Who is Optional – A Question of Consumer Value

[M0xie]

I think what is missing is the argument of the goal of the game versus what people value in the game.

What is the objective of the actual game? Are people "playing" the "game" if they never gain levels and stand around Gridania on a fancy horse with a cool minion talking to people? (If you like doing this, please do, I'm not saying people shouldn't.) Players of any pace-the true separation between casual and hardcore-probably don't care as much about the cash shop because it does not affect the achievement of the game's actual objectives. Just because it's MMO and other people are there doesn't mean it stops being a game with experience-oriented objectives as a primary directive.

That is why the cash shop is not "game-breaking" and why the items will remain there, and we will see more of them. Vanity (sometimes) costs extra because it is a feature of the game.