Steam payment HUGE price increase!

[gustavray]

It is still their responsibility because first of all they chose to sell the game on steam. Second, they set their prices on steam. Steam is but an intermediate in all this. Square Enix could have done this when HW was released, since back then 1 USD was 4,15 BRL. But they didn\\'t. Now after releasing a huge expansion and also after time for refund has expired, they decided to make it equal to everyone. That\\'s is their responsibility for sure. And they can\\'t do that without notice. They should even have told members that with the upcoming expansions regional pricing difference would be removed from steam. We weren\\'t even allowed to buy HW for a fair price. HW came out in Brazil costing 80 USD at the time for collectors edition. We paid for it. U want equality? Give us the money for HW back because we paid much more than other countries for it. And pls with interest because it\\'s been 2 years.

[JumperX]

I don't normally suggest this, but the person (or people) who decided to raise sub prices without telling players needs to be fired. This is going to be a crap show for their PR and is going to make SE look BAD.

Yes, this is their game and they have the right to change sub prices. Most of us understand this. What they did is inexcusable and terrible business practice.

the problem is that the one deciding to make changes are usually the people who are in charge of the company or investors so they can't/won't fired themselves since it is what they wanted and own shares of the company. They CAN fired the people in the administration office, but they are just employees ( have not voice) so if you are asking for those people to be fired then I don't think you are any better./shrug

[Raikai]

Damn, it's awful not just because the price increase, but because there was NO PREVIOUS NOTICE.

If I knew this beforehand, I'd purchase several months of sub in advance because now it's almost the DOUBLE of what was paid before. I'd get some of the mogstation items that I won't now because I'd rather save for the sub.

[Akatosh]

Well, the old price of R$ 28,99 was considerable in my finances, but I could manage it. With the price being jacked up to what it is now, however, I really can't justify the purchase. It's a shame really, because I love this game. I didn't, and still don't, have enough time to get my money's worth out of most of the days that I paid for, but I felt the price was reasonable enough to support a game I grew really fond of. But with this unannounced increase, this game just went into borderline unaffordable to me, and to a lot of other Brazilian players. So thank you SE, it was a fun ride, it's a shame I won't be able to renew my sub for a long while because the concept that people in different countries can't afford the same price as another seems to have escaped someone's mind.

[Yurimi]

the problem is that the one deciding to make changes are usually the people who are in charge of the company or investors so they can't not fired themselves since it is what they wanted. They CAN fired the people in the administration office, but they are just employees ( have not voice) so if you are asking for those people to be fired then I don't think you are any better./shrug

Let me tell you as someone who has actually invested in SE Holdings (not majorly but buying up shares here and there with spare money and putting a small chunk of my RRSP investments into it). Right now I am watching my stock value drop for the first time in 8 days and not just 1-2 points its dropped almost a full % in value in the last 24hrs. I dont make "mad money" on the stock but (and I am sorry if I seem insensitive to those affected) I am worried how this is going to affect my bottom line between if refunds get processed and the lost revenue however small from the steam subs. To break even 1/2 steam users would need to change to paying full price and while I cant see their numbers what I can see is the public freaking out saying things and as an investor in this company that scares me.

[DoppelShifter]

I don't think FFXIV youtubers will join the cause,[...] but they would receive my respect if they did.

Exactly.

And basically from the moment we start always thinking "they'll never join the cause" or "these sites/journalists/youtubers will never talk about this" or "Square Enix will never listen", that means we're already losing.

Is there a minimal chance that they might hear us? Then contact them. The more people try it (*POLITELY*), the better. If it is important to us, and if the regional pricing is something that can benefit a vast part of the player base and not only BR/RU, then it's something worth fighting for.

Keep the flame and soldier on. Multiple other MMORPGs implemented these prices. FFXIV has the precedent of having one of the most dedicated fanbases worldwide, lots of them who stuck with the game through the hellhole that was 1.0. If that could be achieved, then we can achieve some victory here too. For all of us.

[Moonlite]

snip

It is cool you admit to have a financial investment in the company. Your reactions to things players ask would make sense to me. The other players who act like they own a % of the company just confuse me.

[DoppelShifter]

[snip]

And this might actually get some attention from SE if things keep up. This situation might not be the actual cause of any dent in the stock values right now, but they sure are a reason to keep some people a bit jumpy.

After all, Steam is still the largest PC gaming storefront. And FFXIV's page is basically defaced with an ever-shrinking review score, with multiple negative reviews from veteran players (currently at 53% and still dropping). This might be enough to make some people jumpy, specially considering how SE is handling the situation: by mostly ignoring it and waiting until it goes away.

If this situation drags on and more people join the outcry, specially more sites, journalists and youtubers, SE might actually start feeling like they should do something.

[Rofel]

Stormblood is one of the most unpleasant experiences I had as a player and customer. The server move, two to three days stuck at the bottleneck, plus three days unable to get into Omega because some non-NA players couldn't queue for this period of time. And now THIS. No warning and no real reason - unless you truly believe that charging the same to low income countries is "fair".

[Paladinleeds]

unless you truly believe that charging the same to low income countries is "fair".

Depends on the personality of the person. There's J and P types on Myers-Briggs. J types are very much "Same for all." - for example everyone pays the same regardless of circumstance, and that is how they see fair. P types will look into individual circumstances and assess that way, allowing for adjustments given a person's circumstances. In short:

The fourth criterion, Judging – Perceiving, reflects how a person implements the information he or she has processed.

Neither of them are wrong approaches truth be told. I can see both sides, though I would lean more towards a P in this situation, in that low income countries should have their individual needs accounted for (which is pretty strange given I'm an ENTJ).