The people currently blackmailing Devs over cosmetics are a disgrace

[UserHere]

While i think it sucks they locked the races. It doesn't matter to me that much. But for others it can be very important and the only way to show SE how important is to stop giving the company money. I might not agree with their PoV, but I wouldn't call what they are doing wrong. If enough people do it long enough SE might be forced to course correct.

[Jandor]

It's not blackmail. If you don't like a product, you're not going to pay for that product.

[Illianaro]

I went to McDonald's the other day to grab a coffee before work. I wanted a large, but they did not have large cups - somebody had bungled the delivery. To make up for it, they were offering two smalls for the price of a large. Some customers, such as myself, were fine with taking two smalls. Two smalls totals 24 oz. of coffee, while a large is 20 oz, so from my perspective I was making out like a bandit with extra coffee. For others they either did not do that math or the 24oz was not enough to make up for the inconvenience, so they said they were taking their business elsewhere and left.

It is not "blackmail" to say you are going to take your business elsewhere. SE is a business first and foremost. They are providing an online game and service, and they will make the decisions that they will make. And that is fine.

They have said "no male viera, but we'll offer you two genderlocked races." That is their decision. And people have the right to take their business elsewhere in protest. In the world of business, that is sometimes the only way to make your voice truly heard.

I'm not going to sit here and proclaim "this is the end of FFXIV and a mass exodus is coming" from this. I'm not that naive. People will leave, but I'm sure Shadowbringers will be a smashing success. But leave they will, because this for them is the dealbreaker.

Moreover, I cannot get behind genderlocking, but the reason I'm currently planning to leave the game once my sub is up is that it's a decision made after a series of decisions with which I have not been satisfied, such as limited BLU, an increasing sense that the devs are ignoring customer feedback, content that has not resonated with me, and many other little needling things. I'm not blackmailing anybody with that decision to try and force them one way or another. I'm just making a decision as a consumer.

If you want to stick around and you're still excited for ShB, that's great, really, I'm glad you feel that way. But please don't demonize other people for making their own independent decisions.

[Rhix]

Relax people, genderlock is just cosmetic. You are threatening to leave a game, its gameplay, its scenario, its community, over some lack of cosmetics...

Some people are disappointed by the fanfest. I am disappointed by how childish a part of this community is. Such an outcry for such a trivial thing...

Do you know what blackmail means?

[craybest]

exactly, i don't understand what those defending SE pretend? that we don't complain, we keep on paying, an playing in a game we're not happy with?

[Serenno]

snip

This comment 100%. It's not just people being negative and "blackmailing", let's not forget we pay to play this game and SE is a business and if we're not satisfied with how things are going then we can choose to take our business elsewhere. I get people wanting to defend SE from those that are being really vile and nasty in their disappointment cause that's not going to make things any better, but it's bizarre that the people who want to vote with their wallet are being told that they're blackmailing the devs. How does that even make sense? They are a business and we are the consumers, and as consumers we have the right to stop paying if we want. SE knows this, and such is the case with any business. The people that are saying this and condemning those who do so (while labeling them as whiny crybabies) aren't any less toxic than those who are directing hate at SE.

[Neoyoshi]

The innernette. Isn't it wonderful?

[Saefinn]

I didnt criticize anybody's opinion. Everybody has the right to think cosmetics are a vital part of the experience... what infuriates me is the act of blackmailing the game developers, threatening to unsub, only because of a cosmetic issue. you can think cosmetics are important, still it is not the core of the game.

It's called "speaking with your wallet". If you're disatisfied with something a company does, a product or a decision they've made, if you're giving them your money that tells them they're doing something right because you're still giving them your money.

As an ex-EA employee I used to know told me when I used to complain about EA's poor decisions "if you don't like it, don't buy it, speak with your wallet" and then lamented that people complain about something they don't like when nobody is forcing them to buy it.

I ended up working customer service for a big electronics manufacturer for years and honestly, I could see where he was coming from. People complain, but they'll still part with their money and they'll be people who have complaints contrary to theirs. These complaints in the grand scheme of things would represent a small part of the population, because most tend not to go out and complain. So the impression given is that they're still doing something right.

A lot of the time they'll care more about customer loss than customer satisfaction. After all, they are a business and have a huge employee base to take care of. If customer disatisfaction isn't resulting in customer loss, then it's still a success.

[SerLuke]

How long after unsubbing do forum accounts become inactive?

[Illianaro]

The innernette. Isn't it wonderful?

To quote from Jurassic Park: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should."