Anyone Pro cash shop?

[Tyrn]

Why no price on Sleipnir!? *Flips table*

So you can look forward to the price being announced

[Riviere]

So you can look forward to the price being announced

No! I'm cancelling my sub now! Q.Q

[Hulan]

*I apologize for the length of this post, I will try to separate it into sections to make it more readable.

Cash Shops and Play

I'm very non-confrontational, so I will try to make this post as even-handed as possible. However, since it touches on the core debate of "what is a video game" I suspect that I will, unfortunately, ruffle a few feathers - of someone. I don't have a problem with a Cash Shop in so much that it is goods for money. I do, however, have an issue that is perhaps a little more subtle. Cash Shops exist to offer players assets that can be acquired by spending money, then gaining that item in game. This conflicts directly with the fundamental underpinnings of what a video game is.

Video games are an interactive experience. Whether you play Dark Souls and expect hours of grinding your face into a boss monster to find the one trick to bypass it or play Candy Crush at your computer at work, enjoyment of video games comes from interacting with the game mechanics and being rewarded for that interaction. This reward can come in to form of "loot" or a cutscene or even just a satisfying animation and transition to the next level. Cash Shops bypass that entire premise. In a Cash Shop, you purchase your item, get it in game, equip it, then go on to continue your regular play. You may feel better about your character, or proud of your shiny new steed, but you haven't actually done anything; the interactive component of that content is lost.

From a design perspective, it has no value. The only value it has is imbued by it's real world cost. That item could easily have been placed in the game behind some form of content which put it's value at approximately the same perceived value. It wouldn't even be difficult, we have monthly charges, so there's an excellent metric to compare time to real world value. If an item takes approximately 2 weeks to get, it is worth 1/2 of the monthly fee. Monetary value has been converted to content value. But unlike monetary value, the player has received something intangible from the transaction, the sensation of accomplishment to accompany the item they received.


The Purpose of Cash Shops

If you will permit me to ramble a few more lines, I have a theory on why the Cash Shop exists, and it has nothing to do with greed or even to provide content. The answer is fairly simple really, you can produce assets much faster than you can produce content to place those assets in. The Cash Shop gives the developer a place to make the assets they produced that did not have content for them worth something. I would postulate though, that these assets have no worth, because we as players spend no investment that has meaning within the context of the game. It merely pollutes the value of the in game items by making it unclear exactly what an item is actually worth. Thus, it would have been better to not produce them at all than to sell them and pollute the perceived value of your in game assets.

[Mlodi]

As long as it's a vanity cash shop I'm totally fine with it and will probably buy stuff. In a few other games the cash shop items can also be bought in game as well (usually through the auction house)... so, it's really just a shortcut. I'm not sure if that will be the case here.

As long as all the items available for cash purchase do not in any way affect the gameplay then I really don't see any harm.

[TheMunimai]

Why no price on Sleipnir!? *Flips table*

Apparently someone spoke to Yoshi after the LL and said Sleipnir won't be that expensive - still id like to see the price ^^

I can imagine it actually being roughly the same price as a minion...

[Gextiv]

Apparently someone spoke to Yoshi after the LL and said Sleipnir won't be that expensive - still id like to see the price ^^

I can imagine it actually being roughly the same price as a minion...

No way. What are you smoking?

It will probably be priced competitively to WOW's prices for cash shop mounts. Maybe not--just gotta wait and see, I guess.

[HakuroDK]

I'm pro-cash shop in its current iteration.

I will change sides to anti-cash shop if:

-Items that affect gameplay are added(items that grant stats or special gameplay effects that go beyond special FX and/or aesthetics of any kind. Fantasia and Namingway Cards are allowed.)

-The game itself starts displaying advertisements for the cash shop beyond the login screen.

-Glamour items native to FFXIV are added to the cash shop which appear noticeably more glamorous than other gear released at the same time for no special reason. Promotional items like the Guardian Corps and Bohemian sets, as well as sets from other games as part of a cross-promotion event are acceptable. By "noticeably more glamorous", I refer to a set of glamour that looks as elegant and amazing as the i100 PVP gear being released on the Cash Shop for no reason, and the styles of gear released in the same or nearest content patch (2.X/3.X) or halfway patch (2.X5, 2.X8, 3.X5, 3.X8) are as dull and generic as an Iron Armor set. Like, a REALLY seriously noticeable difference that goes beyond personal taste.

-Items native to FFXIV 1.X are added.

-Items that are acquired from Special Promotions or Contest Rewards are added. (i.e. Bomb/Cactaur/Dodo/Slime Earrings, Ahriman/Mandragora Choker, Moogle Suit, Collector's Edition Bonuses, Pre-Order Bonuses, Veteran Rewards, Bonus Codes from Merchandise, etc.)

I think those are reasonable terms, even if one is a bit subjective.

[Cynfael]

People seem to forget that developers don't wave iWands to instantly create content without some cost on their end. Businesses have overhead costs, and skilled labor is not always in infinite supply, nor is time.

Content that predates the addition of the cash shop is probably close to 100% pure profit. Any content created exclusively for the cash shop is probably funded at least in part based on current and projected revenue from the shop.

It reminds me of how people complain that all game expansions should be free despite the hours of payroll we can safely assume are invested on top of what it takes to maintain and update the existing game.

Extras cost extra. Again, if the shop fills up with fluff while the game sees a corresponding reduction in fluff, that will be a cause for concern. Otherwise...*shrug*

[SgtPepperUK]

I'm conflicted but I will say one thing in SE's favour here - at least they're going to price in RL currencies, no buying a 1000 points of a special currency and then spending 275 of those on this item and 250 for that etc.

Using special currencies e.g. Turbine Points, Funcom Points, Cartel Coins and so on is psychological trickery generally designed to divorce consumers, especially younger or less financially savvy ones, from the RL cost. In fact, it's something I don't believe should be allowed, if you have a cash shop price stuff in RL currencies so people know exactly what they're spending.

[Beetle]

I disagree with cash shops and the main issue with it is it will be successful where SE will do it all the time. Then more & more cash shops will be added and eventually are subs will not be used to make content for this game but for more cash shops where we would have to pay for it. Then eventually this game will become pay to win when they start added those features in.

Now selling those old seasonal event items is fine but completely new items that are only limited to cash shop... no thanks.

They could of just made new Odin mount a rare Primal Pony or cost 20 Odin Fate items.
That would get everyone going to odin again.