Quote Originally Posted by Mahri View Post
Buy it if you like it.

Don't buy it if you don't.

It's optional and has no impact on gameplay. Nothing unethical, given how they've been 100% transparent about what they're for.

Ain't rocket science.
This is unfortunately 100% not true. I can almost guarantee you after experiencing FFXI, SE's other MMO, that items that have been placed in the cash shop are things that could have alternatively been placed in the game as quest rewards. This isn't profitable from a business perspective however considering that you're weighing whether or not you should:

-Spend Development time and money to create a reward AND quest for """"free""""*
or
-Spend Development time and money to create the "reward" and have consumers pay you back for that item.

Just because it's obvious from a business perspective doesn't mean you should bend over backwards and imply that it has literally no consequence for the game itself.

*After having paid a monthly fee to access the quest and reward in the first place.