This year is not the right time to end the no subscription period in my opinion

[Platinumstorm]

I agree, reactivating the subscription is a really bad idea. For players, the best thing would be to make the game P2P a month after the new version, so that people can try the "new FFXIV" and decide whether they want to pay for it or not.

However maybe they just can't afford to do so, honestly it looks more like a desperate attempt to get out of the money pit they dug with the failed launch of this game than a real dev decision.

TBH the only reason I bought FF14 - even though I loved FF11 - is because I got it for 5€ without subscription. I'll probably buy a month once the new version is stable to see what the fuss is all about, but I'm not sticking around once it becomes P2P... I seriously hope they won't lose too much players, this game has potential.

They're actually being pretty generous with seeing the new content, although they're being a bit misleading. They're referring to the beta phase of the game as the "reboot period" and they aren't going to be charging for that, and that is going to take place over 3 months. However, if they consider it a beta, it is awkward for them to charge pre-beta. They also try to hide it as being called a beta, because they only refer to it as the "PS3 closed beta".

The problem is there is just a ton of bad PR out there - any article you see regarding FFXIV is negative - even the latest patch scope from mmorpg.com which looked at patch 1.19, and they desperately need glowing reviews from people, but they've just isolated the people who have invested the time into the game because they think it will be worth their time in the future. I don't think anyone would be playing now if they didn't think the game could get to something good at a point in time - I'm not really having any good times while I'm playing - I'm simply preparing myself for when the game is going to filled with those good times.

It has also made Square look as if they have lost their confident and cool demeanor regarding this title, and replaced it with something that seems panicky.

[Picoman]

Are people still raging?

The ones ranting the hardest are the same people that are most addicted and in-love with this game.
They are either too young to pay, don't understand the subscription model or are in so much debt from being an MMO addict that they have to choose between pizza or sub.

<troll face> + <serious face> = You know i am right.

[Gathol]

I'm sort of offended by the idea they need these subs as an "investment" in the future. I'm fairly sure that's what "investors" are for. This isn't some small indie title being built by one guy maxing out his credit cards. The limited money they make from subs is just going to end up being spent later on advertising, even moreso to undo the previous bad press. Keeping the game free and allowing the spread of positive word-of-mouth is a lot more beneficial in the long run.

I personally try to speak very positively about the game and its changes to others who haven't touched it since launch. But there's a big gap between "It's headed in a great direction" and "It's great."

[Tibian]

SE doesn't need our investment. They are a massive company, and if they are truly "hemorrhaging money" like the fanboys claim, then charging a subscription fee is the least of their concerns. XIV should have been shut down. The SE corporation has more assets than just video games, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest. Sure they might be losing profits, but they are in no terms "dying" for money.

What upsets the most about SE charging are two things. One, Yoshi said the game is 50% to the point where they wanted at launch. So why would we get charged a fee for an incomplete product? Yes MMO's continually evolve, but this term of "complete" means "ready to launch." Secondly, apparently the JP forums claim that there will be a two month free trial reinstatement because of the PS3 beta and PC client live at the same time. So essentially you're paying for an incomplete beta, then getting two months of the final beta product free. How can SE justify that?

It is absurd.

I am excited for the changes and will definitely check out the two month trial period, but they need to reevaluate the timing of the charges or severely reduce the subscription fee for now for fear of losing a lot of interest in the game. They have a lot of good going, but not the sub fee.

[Carzilla]

HALF Price For Half a game

[weeble]

they aren't gonna be selling or sending more copies out to sell, thus this is beta still, paying is just stupid. from the look of the forum thread with a voting on it that 1/3rd of the players will leave, lol the game is already so empty you cant get anything done. it's probably why they one day in the way too distant future they adding server to server search and join instead of just threw your own server.

i will stay for a month cause i'm sure a patch with a little something something will be involved with the payment launch. and then i just might need to just stay away as much as possible. swtor will be launched ...i'll give it a try till ffxiv gets it's stuff straightened out. again i'm not poor but no company is taking my money when i don't think they deserve it. i'll go to a mom and pop game even if i hate it b4 i do that

[Haydest]

Here's my opinion--take it for what you will, as you can see...I have just a bunch of lowbie alts because I keep having to jump servers every time my friends ditch the game -.-;;

Whether you guys like the game or not is really subjective to personal opinion and tastes; but do know that you are going to be paying for a beta test until the end of 2012.

