Stop Making Should-Be Achievement Gear.."Optional Gear"

[Clethoria]

I don't see this as entitlement and I wholeheartedly agree. A lot of mog station items strike me as things worth earning. Or, what I've seen other Chinese/Korean mmos do, is to have it as both. Like the dyes.

I could pay $30 for a mount, or I could spend a sub period maxing out all Mog beast tribe quests. Having both wont hurt because there will be someone out there to just pay for the thing instead of working for it. Mentorship comes to mind as well. Getting that mount is a pain because it means hundreds of dungeon runs and wouldn't be obtainable in a single sub period unless you had 0 life outside of the game and could dedicate yourself to it day and night. Even if someone ran constant runs at 10 mins each, that's still equals 14 days of absolute continuous play with 0 break time or sleep. But it's still content to strive for and is obtainable within your own efforts in game. An alternate skin of it could be pay to get, but the color variation would make it a clear indicator as to who worked for it and who bought it.

[Kyuuen]

Person/s go to Theme/Rollercoaster Park: "I/we paid $60 a person to get in! What do you mean food and drink isn't free?! I HAVE to pay for merchandise as well?!? I HAVE to pay to play games?!? This is highway robbery!!"

Person/s join country club (golf course membership) : "I STILL have to pay for food and drink?!? I STILL have to pay greens fees?!?" (charge for actually playing golf on the course)

The complaints about mogstation sound just as ridiculous to me as the above.

Just because you paid to get access doesn't mean there will not be any other charges.

[Kuroneko_Jutah]

I don't recall if it's been brought up before but another reason we see this stuff come to the cash shop besides the fact that Mog Station items have their own dev team and budget and SE oversight, is that in the case of items released to Korean and Chinese versions of the game, it's made available there and in that manner due to contractual/legal obligations in those countries, and putting them on the cash shop is the only way they can make it fair for all players in all territories.

But no one is going to read or appreciate that fact. There are two kinds of customers in this world, the reasonable people who understand that they're getting exactly what they're paying for, and the people who believe paying a company money to access their servers entitles them to dictate development and budgetary decisions.

The Cancel Subscription button is a few tabs to the left of the Optional Items tab. If you hate cash shop exclusive items that much, there's the door. Tell SE with your wallets.

[KokonoeAiyoko]

Person/s go to Theme/Rollercoaster Park: "I/we paid $60 a person to get in! What do you mean food and drink isn't free?! I HAVE to pay for merchandise as well?!? I HAVE to pay to play games?!? This is highway robbery!!"

Person/s join country club (golf course membership) : "I STILL have to pay for food and drink?!? I STILL have to pay greens fees?!?" (charge for actually playing golf on the course)

The complaints about mogstation sound just as ridiculous to me as the above.

Just because you paid to get access doesn't mean there will not be any other charges.

You're comparing digital items to physical items, but let's roll with that for a second.

Imagine if you were at a Theme Park and water came free and was that way for over 10 years, then out of nowhere they charge you 5$ per bottle of water one day you show up. Wouldn't you first reaction be "what the?".

[Ryel]

So if a company ever offers something for free, it can never decide to charge for it? How about raising prices? Is that allowed, or is it a problem because we're paying more than we used to before?

You're misrepresenting the point.

If a company goes "This is our service and this is what is included in our service charge" and then starts taking items out of that package for no reason than to charge separately for them you can be sure there will be consumer blowback.

In fact its the exact reason that when cable, internet, and phone providers update their packages for new subscribers they dont go back and ninja the customers on existing plans, they keep them as they were for previous subscribers, because thats what they signed up for (also contracts but y'know).

So can they decide to charge for it? Sure, they can.

Most companies however deem the practice unethical (lol they don't want to deal with the blowback) so they don't do it and consumers have the right to voice an opinion if they disagree with the service.

