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

[Marxam]

A rule of thumb for any cash shop imo is that no price of any item within should exceed the price of the sub. I bought the Slepnir mount and suffered buyers remorse for a while because I literally paid two months sub for a item that's only (maybe) 150mb in data. Idm micro transactions as long as it only enhances fluff content and not game content and only if it doesn't exceed the price of a sub.

Also SE, please stop showing us content without finalizing what you intend to do with it in the final product. People will always want the full experience and will be willing to pay if you just tell them from the start that extraneous stuff like the mount for the wedding will be in the cash shop. Honesty goes a long way and just telling people a week prior to the launch is not only under-handed but can cause some people to feel betrayed since you got their hopes up.

I could careless about the wedding since all I want for Christmas is the DRG buffs. SE don't mess this one up.

[Thistledown]

Claims WoW has a healthier cash shop because it doesn't cover in game experience.

Says level booster is ok because WoW does it.

Please, if you want to argue, at least be consistent.

[vp_cmc]

Can I already buy an item there, that resets the lockout in fcob?

[Jeckyl_Tesla]

Diferences:

1.- All those items are MADE FOR the Cash Shop. The other are account optional services, even the booster, which is more decent than anything in FFXIV anyway.
2.- None of those items belong to an in-game experience.
3.- None of those items generate the feeling of "free" vs "premium" experience.

Level booster is far more "healthy" for a game than the marriage fiasco we are seeing.

You obviously have never been in a game that has had level boosters, it creates a pure rift between the players. Instead of "You must have bought that account." It becomes "You must have bought a level booster."

It is not healthy, in any way and never will be. Micro-transactions are fine. The wedding micro-transaction is fine. Level boosters are not.

Also, I have no idea where get this idea that level boosters generate no premium or freemium feeling. Fork out some money, or spend hours and hours leveling by yourself in ghost towns like some poor person. That is literally what it is.

What's next? People complaining that other people buy a separate account to get the two seater mount?

It actually boggles my mind that you can call level the WoW items fine, including the level booster and call FFXIV cash shop items a premium. Hahaha.

They even cost 10x more.

[Lollerblades]

XI is quite successful. So I'm not quite sure why that's not in there.

[DefendPopPunk]

XI is quite successful. So I'm not quite sure why that's not in there.

Simple. It throws a wrench in the entire premise, that being that cash shops are industry standard and exist in every successful MMO. "Successful" is of course somewhat ambiguous but best not to tread into the land of semantics.