While Square Enix will not opening admit it, they are literally reworking the game from ground up behind the scenes. Just look at the PDF documentation that have released: new graphics engine, new server software from client and host end, new maps, graphical textures, CG movies (from the sounds of it), voice acting, locations, the list goes on.

Now hear me out, I'm not *flaming* SE for this decision, it was clear from the beginning that the engine they used for FFXIV was not suitable or even optimal for MMO designing; there was a clear evidence when the new team struggled to pull content out in reasonable time, as well as having such a difficult time implementing simple features like party search, mail, and auction house etc. The infrastructure is whack with the modified crystal engine, and honestly switching to new software this point would be best if they hope to reboot and prolong this game.

I've posted this in another fan-site forum; but any of us that have purchased the physical copy of this game are going to have useless coasters by version 2.0's release, and I'm really curious how they plan to go about that. I mean, it sounds like none of the data from our DVD's are going to even be part of the new game, so how do they plan for us to play it? Are they finally going to allow electronic downloads, or will they distribute new DVD's for customers--especially those of us who purchased the $70 CE edition.

In the end, if you have the money to spare and you enjoy the game; I see absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be paying. I personally do not enjoy the game at this time, and do not have anyone left to play with--thus I'm going to hold off, and see how it goes. As for the whole 50 cents-a-day thing, this assumes that I don't have any other expenses to cover.

If I exclude money for food, rent payment, internet, and utility--I also pay for a gym membership, Netflix, and two other MMO's. It's definitely true that I don't have to pay for later things, but at this time I find the things I'm paying worthwhile, though I'm likely to drop two of those MMO's in the near future. All I'm saying is, before you guys go insulting people for being able to cover 50 cents a day, just know that everyone has their own situations. 15 a month may not seem like much if for example, you live with your parents and you only need to cover car/insurance and your MMO, but that's a completely different world for others.

[Tibian]

they aren't gonna be selling or sending more copies out to sell, thus this is beta still, paying is just stupid. from the look of the forum thread with a voting on it that 1/3rd of the players will leave, lol the game is already so empty you cant get anything done.

Probably going to be on a server by server basis of getting things done. But there isn't much to "get done" anyway. You just kind of mindlessly grind. Ifrit and future primal/major battles won't mean anything significant because of the server issues, animation locking. Pretty pointless imo.

As far as 1/3 of the player base leaving. It is going to be more. I'd argue the FFXIV forums are now not an appropriate sample for gauging any type of player base. I see more fanboys screaming "don't let the door hit you on the way out" here now than I did a few months ago -- probably due to the fact that the non-disillusioned players have all lost interest or stopped playing.

If you look at a combination of sources, ZAM, FFXIVCore, BG, Gamerescape, and the XIV forums together, it seems its going to be a near 50/50 split. So clearly this isn't a smart move in XIV's direction. They are literally halving the interest in this game by losing the player base they need to appeal to the most: the disappointed players. Fanboys will register regardless of what SE does and claim it is the best thing in the world. SE HAS listened to the disappointed players in the past, 2.0 is clearly an indication of that, and I hope they listen now.

Charging now is not the appropriate tactic, for a BETA, which has been confirmed to be a BETA.

[Sophia]

do you know what the problem with opinions is? everyone has them and they all stink exept your own

[kensredemption]

do you know what the problem with opinions is? everyone has them and they all stink exept your own

I'm only liking this post for the wisdom entailed in it, not the validity of it in this argument.