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

[Naunet]

They don't consider the cost of doing business, like advertisement

That's not even where funds are going, though. SE uses FFXIV to fund other games entirely, which honestly is a pretty cruddy deal for those of us who play no other SE games.

[JunseiKei]

That's not even where funds are going, though. SE uses FFXIV to fund other games entirely, which honestly is a pretty cruddy deal for those of us who play no other SE games.

It's really silly to think that all the funds go back into the game and hinted as much in my other post.

You know, the line about FFXIV didn't fund itself from scratch. I think that went over your head just a little. However, you're making quite the bold statements; care to present the data to SE's financial record?

Don't misunderstand, which I think you will, I'm not saying all of FFXIV's funds go back into the game nor am I denying that their funds don't go into other SE titles. I'm very sure they do. However, by your logic, we'd never see another new IP by SE again.

[DaikiKiyoshi]

That's not even where funds are going, though. SE uses FFXIV to fund other games entirely, which honestly is a pretty cruddy deal for those of us who play no other SE games.

I'd love to see where you found out that the funds don't go towards advertising at all. Got any links?

[Naunet]

I'd love to see where you found out that the funds don't go towards advertising at all. Got any links?

Not what I meant.

[Nicodemus_Mercy]

That's not even where funds are going, though. SE uses FFXIV to fund other games entirely, which honestly is a pretty cruddy deal for those of us who play no other SE games.

Except when profits from those other games come back to FFXIV for more development.

This is how a game company works. The portfolio MUST be diverse. One game cannot carry a company.

[Moonlite]

snip

I just wanted to make a little comment maybe not completely related to you, but close. One gentleman I know pays 5 subs worth a month moving and changing stuff across multiple WoW characters. I can't find the direct info but The people who actually pay into those Ville games on Facebook are minuscule. Yet they have been profitable in the past.

A company can afford to reduce the value of the sub. As long as they get a return from the other side. Also players who seem to embrace the side purchases don't seem to question cost to value ratio of what they get. "OOHH SINY!!" "What's 30 dollars, I can afford it." Not to question that for 30 dollars you can get a whole game not one item. So it is in a companies best interest to take advantage both sides of the field. Till they eventually have to admit that they are running a semi f2p game.

[Belhi]

That's not even where funds are going, though. SE uses FFXIV to fund other games entirely, which honestly is a pretty cruddy deal for those of us who play no other SE games.

Your thinking of it wrong. All profits and losses from all their games will go into the same pool but individual IPs will have their profit and loss tracked separately as well as historical cost and projected income in the future. Based on that the corporate executive will allocate fund from the total pool based on the needs of the individual IPs and the projected long term returns. Simply put they will look at any IP and say 'this will give us more money at a certain time if we invest in it know'. That's how businesses run.

So you can argue a portion of FF14's earnings have helped cover other games but the reverse would be true too. Regardless though, FF14's budget would be decided based on its projected earnings and the expected profit and that includes revenue from the cash shop. Those earnings are what justify further major investment.

[Naunet]

Honestly, I just feel that FFXIV's cash shop is horribly price gougey for what it's trying to be. I'm not even particularly against cash shops, but I AM against poor deals.

In WildStar, I subscribe to the Signature benefits. But I also earn Omnibits while playing the game that I've used to purchase every single dye, every costume, multiple pets and mounts, all holo-wardrobe/costume slot unlocks, all decor expansion unlocks, and several toys. I spent real money in the cash shop twice, when I felt like I wanted to demonstrate extra financial support for a particular decision Carbine made. And this is a game where I'm not even obligated to pay the subscription if I want to play the game. Oh and did I mention that every purchase is account-wide?

FFXIV's cash shop is just a horrible deal, and that is why I will never, ever spend money in it.

[Alacran]

With the armor given to us by Tatatru not being what i had hoped and the final patch having droped without further mention of it, my fears that this particular item will make an appearance in the cash shop is very real. Any number of plots could have been easily used to have it given to us, however the fact it was made scalable to different bodies and still not made a quest completion reward shows me an unsettling future.

[Belhi]

/snip

I wouldn't look to Wildstar as a great example of a success story. The game doesn't even earn enough to be listed separately on NCSOFT's quarterly financial reports. Considering NCSOFT's past track record its surprising they haven't shuttered the game yet. Don't get me wrong, I like Wildstar and would probably play it if ping didn't make it almost completely unplayable for me, but they aren't a great example of a successful MMO model.

There is an argument to be made about the prices on the SE cash shop which could be valid. After all lower prices might end up meaning more items eventually sold. However without some data, which I doubt we will ever see, there is a lot of guess work to it.

With the armor given to us by Tatatru not being what i had hoped and the final patch having droped without further mention of it my fears that this particular will make an appearance in the cash shop is very real. Any number of plots could have been easily used to have it given to us, however the fact it was made scalable to different bodies and still not made a quest completion reward shows me an unsettling future.

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

They always said that 'Cosplay' sets would be through the cash shop. I think its almost certain they would never be a quest reward. Likewise Krile's coat will be a cash shop item. In that particular case they said its the only reason they are spending resources on developing it because it is technically fiddly to adapt for some reason.