And I'm sorry if having "literally no other alternatives" doesn't convince me. The "compromise" you suggest would completely cut the legs off of whatever revenue stream Square Enix is trying to create. One of the main reasons for charging for old event items is to incentivize players to stay subscribed. Your proposal would remove both that incentive and the incentive to buy older items, effectively making the whole thing moot.

Except that it costs them nothing on the development end to re-issue annual event items, I'm not talking about events that were deemed exclusive like the "Lightning Returns", Dragon Quest, or Yokai Watch crossovers.

Allowing players to re-obtain seasonal event items in-game was something this game allowed before the Mogstation, it was a feature of the game one could count under what their subscription covered. Then when the next year came around suddenly the vendors no longer provided those items and you could "look forward" to them being charged for an additional fee on the Mogstation.

I understand that this system costs players money and the previous system did not. I too would prefer if everything was free. Who wouldn't? But you're taking a stand on principle when the debate is purely economic. Your argument boils down to "I don't want to pay for this" - which, again, is an economic argument. So make that argument.

If you're not going to unsubscribe if they offer optional items you won't pay for, then what exactly is your angle here? If the items are optional, and you won't buy them, so what?

You're once again misrepresenting the point, either that or you simply don't understand it (which is okay).

The argument isn't "I dont want to pay for this!"

The argument is "Why am I suddenly paying an additional fee for something I didn't have to before?"

Am i required to buy items off of the Mogstation? of course not, hence why i don't.

But if I'm paying a monthly fee for something and over time have been led to expect certain things where included under the umbrella of that monthly fee, as a consumer it is within my right to disagree or voice an opinionm if the company wants to remove some of those items and charge me additionally for them instead.

You're saying "well speak with your wallet" but i dont play the game for the items on the mogstation so outside of not buying them already (which i dont) unsubbing wont really say anything.

[Kuroneko_Jutah]

Except that it costs them nothing on the development end to re-issue annual event items,

How do you know this? Are you on the FFXIV development team?

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

Considering MMO sub prices have stayed constant for the last 20 years, a cash shop or increased sub pricing is the only way for them to continue. People would quit in droves if a sub suddenly went from 12.99-14.99/mo to 24.99-34.99/mo.

Any of you saying otherwise are delusional.

[Atlas-04]

You're comparing digital items to physical items, but let's roll with that for a second.

Imagine if you were at a Theme Park and water came free and was that way for over 10 years, then out of nowhere they charge you 5$ per bottle of water one day you show up. Wouldn't you first reaction be "what the?".

Uh are you talking about drinking water or water used in a water park for attractions? Pretty sure bottles of water are usually sold and not handed for free but who knows.

If you mean attraction water well that would be more like the games content. Dungeons, fates, raids, crafting etc. Guess what, that comes with your entry (sub) fee. They are charging for 100% optional glamour items in a way similar to food and drinks at a theme park. Funny enough I would probably get more enjoyment out of a $10 outfit then a $10 pretzel.

Edit: It always amuses me that people will pay insane amounts of money to see a movie in theaters where you get maybe 2 hours of enjoyment and you actually enjoying said movie isn't guaranteed, But for extras being charged in game suddenly it is a horrible thing. I don't splurge in any way on cash shops but don't consider them an evil unless it starts invading the core game. When that time comes I be grabbing my torch and pitchfork with the rest of the mob.

[Kyuuen]

You're comparing digital items to physical items, but let's roll with that for a second.

Imagine if you were at a Theme Park and water came free and was that way for over 10 years, then out of nowhere they charge you 5$ per bottle of water one day you show up. Wouldn't you first reaction be "what the?".

Have you ever been to Cedar Point? Water used to be free there. Now it's sold. Though you can still get water from fountains. Times change. No part of business operates in complete stasis.

[Kuroneko_Jutah]

Have you ever been to Cedar Point? Water used to be free there. Now it's sold. Though you can still get water from fountains. Times change. No part of business operates in complete stasis.

This metaphor is incredibly apt, considering we're playing Final Fantasy: The Theme Park.