Quote Originally Posted by Aerlana View Post
But, at least now, he admits that the destroy system of houses are for people paying subscription...
In fairness to Yoshi-P, they really don't have a lot of choice right now. Under the current system, it's essential that SE ensure at least a nominal level of turnover so that people on crowded servers don't feel completely cut off from housing.

My greater issue, personally, is not with the demo system - it's with the general responses by Yoshi-P, and what I perceive to be a relative lack of empathy and understanding. I have to question whether or not he understands that owning a house is a major goal for a lot of players, a goal that they are not able to properly achieve, particularly if they are seeking medium or large plots. Implicit in this, of course, is the fact that players who do own medium or large plots already can feel trapped into their subscription, because they likely won't be able to get a plot back in the future.

To make matters worse, empathy is free. It doesn't cost a dime for Yoshi-P to respond sympathetically to housing or Glamour concerns, or to acknowledge player perspectives. Consider if his response had been the following:

"I understand that homeowners feel trapped into maintaining their subscription when they may otherwise let it lapse. I want to assure them that we don't like the demolition system either - but we have to ensure some level of turnover so new players get a chance to own a house, too. Rest assured, we're always evaluating the various systems within FFXIV, and if we have an opportunity to expand housing availability enough for everyone to own a home who wants one, we'll be discarding the demolition system right away."

Speaking personally, this response would have been aces for me. Despite committing to nothing, it would have assured me that Yoshi-P understood. I'll settle for that. Most people, provided they understand the desires of their customers, will eventually work to meet them. I have no doubt that Yoshi-P would as well. But it seems that at every turn, he demonstrates that he doesn't even know what we want, what our pain points are - and that's a much more problematic situation.