

[Hurlstone]

Whether or not you can afford it isn't the problem. The problem is that you are willing to hand over real money instead of fighting a boss or hiring a crafter for it. Once you start doing that the developers start producing slightly fewer bosses and crafting recipes. Over the next couple years (if you bothered to stick around that long) we missed out on several updates worth of content because the systems and resources to produce it went directly to the cash shop instead.

How can we be sure though that we will loose out on the amount of in-game content, relative to what previous updates have bought us? Would they, for example, even be making the cash shop content if they did not know that they would make a profit from it?

That is not to say we will not loose out content etc, but I do think it is best to keep and open mind in these debates I find. Optimism and civil debating is something rather are on forums, I fear. The amount of fearmongering has actually taken me by surprise. With over ten years of MMO history under my belt though, I should really be used to it. Much of the debate seems to lay itself down to 'ifs' and 'buts'. The simple presence of anything remotely 'cash shop/F2P' causes some players to announce the games immediate death. It is like saying that catching a cold means you are going to die. A lot of this unrestrained anger and venom just seems so... unnecessary.

Oh, and forgive is the above paragraph offends or anything, I honestly do not mean to cause any hostility or prove anything. I am tiered, and these threads are giving me a fat chocobo sized headache...

[Lyron]

That's not precisely true.
Wal-Mart's very existence should prove that you don't need "good" products to stay in business, you just need to appeal to the wants of your customer base.

Actually, Wal-Mart's whole thing is "value" which part of making people believe a product is good. People actively decide they want something of lesser quality for a much lesser price.

The problem is, people are feeling that the cash shop is messing with XIV's "value" to them.

[Catsby]

I'd like to point out that history has long shown that optional services for premium fees have never actually hurt an MMO's financial viability. In many cases it has actually SAVED it.
FFXIV is in a very small minority of profitable subscription based MMOs. WoW, FFXIV, FFXI, ESO, EVE and Wildstar are pretty much it right now. And y'know what? Most of those have some form of cash shop. Hell, FFXIV already technically has a cash shop: We can pay for extra retainers and Fantasias.

Nobody said it would hurt the financial viability. The argument was that the long term player experience suffers when development resources are assigned to premium systems. It's not that easily perceivable because many people don't stick around very long to watch for it and don't actually understand what it takes to produce whatever ends up in a cash shop.

[kyuven]

Our monthly payment is paying for developing items that they can sell to us for more money.

We're paying them to making us things to buy from them.

That's a twisted bit of logic there. That's the same logic that says paying for a movie ticket or gym membership should entitle you to free stuff from the concession stand/vending machines. Before you say they just buy it, let me cite that luxury theaters with onsite cooks are currently pretty popular.
FFXIV's subscriptions are also a large contributor of the development of many other games, which you also have to pay for. Why aren't you angry that you, who helped fund it, don't get a discount on FFXV? Or Theatrhythm?

[kyuven]

Actually, Wal-Mart's whole thing is "value" which part of making people believe a product is good. People actively decide they want something of lesser quality for a much lesser price.

The problem is, people are feeling that the cash shop is messing with XIV's "value" to them.

And wal-mart has no value to me, so I go elsewhere.
I didn't say people aren't entitled to their opinions, I'm just saying what companies do in order to stay competitive and make money.
Capitalism, ho! and all that.

[Catsby]

snip.

because some people here can recognize the publisher's greed and don't want to see yet another decent online game slowly turn into a cash shop with an online game attached to it.