Microtransactions are here to stay. And they are a good thing.

[Alukah]

A large percentage of what's left is normally invested in general features to keep the playerbase happy and subscriptions stable or growing.

Are you able to back up that claim? It would be good to see your sources before calling that other post "completely false and inaccurate".

Sorry if your sources are in the original post, I skimmed through it and didn't see any link, I didn't stop to read the whole original post because...

Well this was pointless. You're saying a lot of things that have already been said over and over since the cash shop was first announced, but felt like you needed your own little thread for it for whatever reason.

[Solonuke]

The article sounds something like Kotaku would have written (and probably has, I don't visit that site very often). Most people will probably never pay for anything, others will pay a bit and some will empty their wallets. I think the primal mounts are more rewarding than the Odin mount because of you have to put in time and effort to get them (or if you get it at first attempt, you lucky bastard).

[Gardes]

I have serious doubts about all the XIV money going back into XIV. Didn't they reveal that the battle team only has like 8 people? For a game that caters to hundreds of thousands of people (let's go with the 500k unique log in number here), that's a really small crew for a game this size. Skeleton crew even. Sure there will be people working on the expansion but I honestly doubt that it takes almost all the sub money.

Hell, I remember reading somewhere Wada mentioning that XI was square's most profitable game that went to fund many of SE's other games. Honestly wouldn't be surprised if FFXV's team kept taking money from XIV's revenue.

[Meier]

If you guys think this is bad, just wait until Gold Saucer comes out lol. If its anything like FF all the bravest...welp, I'll be done.

[Venos]

The article sounds something like Kotaku would have written (and probably has, I don't visit that site very often). Most people will probably never pay for anything, others will pay a bit and some will empty their wallets. I think the primal mounts are more rewarding than the Odin mount because of you have to put in time and effort to get them (or if you get it at first attempt, you lucky bastard).

The primal mounts are nothing but RESKINS of the unicorn that CONJs get at 30, with some special effects. Just because it's hard to obtain doesn't mean it's better. Let's not forget the other 7 people and the RNG involved........

[Roris]

I sure wish I had a website to promote my favorite game and company.

[Saccharin]

This is (as most arguments made by those that irrationally oppose microtransactions no matter what) completely false and inaccurate.

The investment required to make this kind of items is absolutely minimal compared to the revenue they bring. A large percentage of what's left is normally invested in general features to keep the playerbase happy and subscriptions stable or growing.

And you have proof of that. Not one MMO has a cash shop increased content. This stinks of while knighting.

That's great, because you're not double dipping or even required to dip. Your subscription dips for a fully featured game that gets updated with large amount of content periodically. Microtransactions are a separate and marginal element for which you can completely avoid dipping.

It's not "fully featured" if there's stuff behind a pay wall. It feels like you're one of these people who would rather get out their credit card than actually play the game to earn stuff.

[WHS]

The wedding ceremony and the mount were already pushed heavy by Yoshi and Company in pictures and letter from producer live info months ago and were talked about like they were gonna be content in the game like any other content. Never did they say cash shop item. Must have been a last minute decision to suck more money out of us. I think its sick and retarded to put emotional stuff like getting married in a cash shop when we have gil. The wedding stuff should probably cost gil but never real money imo. I am against it. I hate cash shops and don't think they belong here. Every new piece of content that the devs bring up or show pictures we now have to ask ourselves is this gonna be for me a paying customer or for a cash shop money grab?

[Shougun]

Not all business must work by this creed but it seems like the base logic, do as little as possible for as much as possible. Cash shops will not guarantee better quality, they may lead to a better amazing game (due to a greater cash pool) or it just might be poo stacked upon poo. Whether it makes a better game or not I do not like cash shops in great frequency, and I'll be watching SE actions accordingly - the big punishment for them being "oh no there goes 9.99 a month" so I'm sure they wont care unless it happens in mass, I'm talking on a personal level lol.

The reason I generally don't like cash shops is because I usually see the game in content given from price paid and DLC/cash shops are almost always disproportionate to anything else, even if the desire to want those items may be high, as I am a wanna-be collector with just not enough time to be awesome ;_;. Still, as I feel more and more pressure to spend disproportionately to worth previously given it makes the game (in my eyes) less worth its value (paying more to maybe get more, but unless an extremely generous company more likely just getting less for a higher cost).

[axemtitanium]

And you have proof of that. Not one MMO has a cash shop increased content. This stinks of while knighting.

And you have no proof that formerly free things were "held back" to put them behind a paywall. We don't know and even if the devs release a statement, people will just not believe it. Ultimately, the question becomes whether other people purchasing cosmetic items has a large enough negative impact on your own personal enjoyment of the game, to the extent that you'd unsubscribe over it. If you're one of those people who would unsubscribe over "the principle" of microtransactions, you're a stick in the mud and depriving yourself of enjoyment of a game you like. But that's your choice and I can't argue with it; personally, it's ok with me if these "no-fun-allowed" types are unsubscribing. For the rest of you who are more rational, do ask yourself why you continue to pay a monthly fee to play this game and whether or not that reason has been impacted by other people buying minions.

There's always going to be the crazies who are irrationally afraid of what they don't understand. I recall a huge discussion on the 1.0 forums about possibly introducing a system similar to the way EVE Online handles monthly subscriptions, PLEX, and people went nuts calling it a promoter of RMT (actually it's designed to combat illegal RMT) and were terrified of it.