Quote Originally Posted by Iskander View Post
Game does not please the public. Public becomes furious. Word of mouth and reviews give game a bad reputation. Game stops generating profit. Failure.
Game pleases public. Public becomes happy. Word of mouth and reviews give game a good reputation. Game continues to generate profit. More development is done for content for game. Success.
Contrary to popular belief, forums make up a incredibly small fraction of any fanbase. Even if the majority here loathed the Cash Shop with a destructive passion that makes Bahamut blush, it would be a drop in the bucket. The fact Sleipnir has garnered over half a million dollars suggests people don't hate the Cash Shop all that much.

Partly this. They makes enough in subs in order to pay the FFXIV staff. Before the cash shop, they paid their staff while subs were incoming. The number of subs has only increased since that point. The FFXIV team has not substantially increased by any significant margin. That is the thanks of SE's board.

When the cash shop released, they said the funds were going to the European Data Center stuff. After the success of the cash shop, dollar signs appeared in their eyes and they turned it into a cash grab.
Or, or! Those funds are now being diverted to another section of the game. It's almost like they need to constantly provide content or upgrades at regular intervals. But even if their motivations were solely profit. Welcome to business 101. A company's primary interest is to make money. Despite that, they appeal their customers by restricting the Cash Shop to vanity items that have no influence on the game. FFXIV is actually an example of precisely how a Cash Shop should be managed. Dislike the color swapped Magitek Chocobos? No worries! You have a black one that functions in the exact same way, and it's free! If someone else wants to pay $12 for it. That's their prerogative.