Compromise: Just Charge $5 For Now. Once 2.0 is Out, Then Charge $12

[Alerith]

The only part I don't understand is that some of these people saying they'll pay for a $7 subscription are some of the same people who were arguing "It's not the price, it's the principle!"...

That being said, I am glad to see some people are willing to stay regardless of price, and I'm even happy to see some people would change their mind with a lessened subscription.

[Scherwiz]

Very well said and thought out Renta, I think the half price proposal is a fair trade off.

Lol someone called Renta a troll... that's something new lol

I'm also OK paying but just like Renta I have to think hard $24 (me & wife) for this game... I'm OK with it but I just have this weird feeling about it personally lol. I love FF series and I like FFXIV and the I really like the new dev team and their efforts but when it comes to pay for the current game? specially full price... I have to think... really want to support the dev team so if I'm paying monthly fee it's for them and I want to see where this game is heading from game programmers point of view.

Only thing is I already have 3 friends I know that said NO to the payment stuff and pretty sure there will be more once the payment starts and I will start seeing fewer players because of the fee.

Now if the fee is say $5-7 then maybe I can see them paying. If you convert the $12/month into hours and all that sure it's cheap but you still have to think hard lol.

I Agree, I feel... excited and scared about everything coming, it feels like everything I want, and yet too much change. Only time will tell I guess.

[Belial]

@ Preypacer

No quoting of the wall-o-text for me, but I do have a different opinion as to why I feel we shouldn't be charged at this point.

My understanding is that charges will begin shortly after the implementation of 1.2.
Jobs are not to be introduced until 1.21.

I personally believe that billing should commence after implementation of the job system. My reasoning for this is that we will not be playing with a completed battle system, which I believe is one of the largest factors in determining if you want to play an MMO (at least for the reasons I play them).

I do believe this game is seriously on the cusp of being subscription worthy, and I don't believe they should delay billing until 2.0 like a lot do.

I do, however, feel I'm being cheated for several months prior to a completed system. Sure, one can argue that what we have will essentially be the groundwork, but I don't get to find a feel for the "jobs" coming into play, and this is my main complaint with billing starting.

[Starlord]

Apparently neither is the act of taking Yoshi's statement deliberately out context by twisting it into "the game is only half finished" even after he has clarified he didn't mean in terms of content, but in terms of it being a proper FF game.

Ignorance truly is bliss, isn't it.

He's further explained now, per either the BG or the ZAM interview that by the time they activate subs, there will be even more content in game and he feels it will officially be at the level of what a launch-ready MMO should be. *That* is the basis upon which subs are being reactivated... That's the official reason, that's the official qualifier he's going on.

But of course people are going to ignore that bit as well and continue beating the "It's only half finished!" drum just 'cause they want to be cheap and apparently up to 15 months of free play "isn't enough". It's like eating an entire meal at a restaurant and then scoffing when you get the bill, claiming "I shouldn't have to pay for this because the meal was terrible!".

Let's face it, folks... some of the people here will still be saying 'It's not worth a subscription!" after 2.0 launches for no other reason than they want to play for free. I wish people would drop the pretense of all this "oh we're only paying for half a game" or "we're paying for Beta" (another line of willfully ignorant BS) and just admit it... folks are against the idea of paying a sub simply because they want to play for free as long as possible.

We've all had over a year of free time in this game, for anyone who's played even 5 months, you've more than made-up for the initial purchase. Those who've played for the entire time, even moreso. To turn around now and say "Oh it's not worth paying for" is a bunch of disingenuous BS. It was good enough for some people to play enough to get multiple 50s - some have them filling their signature banners - and a bunch of other content done.. but it's "not worth paying for". Give me a break.

As for the Beta thing... people need to get off that crap too. This isn't a beta. The coming months won't be a beta. Period. End of discussion.

Beta ended back at the game's launch. This has been a live game undergoing changes to improve, add and replace various aspects of it. Something which, by the way, every single live MMORPG in existence does throughout its time online.

What we are playing now is a live game. What we will be playing in the coming months is a live game.

We aren't "beta testing for 2.0" because nothing for 2.0 will be in the game to test. To beta test something requires the content already be there... Guess what? Nothing from 2.0 is in the game yet.. ergo, we're not beta testing.

So seriously.. If y'all want to continue playing for free or for reduced cost or whatever... by all means, continue rallying for it.

But drop the pretense, trying to hide your true intentions behind all these BS reasons and just admit it: You want to play for free for no other reason than you want to play for free.

^ This is exactly what I been saying all this time, just you Elaborated on it with a wall of text ^^. Well Said!

[Rentahamster]

Meh.. I don't like those kinds of games to be honest.. ( and from there looks) That's just me though. and whats to stop them from going to those games anyways? Weather this game is free or not? they'll still go regardless, if the entertainment is there.

At a $12 dollar price point, it's an "either or" choice for a lot of people. At a $5 price point, many of those people could be willing to pay for both.

