Lightning Returns Again (Thank you Square)

[Tilgung]

Yet ever since the cash shop was introduced, we've gotten less content per patch than ever. Something smells fishy.

If believing they're reinvesting cash shop profit into the game's content helps you sleep at night though despite no evidence supporting that vs the alternative, by all means, believe it.

European Severs were paid for with cash shop money, as stated by the Dev team.

But please, go on, tell me how cash shop money isn't going towards improving the game.

[Adire]

European Severs were paid for with cash shop money, as stated by the Dev team.

But please, go on, tell me how cash shop money isn't going towards improving the game.

Oh, you mean those servers that were called European servers but were actually in Canada? And remained there for long after FFXIV had become one of the most successful subscription based MMOs?

I'll say it again for you. Less content per patch than ever since the cash shop went up, with announcements made for even less content to come after the EU servers were moved, while the cash shop itself is getting faster additions as time goes on.

I don't know why a history of MMOs with cash shops diverting funds away from non-cash shop related content creation, plus the knowledge of how businesses, particularly large ones generally work (profit is #1 priority, if customers will allow it and it profits, do it), plus the fact that Yoshi himself has said that his team is underfunded by SE, plus the knowledge that SE is using FFXIV as its cash cow still keeps it so hard to believe for so many people that maybe the cash shop isn't being used so innocently and may not have all of its profit reinvested back into the game.

Edit: And let's not forget everyone's beloved server limitations excuse for everything with no sign of that going away anytime soon!

But as I've said, believe what you like. Corporations are not entities that share an individual's morals. I have yet to see a game have a drastic increase in content quality/quantity alongside cash shop increases.

[Tilgung]

Oh, you mean those servers that were called European servers but were actually in Canada? And remained there for long after FFXIV had become one of the most successful subscription based MMOs?

Yes, I'm very much aware they were not originally in EU. Otherwise it wouldn't have been such a big deal that they were getting legit servers in europe that involved taking down all EU data centers for an extended period of time. Which they accomplished with cash shop money, because SE probably wouldn't have paid for it out of pocket.

I've very much aware of how big corporations work, I've spent more than my fair share of time being screwed over by them as an employee. Which seems to be what the Dev team is dealing with.

[Adire]

snip

The thing is, when combined with recent announcements about content and patches (such as fewer dungeons per patch), I find it hard to believe that SE is planning on using increased profit to benefit the game.

It's much more believable that the EU server thing was a PR stunt and a justification for the cash shop when combined with the knowledge of less content per patch. The cost of moving the servers is out of the way, the cash shop is becoming more profitable, yet the content per patch is decreasing and the same limitations excuses and such persist, and Yoshi is at odds with upper management more than he has been in a while which points to the FFXIV team not getting the funding and support they need/deserve.

Something doesn't add up. My personal guess is that now with the servers moved, which was the justification for the cash shop, its existence will now be to purely profit SE and fund their other endeavors. It's the only thing I can really conclude with how they're now making more cash shop content with less patch content. The money has to be going somewhere, and judging by recent happenings, it isn't going back into the game.