Free 2 Play still being considered?

[Rau]

http://www.videogamer.com/pc/ff14/ne..._into_f2p.html

"We keep a very close eye on all of the different business models and options available to us, and a subscription model is the business strategy that makes the most sense for FFXIV in the current market," he explained.

"However, I do think creating a hybrid from different business models is an interesting proposition, and this may be something we investigate further down the line."

Responding to whether he believed the subscription model may drive away the fanbase FFXIV had grown through the free model, Yoshida stated:

"Of course I am very interested in F2P as an alternative business plan, and I will continue to look into it."

I think I can safely say that the biggest reason people didn't stick with FFXIV wasn't the subscription. It was because it was a bad game. To some it may have been a pricing issue, but for the majority? I don't think so.

Sorry if old.

EDIT: Please don't ruin FFXIV by letting all the 13 year olds with PS3s populate servers by adopting a f2p model. I understand you need to make a profit, but please think about the already tarnished FF name you are trying to restore. Quality is the name of the game! ; ;

[buritoslicer]

F2P would most definitely hurt my experience in this game, specifically the community side of it. It's not a good option for SE to pursue IMHO

[TheVedis]

Rau I just have to ask

do you know what F2P even means?


all it means is no subscription, but paying more then subscription content games for the same ammount of content to play everything


so in the end p2p > f2p if you want to actualy pay less for your content


we do not want that


while Yoshi may be looking into it, every game is looking into it on some level, the problem is going over to it once your so far established because then it becomes a hassle.

Can you imagine games like 11 and wow going f2p at this point? the ammount of stuff theyd have to nix and put a price on in order to do it? imagine losing ALL your dungeons in wow and then having to rebuy them if you dont subscribe to the game. then imagine losing every bit of content in 11 and having to pay for it all again in order to continue to do it.

wanna do dynamis? thats 20 bucks down in order to unlock the classics, and another 20 to unlock the promathia ones.
wanna do salvage? thatl be another 20 bucks
wanna do the cop storyline? 5 bucks per chapter


thats how free to play works, its not free, not in the slightest and alot of people do not understand that

[Dhalmel]

There's nothing wrong with kids playing, I know a kickass RDM that was only 14 years old back in Siren server.

[Answa]

Rau I just have to ask

do you know what F2P even means?


all it means is no subscription, but paying more then subscription content games for the same ammount of content to play everything


so in the end p2p > f2p if you want to actualy pay less for your content


we do not want that


while Yoshi may be looking into it, every game is looking into it on some level, the problem is going over to it once your so far established because then it becomes a hassle.

Can you imagine games like 11 and wow going f2p at this point? the ammount of stuff theyd have to nix and put a price on in order to do it? imagine losing ALL your dungeons in wow and then having to rebuy them if you dont subscribe to the game. then imagine losing every bit of content in 11 and having to pay for it all again in order to continue to do it.

wanna do dynamis? thats 20 bucks down in order to unlock the classics, and another 20 to unlock the promathia ones.
wanna do salvage? thatl be another 20 bucks
wanna do the cop storyline? 5 bucks per chapter


thats how free to play works, its not free, not in the slightest and alot of people do not understand that

Didn't we pay that anyway for the expansions?

Regardless, F2P.... no thanks.

[Zenaku]

There's nothing wrong with kids playing, I know a kickass RDM that was only 14 years old back in Siren server.

that one kid and i bet he did not play wow for long or at all kids who only play wow for years and join ffxi or ffxiv are hard to deal with even grown ass people are hard to deal with if they only play wow and if there the type of player who think they don't need to learn anything because they play wow and wow have everything type of person.

[Lienn]

Well, it was expected. FFXIV is being built toward F2P + cash shop mechanics. This is probably the plan B for when 2.0 fail.

[TheVedis]

Didn't we pay that anyway for the expansions?

yes, but it still ends up costing less then f2p


its the difference between paying 30-40 for an expansion, or paying 100+ for every bit of content within that expansion


using 11 as an example, youd probly see it go f2p like this

6 basis jobs: free

advanced job: 10-15 dollars to unlock the abity to unlock it through a quest(so basicaly, thats 30 bucks right off the bat just to unlock the jobs some expansions gave if not more)

each zone unlocked: 10-15 bucks
each story quest unlocked/chapter: 5-10 bucks


over the course of a year subscribing, you pay 200 dollars if you get an expansion release in p2p
in f2p to get the same experience, you can pay upwards of 300+ depending on how much they charge for things. and to top it off they give you temptations to pay even more through things that give you in game bonuses.


looking at promathia as an example, 1 year of play in it

200 bucks for the xpac + expansion

or if it was a f2p deal, youd have paid probly 10 per area for the first 3 dungeons(the promathias)
then youd have paid 10 dollars per other zone you unlocked as the story progressed, which added up to ALOT
sea itself woulda probly cost 20-30 bucks

then the dynamis unlock woulda cost another 20-30(it had its own dynamis after all)

in the end, it coulda cost up to 300+ in that year instead of 200


and treasures woulda been even worse, as well as wings since they also had job unlocks on top of things you woulda been paying for.



fyi: i have played several f2p games and seen what happens, its not pretty

[Lienn]

fyi: i have played several f2p games and seen what happens, its not pretty

Quoting for thuth.

[Rau]

fyi: i have played several f2p games and seen what happens, its not pretty

So...you agree with me? >.>

EDIT: I already realize that "f2p" doesn't mean actually "free." I was trying to say a cash shop would inevitably hurt the game, despite the potential to increase sales and bring in more players.