Voting with my wallet

[Quesse]

Remember when people used to defend the monthly subscription model, saying that the regular fee guaranteed full access to all game content, ensured server stability, and funded a steady flow of quality content?

Now, the popular motto is "You agreed to it in the Terms of Service, SE doesn't have to give you anything," or "The sub fee gets you access to the servers, nothing more." Also gotta love "Cash shop is a great way to support the game, stop expecting to be handed everything for free."

My, how people have changed their tune, in the week since FFXIV announced its cash shop.

TBH FFXIV 2.0 has diluted the FF fanbase quite a bit with its complete change in direction. From FFXI to FFXIV 1.0 to FFXIV 2.0 has a been a steady march in the direction of trying to please the MMO majority rather than making a game on a set of principles. People wanted more gil fountains, Yoshi gave it. People wanted autolog, Yoshi gave it. People wanted a way to buy Fantasia, Yoshi gave. Etc. Etc.

On the one hand, he's to be commended for rather quickly molding the game to the masses. However if you're only focused on making the game popular, that tends to make it a game that does stuff 'because everyone else is doing it'. Not really the game for me. I've grown quickly tired of the theme park mentality. Eventually someone will make an MMO with kind of adventure, exploration, and discovery that's been missing. Very close to cancelling my two Legacy subs. Personal housing was a vast disappointment and the cash shop just shows this game is heading in a direction that I personally dislike. I used to, as well, thing the subscription model meant something. But limits on housing and the cash shop has shown that it means nothing. FFXIV might as well go F2P at this point.

[ZXSoru]

From FFXI to FFXIV 1.0 to FFXIV 2.0 has a been a steady march in the direction of trying to please the MMO majority rather than making a game on a set of principles.

If you expect a game to please the hardcore dedicated fanbase you will be disappointed. Companies don't work like that, if they made XIV it's cause they want the money, not because they want to make the game itself, the only people who do that are indie developers, and sure there's still a lot of heart put in the game, but the final goal is making money, and for that they need to make the game for the bigger population, aka casual gamers, that people that can pay the sub with no problem, like the game but dont have the time/skill needed for a lot of the hardcore dedicated stuff, so they are hooked in the game through cosmetic stuff so in that sense, what they are doing is perfectly understandable.

This world is all about money and power if you didn't knew.

[Noshpan]

I understand where the OP is coming from. Whenever an MMO introduces additional goods and services beyond character re-alterations, name changes and server transfers (and there are players out there that are against these being available) people become considered that the addition of mounts, pets, and even vanity equipment is just the start of a slippery slope of many a freemium MMO. But sometimes I read these reactions and can't help but think that they're being a little too "Chicken Little" and just spouting slippery slope fallacies just because.

TBH FFXIV 2.0 has diluted the FF fanbase quite a bit with its complete change in direction. From FFXI to FFXIV 1.0 to FFXIV 2.0 has a been a steady march in the direction of trying to please the MMO majority rather than making a game on a set of principles.

There's an MMO that was fairly recently launched that was designed specifically for those who would consider themselves "hardcore". The game's not doing too well because, as it turns out, doing things how they were 15+ years ago is boring and frustrating as hell.