The Ethics of Optional Item Sales

[Farah]

People really need to just stop with Cash Shop threads, they're tired and have been done to death. Just get over it. A subscription in 2015 is pretty much just an access pass and doesn't entitle you to unlimited everything.

Do you get free food at a NBA/NFL/MLB game?
Do you get HBO for free with your cable subscription?
Do you get all free apps/music/movies on your Android/iPhone?
Did your car come with all the options included?

Didn't think so.

Actually, yes, to all of these. Do I win?

[GenJoe]

it's just a sad fact that others don't agree with me

Is that right? Tell me more.

[Rendecrow]

So long as they are not selling the top teir gear or content for real money, then it is fine. Who cares if they sell mounts, pets, ect...? It does not effect the gameplay of players who do not buy it. Yes, the money they raised from the sub funds the development of these optional items, but it is their money, and it is their choice to choose how to spend it.

[Rendecrow]

Actually, yes, to all of these. Do I win?

lol, come back in 5 years from now when daddy is not paying all of those things. I bet you wont be able to say yes to all of them! ;P

[Rau]

It is unethical they don't sell Pure White and Jet Black dye on the MogStation.

[Asierid]

I get stonewalled by people refusing common sense and telling me that we only pay for the privilege of just being able to look at the log in screen.

Thats because the little agreement you agreed to by subbing/logging in says that. It has nothing to with common sense, it's written in plain text that you agree to every time you log in.

You are paying for access nothing more. The character you play on isn't even yours. Kind of like that little blurb on the back of physical copies which said that online features may change.

So, essentially, you're complaining because you didn't read the contract.

[Jacost]

And here I thought this thread had died out, yet here's this fine specimen, recovered from the murky depths like a proud Coelacanth!

[ElHeggunte]

The biggest argument against the cash shop seems to arise from people romanticizing the subscription fee and turning it into something it's not. You're only renting the right to access the service, the content included therein isn't part of the agreement and it never was.

I was going to make a witty analogy about pre-shop FFXIV being like a bonus bag of potato chips (23% more free!), but I found it hard to word so use your imagination.

[Felis]

But FFXIV's optional items are assets created with subscriber money and then posted as completely stand alone items for the game because they are thought to be good enough to sell alone. This forces subscribers to pay more if they want the item they are paying SE, already, to create.

or do the events to get the items as a reward

[Gyson]

Apparently it is, because it's not as cut and dry as you seem to think.

The idea is that you're paying a company for a game service. Part of that service includes the idea that the developers will continue to work on new assets to add to the game you're paying a monthly payment for. Turning around and charging you for those same new assets you've already helped pay to create is, well, not right (no matter how you want to dress it up). Now, you can say "don't buy it if you don't like it", but that doesn't change any of what I just said.

Whether you acknowledge that or not doesn't matter, as even game developers themselves understand this. That is why they often argue that a cash shop allows them to hire additional help in the form of employees who work solely on cash shop assets. In saying that, they are trying to make it clear that cash shop content is funded entirely (and solely) through cash shop purchases. And with that, everyone should be happy, right?

Unfortunately, it depends on how honest the developer is being with that statement. Usually the answer seems to be "not entirely" or "not at all". And that is the meat of the problem.

Forcing your own opinions upon others, no matter how many people might agree, does not mean you are right. Point out any part of the paid subscription agreement that states specifically that that is what the service you pay for entitles you to.

Isn't this like you saying "it doesn't matter if there's no proof, I'm always right".

Not in the slightest, and it's unfortunate you took it that way. While ultimately I can't help how you choose to perceive my comments, I'm simply regurgitating information that developers have doled out to the public in the past.

The same goes for this fellow and his odd analogy:

Yeah.. try telling a cop "I pay your salary" and see where that leads ya :P

Just because you pay SE for their services, it doesn't mean you're entitled to every little bit of their creation. That'd be nice I admit, there are some indie developers that take user feedback and put it directly into the games and even allowing users to have direct input on how the funds are used, but that is certainly not the norm.

I feel like both of you are, perhaps, new to MMOs. And I define "new" as someone who hasn't been participating in MMO games since they began to gain popularity back in the 90's. Those of us that did game since that period were around when a subscription fee allowed players to access all content added to the game (without having to pay additional fees beyond the monthly sub).

For newer MMO gamers I can certainly understand how cash shops may seem like the norm now, but the fact is development studios used to be able to create games with similar levels of content (and smaller player bases) without turning to cash shops and DLC for additional funding. Early Everquest and even FFXI are good examples of this as far as MMOs go. Unfortunately for all of us, greed and pressure from management have changed this (and I speak from experience on this as someone from that industry).

Any developer will tell you that an MMO is "never done" and that new content will always be forthcoming. I can't recall any that have dared advertised the idea that your monthly subscription fee would only be used to keep the lights on, and to not expect any additional content in the game's future despite your continued financial support. That would be a ridiculous death sentence for any MMO project.

For better or worse, evolution happens, and there will likely come a day when no one bats an eye at cash shops or DLC. We're not there yet, nor likely to be there for some time, and until then threads like this are perfectly understandable (although obviously bound to be controversial as different generations of gamers clash).