Voting with my wallet

[Abriael]

Thx for the fun SE, i hope i can come back some day.

You can, you just need to get over yourself.

This. Upvote for you.

You ignored #1 and the topic of the thread - You ignored what is apparently a reversal in what they told us already. This is why people don't trust the cash shop rhetoric... and it also points out my biggest concern. Cash shops are the hallmark of revenue issues. If they are having revenue issues, there are other problems... and zero amount of promises will matter. They will be forced to do what they have to for revenue, regardless of what Yoshi goes out and tells players.

Actually no. I'm afraid this post indicates a severe lack of knowledge in how the gaming market works and a bit of tunnel vision. Cash shop in no way indicates by itself any kind of revenue issue. It indicates, like DLCs, season passes, pay-for cosmetic items in a myriad of games and similar vehicles of additional revenue, that the publisher is... looking for additional revenue. That's it.

This doesn't mean they're not making enough money. As a matter of fact all the indications for investors document indicates that FFXIV's revenue is strong and improving. But no matter how strong the revenue, publishers are *always* looking for sources of additional income, because it's their job.

World of Warcraft has had a cash shop for the longest time, and definitely did not have any kind of "revenue issue" when it was implemented.

I quote from the latest quarterly release:

Massively multiplayer online role playing games such as “FINAL FANTASY XIV” and “DRAGON QUEST X,” have been making favorable progress.

All previous releases since the launch of 2.0 had similar statements indicating growth.

Final Fantasy XIV actually made them revise their earning forecasts upwards back in May.

The equation "they're looking for more money = they are in trouble" is an extremely ignorant one to make, and from what we know is also utterly false in the case of a successful game from FFXIV, so you may want to leave the tinfoil hat at home, and justify your dislike of the cash shop just with what it is, a personal dislike, instead of trying so hard to back it up with false assumptions you can't make and that conflict with everything we know (which is unfortunately a problem with internet discussion. Many seem to be afraid to admit that they just dislike something without factual justification, so they have to invent knowledge they simply don't have).

Mictrotransactions are an extremely rooted element in today's gaming market, and there's simply no reason for a company aiming to generate revenue like square enix to ignore that revenue source when they have ways to utilize it without impacting the balance of the game, like almost every developer out there does. You're free not to like them, but using them to justify baseless conclusions on the game's performance is just a bit silly.

I'll give you a hint: Games with revenue issues don't go 'round organizing fan festivals in three different parts of the world, nor are heavily present at every major gaming event taking up an extremely relevant part of a publisher's top tier booth.

A good way to avoid blundering around blindly when talking about revenue is checking the documentation for investors first, and get some insight on how the specific market works. Your post indicates that neither those steps have been performed, replaced at best by hearsay, at worst by random guessing.

[ApolloGenX]

This. Upvote for you.



Actually no. I'm afraid this post indicates a severe lack of knowledge in how the gaming market works and a bit of tunnel vision.

Actually no. It was Yoshi himself that made this connection with his original comments on not having a cash shop because subs would sustain the game.

You would claim that listening to Yoshi is best, but ignore his original perspective on why a game would have a cash shop.

It's very selective of you.

As far as how the game is doing- I have no comment. They are very opaque about their numbers and sub performance and I ignore marketing BS. So, really there is no way to know.

[HakuroDK]

Actually no. It was Yoshi himself that made this connection with his original comments on not having a cash shop because subs would sustain the game.

You would claim that listening to Yoshi is best, but ignore his original perspective on why a game would have a cash shop.

OBJECTION!

I present to you the slides from Yoshi-P's panel at the Game Developer's Conference:

http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020179/Behind-the-Realm


I direct your attention to Slide 38 that states "The (Payment) Models Can Co-Exist", namely the bullet points that state "Commitment to either is unnecessary" and "Implementing both is also an option", implying that he never once believed that a free to play model with a cash shop and a subscription model without a cash shop had to be the only ways a game could be successful and that a subscription model with a cash shop can work.



Any comments he made on subscriptions sustaining the game was in regards to a subscription model being a more stable and steady revenue whereas cash shop revenue is significantly more erratic. The way he is implementing the cash shop has absolutely no bearing on sustenance, and is instead operating under the point "the model chosen should meet customer and market needs".

There has been a constant vocal need from the community for buyable Fantasia, Namingway Cards, and other similar character-altering items, and the community has expressed interest, through the power of their wallets, the need for digital items like the Collector's Edition items and the item codes from physical merchandise like Audio CDs, Art Books, and of course, Fanfest tickets. It's clear to me that Yoshida is opening this cash shop to meet a perceived demand for such a service.

Will Yoshida start adding good-looking vanity pieces to the cash shop? Maybe. But will it be of a significantly higher quality than those released in-game? Other than to those who are particularly anal about details, I sincerely doubt it.