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

[Chardrizard]

I am fine with paying right now but it comes down to what SE wants to do?

Do they aim to please a loyal fans? or do they aim to please bigger crowd?
If let's say there are 10.000 current active players, 5000 left during P2P session, if halving the sub fee will retain another 5000, they will still generate same amount of money, please alot more people, and still be able to bring friends to try this game out because the subs fee are below what other MMO charge.

[Alerith]

Also, Yoshi-P said that as of 1.19, the game was at that 50% people are raging about.

He also said that as of 1.20, the game will be much, much closer to the 100% since they are fixing the market search, player search, party functions and more.

So basically at 1.20, the game will be up to what the company considers "Launch Standards" at which time they will start charging.

It doesn't matter if you agree or not. This is the business move by SE and there is really nothing either side can do about it.

[Rentahamster]

I'm sorry, but If your still complaining about the use of the UI After playing this game for a whole year with multiple classes at rank 50, I'm pretty sure its not unreasonable to surmise that you've found your way around it by now.

That argument in no way justifies a fundamentally flawed UI. No paying customer should be expected via the status quo to have to "find my way around" the failings of a service/content provider and be satisfied with that.

[Teakwood]

Not sure if my vote counts as I'd willingly pay the $12 at this point, but I do think they'd get more people at $5 a month, and having actual subscription numbers would probably look fairly good to the accounting division. I wonder which option would actually net them a greater overall revenue, I suspect it's probably closer to $5 than to $12, though.

[mrpoohbear510]

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.

Wait what??? Can you give me an example of situations such as this? Where a game goes free trial for over a year then start charging for an unfinished product? You're not talking about people saying they're going to quit right, because at least the game they're playing is a finished product and they're complaining about patches.

Oh not to mention, a re-release of the game too.

[Starlord]

1. Bland copy/paste environments.
2. Barely functional LS management options.
3. Unintuitive party search features that no one uses.
4. Server lag.
5. UI lag.
6. Bad UI design
7. No mailbox system.
8. Unwieldy market wards system that discourages players from participating in the economy. (should be better in 1.20, though)
9. Inability to display a lot of players on the screen at once.
10. Overtaxation of hardware and unoptimized performance.
11. Journey from rank 1-50 doesn't adequately prepare a player for end-game content.
12. Not enough end-game content.
13. Not enough mid-game content.
14. Battle system is needs a lot of work in terms of balance and function.
15. Battle system is not as deep and strategic as it should be.
16. Battle system still suffers from animation lock/lag.

Among other things.

3/4s of that list is goign to be in 1.20

-Delivery System
-Auction house Functions
- X2 Dungeons, X2 Primals, GC Missions= enough End game Content
- Hardware is not SE's fault they just tell you what you need for the game
- Mid Game Content= Materia/Grind/Sidequest/Main Storyline missions= Enough Mid- game Content
- Battle system is always being worked on and they sadid that should be finished by 1.21
- I Don't see much UI lag to be honest with you...
- Animation Lock I give ya
- There's Some Server lag but not game breaking
- Class/battle Uniqueness will come in 1.21 ( not far away)
- Linkshell Functions also in 1.20 ( according to the time Grid)
- If your in a highly populated area of course you wont see everyone at once... FFXI was like this.
- Copy/Pasta I give ya too but its enjoyable never the less

Conclusion? Its worth the full price

[Rentahamster]

Sort of. It adds up to around $150/yr. Similar to what you pay monthly for car insurance, internet/tv, cell phone, electricity, and so on.

[Removed by Moderator according to the FINAL FANTASY XIV FORUM Guidelines.]

Car insurance, internet, cell phone, and electricity bills are much more essential services and thus are much more inelastic commodities (higher prices have a less dampening effect on demand).

Paying a similar amount for an unfinished game is hardly an essential service, and since luxury goods are more subject to being relatively elastic, a lower price point may end up actually generating more revenue for the business.

Also, LMAO @ being called a troll. Reinheart, you were right!

Because most casual players aren't filled with an overwhelming sense of entitlement. They just want to have fun. And if this game isn't fun for them at $12 it certainly isn't going to be fun for them at $5. It's not like the game becomes magically more fun for people that don't like it as soon as the price drops.

This is why I also outlined my views on the economics of the issue as it relates to revenue maximization for SE. There is a sliding scale that involves price and overall profitability that relates to just how valuable any given consumer finds this particular product and if the price accurately reflects the quality of said product and puts it in a favorable light when compared to the competition.

[Rentahamster]

I wonder which option would actually net them a greater overall revenue, I suspect it's probably closer to $5 than to $12, though.

Yes, this is the second part of my OP that is important, but not many people want to discuss the economics of it.

[Fleur]

I'd be far more likely to pay if it was only $5-7. It is not that I think FFXIV is a horrible horrible thing that is no fun. But until the game has settled down with the big changes and fixes, I am only interested in playing it more casually and have more of a "try stuff out and observe" rather than a "dive on in" approach. But I want more MMO play time than that, and don't want to pay $30-ish a month for two MMO's, so it looks like I will be trading in my wand for a lightsaber come December rather than just wielding the wand part-time.

To me, starting billing now and at full price simply indicates that SE does not care about the size of their player base at this point. Personally though, I think it would be better to have a reduced fee simply to keep the population at a more decent level for those that wish to continue playing. And if they still want player feedback, I'd hope that they would want to keep their more critical and casual players that may be genuinely interested in the game but not enough to pay a full monthly fee.

[Wynn]

Yes, this is the second part of my OP that is important, but not many people want to discuss the economics of it.

This is actually valid, but I'm sure SE already has business analysts whose job is to specifically crunch the numbers on this stuff. I doubt they've been sitting there twiddling their thumbs all this time.

EDIT: also keep in mind that every player actually translates into a cost to keep things in operation. Would all those added players who would pay $5 justify the added cost of keeping them around?