This guy gets it Terms and Services

[Nalien]

Unethical is the wrong word, I'm sure.

The cash shop, in a pay to play game at least, is blatantly anti-consumer. Any consumer with two braincells to rub together should be against it for the same reason trash like Final Fantasy: All the Bravest gets SE such a bad reputation.

[Bunsen]

Cash Shop, both ends will NEVER see eye to eye. It is what it is, will I quit the game because they offer a Cash Shop? No. Does my two braincells I have left understand the difference between optional and required? Yes. So I find it difficult that someone as dumb as myself can comprehend something simple as this but others cannot/will not.

[MrCookTM]

Unethical is the wrong word, I'm sure.

The cash shop, in a pay to play game at least, is blatantly anti-consumer. Any consumer with two braincells to rub together should be against it for the same reason trash like Final Fantasy: All the Bravest gets SE such a bad reputation.

This post down here perfectly counters your post and should be seen exacly like that by any person with two braincells to rub together:

People seem to forget that Square Enix is a company that does business and charges for their services. Why/How is this so unethical? People really need to get their head out of their ass and stop thinking they deserve everything for free from SE because they play their game.

[NoloeTazier]

People seem to forget that Square Enix is a company that does business and charges for their services. Why/How is this so unethical? People really need to get their head out of their ass and stop thinking they deserve everything for free from SE because they play their game.

Paying a subscription means getting free items? Weird.

[Alaric1025]

I am surprised people haven't asked or demanded the upcoming expansion to be free.....

[Nalien]

Cash Shop, both ends will NEVER see eye to eye. It is what it is, will I quit the game because they offer a Cash Shop? No. Does my two braincells I have left understand the difference between optional and required? Yes. So I find it difficult that someone as dumb as myself can comprehend something simple as this but others cannot/will not.

Here's the thing though; Cash shops are a slippery slope. This should be apparent to everyone by now, every update they've pushed it a bit further. You know what happens when people get sick of such things? They quit. You know what happens when SE sees reducing subscription numbers? They try to make more money off their existing subscribers. The more people quit this game (because of the cash shop or not), the more tempting it is for SE to invest more effort into the cash shop, and that sends the game down a bad path.

You don't care? Fine. I'm not telling you to care. What I really don't get is what someone as apathetic to the existence of the cash shop as your self is doing here. You don't care that it exists, but you do care that some consumers are against its existence to tell them to "get their head out of their ass" (yes, I deserve those minions on the cash shop for free! Not like I'd be getting them for the up front price of the game and continued subscription fee. Nice definition of "free").

Honest question here, but does anyone actually want to give SE extra money for content that is basically already in the game/pathetically easy to produce? Is there actually anyone out there desperate to just give SE extra money? This argument really should be; "I don't want the cash shop!" verses "I want the cash shop!", but all I ever really see is "I don't want the cash shop!" verses "I don't care and you should shut up!". It really is quite hilarious. Nobody seems to be standing for the cash shop to actually exist, instead it's just a bunch of people standing for apathy...

[MrCookTM]

(yes, I deserve those minions on the cash shop for free! Not like I'd be getting them for the up front price of the game and continued subscription fee. Nice definition of "free").

The fact that you pay your monthly fee for the right to gain server access makes you want those minions for free, yes. It's the exact same (!) as claiming the expansion has to be free.

[NoloeTazier]

The fact that you pay your monthly fee for the right to gain server access makes you want those minions for free, yes. It's the exact same (!) as claiming the expansion has to be free.

So our subscription fee is only used to access the servers? Is that chat servers or includes the main server like Balmung? Does this include Duty Finder servers? Does it include all Instanced Servers or just Coil? or just Syrcus Tower? Am I allowed to do the Ultros fight because that's totally optional but I just wanna make sure my subscription fee covers that.

[Bunsen]

There are dozens of analogies that could be said to compare the business model. Even looking outside the gaming industry, this isn't a new concept to consumers for business to nickle and dime in today's economy. Even though, yes.. you are absolutely correct.. I honestly do not care about it either way myself, but when I see the ignorance (by definition, not as belittling) by others, it boils my blood and I feel the need to voice my opinion.

[Nalien]

The fact that you pay your monthly fee for the right to gain server access makes you want those minions for free, yes. It's the exact same (!) as claiming the expansion has to be free.

My subscription pays for continued server maintenance and regular content patches. An update is a massive piece of content which effectively (in my eyes, at least) justifies itself as a new product. Paying for an expansion is no different than paying for the base game, in that regard.

The cash shop, on the other hand, is a series of small pieces of content, possibly cut from the base game (Sleipnir certainly was, there was even an early developer blog where they showed a PC riding him, now months down the line he ends up in the cash shop after having been ready in the game for all that time, unless that steep pricetag is for the item you use to get him as a mount?), sold for an extra price which is often ridiculous.

Case and point: Heavensward is meant to double the number of zones in the game. Premium Wedding gets you... Not a lot... Now compare the price of an expansion to the price of a Premium Wedding.

The practice of cutting content for the game only to resell it later should not be tolerated by the consumer. Those who are apathetic to such anti-consumer practices, please continue to be apathetic. In fact, take your apathy to the next level and stop caring about these topics. Outside trolling I'm not sure why you're all here... Those who genuinely want to pay what, 30$? For such purely cosmetic stuff, please speak up, because so far I'm not hearing any of you.