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

[Buddhsie]

Actually, Wynn brought up launches, which is why I mentioned Rift, so get some context before you make yourself look worse.

Rift specifically targeted WoW players who wouldn't play anything less than a game with a perfect launch. And that's exactly what they got. Apparently, a million of them are happy with it.

How many subscribers does FFXIV have now? Oh yeah, exactly zero.

The 2.0 version has the potential to be a Rift-like launch (if you pretend 1.0 was a bad dream, at least). But what we have now can never be as satisfactory. I think the price should reflect that, especially if it can convince a great deal more people to stick around.

Most people playing the game now aren't playing solely because its free, they're also playing because they enjoy it in some manner. I guarantee you that at least 90% of people who quit when the subscription fee is introduced will be back when 2.0 launches. In this way Square Enix isn't 'losing' subscribers or anything of the sort, it's just people that are too cheap/poor to pay for the game until then. So they temporarily oust a few people by introducing the fee, but what they gain is a dedicated player feedback base without the trolling and the confrontation, as well as whatever revenue they can generate over this time (most of which will go into the one-time story and current game development that only people playing through to 2.0 will get to enjoy).

When 2.0 launches they will reclaim their old subscribers from original launch, free to play period players and a whole lot of new players no doubt amazed by the E3 presentation in 2012, as well as the people who play through. Charging 12.99 does not have a single negative feedback effect to it, I think it's a wise business move.

EDIT: Oh and you've probably heard this a million times but 2.0 is going ahead regardless of how many people subsribe when free to play ends. i.e. you aren't as important as you think you are.