[Answa]

Apparently neither is the act of taking Yoshi's statement deliberately out context by twisting it into "the game is only half finished" even after he has clarified he didn't mean in terms of content, but in terms of it being a proper FF game.

Ignorance truly is bliss, isn't it.

He's further explained now, per either the BG or the ZAM interview that by the time they activate subs, there will be even more content in game and he feels it will officially be at the level of what a launch-ready MMO should be. *That* is the basis upon which subs are being reactivated... That's the official reason, that's the official qualifier he's going on.

But of course people are going to ignore that bit as well and continue beating the "It's only half finished!" drum just 'cause they want to be cheap and apparently up to 15 months of free play "isn't enough". It's like eating an entire meal at a restaurant and then scoffing when you get the bill, claiming "I shouldn't have to pay for this because the meal was terrible!".

Let's face it, folks... some of the people here will still be saying 'It's not worth a subscription!" after 2.0 launches for no other reason than they want to play for free. I wish people would drop the pretense of all this "oh we're only paying for half a game" or "we're paying for Beta" (another line of willfully ignorant BS) and just admit it... folks are against the idea of paying a sub simply because they want to play for free as long as possible.

We've all had over a year of free time in this game, for anyone who's played even 5 months, you've more than made-up for the initial purchase. Those who've played for the entire time, even moreso. To turn around now and say "Oh it's not worth paying for" is a bunch of disingenuous BS. It was good enough for some people to play enough to get multiple 50s - some have them filling their signature banners - and a bunch of other content done.. but it's "not worth paying for". Give me a break.

As for the Beta thing... people need to get off that crap too. This isn't a beta. The coming months won't be a beta. Period. End of discussion.

Beta ended back at the game's launch. This has been a live game undergoing changes to improve, add and replace various aspects of it. Something which, by the way, every single live MMORPG in existence does throughout its time online.

What we are playing now is a live game. What we will be playing in the coming months is a live game.

We aren't "beta testing for 2.0" because nothing for 2.0 will be in the game to test. To beta test something requires the content already be there... Guess what? Nothing from 2.0 is in the game yet.. ergo, we're not beta testing.

So seriously.. If y'all want to continue playing for free or for reduced cost or whatever... by all means, continue rallying for it.

But drop the pretense, trying to hide your true intentions behind all these BS reasons and just admit it: You want to play for free for no other reason than you want to play for free.

I'm glad you have much more eloquence in you than I could ever hope so. Bravo for expressing precisely what I've had on my mind but just can't get out without insulting everyone.

[Leknaat]

I'd consider this game REALLY launch ready when they're willing to brave a Famitsu review (there's still no official score because there's no console release for them to review) and slews of re-reviews that the PS3 release is virtually guaranteed to bring in.

[Rentahamster]

Apparently neither is the act of taking Yoshi's statement deliberately out context by twisting it into "the game is only half finished" even after he has clarified he didn't mean in terms of content, but in terms of it being a proper FF game.

Ignorance truly is bliss, isn't it.

I was also speaking in the context of this "being a proper FF game". No ignorance here.

But drop the pretense, trying to hide your true intentions behind all these BS reasons and just admit it: You want to play for free for no other reason than you want to play for free.

This thread is about paying an amount of money that is less than the planned price of $12 but that is more than $0. This isn't about playing the game for free.


If you will recall, the second part of my OP was about revenue maximization. If the demand for this game is elastic enough that a price lower than $12 will actually generate more revenue, then they should do so. I don't have any stats at all to back up my claim that the demand for this game is that elastic, but I feel that it is. Obviously, SE has at their disposal (I would hope) hard stats and economic analyzers to help them reach a suitable solution.

[ArcheustheWise]

Why in the world would anyone pay for anything if they didn't have to?

Like I said, gamers are all talk. They will sit there and weep and gnash teeth but when it comes down to the bottom line, they will pay to play when the time comes. It's been proven time and again.

And you can prove that? No, i doubt you can... because you don't have the numbers of any mmo out there that people that actually said that, quit, then recorded it for proof.

Stop acting like you know something unless you can prove it. Your as just as much talk as the post you made.

[AamesxDavid]

The only part I don't understand is that some of these people saying they'll pay for a $7 subscription are some of the same people who were arguing "It's not the price, it's the principle!"...

This. I don't buy (no pun intended) the "principle" argument. You don't want to pay, and the less you'd have to pay, the better. And that has nothing to do with how "done" the game is, and certainly nothing to do with your "principles".

Also, can we just drop the terms "done" and "finished" please? If you enjoy the game enough to pay, then pay. If not, don't. There is no "well, I enjoy the game, but it's just not done, so I won't pay on principle." What complete nonsense.

EDIT: sorry, got caught up on that. Anyway, I'll pay whether they lower the price or not. Though I honestly doubt the price difference would actually convince that many more people to stay to make it worth it. As someone else said, they're all talk - they'll whine about the fee, but they'll still pay it. Most will, anyway, I think.