Do you think...?

[Orophin]

Actually, they're already doing it. *Cough* Behemoth mount *Cough*, and I'm perfectly fine with it.

This is something that people would get regardless if they continued to sub for the game though. Sure, it's an enticing enough perk for some to pay for a lot of game time at once, but it's not something you have to pay extra for.

Also here's Reinheart's translated version of the Retainer stuff from the Famitsu Article:

F: What about the additional features for retainers coming in patch 2.2?

Y: We will implement a fee based retainer service which we have been announcing since the previous FFXIV days. With that, we’re going to add new features aside from being able to store items, and currently preparing for it.

F: It will be a type of useful feature?

Y: It’ll will be a new play mechanic where you can dispatch. You decide on the retainers job and class, then pay a tip (tip/chip - as in form of payment, tokens) and choose the item you want to obtain. Then you dispatch the retainer. Once the retainer successfully obtains the items, they will gain experience points and gain levels, and will be able to wear different types of gears.

Bolded the "since the previous FFXIV days" for emphasis. I don't want to speculate too much until after the English translation comes through for the next Live Letter, but I interpreted that as back in the day they were going to charge us a $1 extra per month for extra retainers. It's sounding like this retainer system is something extra, but again, I don't want to read into it too much yet. Paid service simply could mean the latter part where you have to give one of your existing retainers a tip (maybe some gil or something) to go out and perform tasks for you.

Very much a wait and see what the official English translation says type of deal. This is a borderline "Pay to Win" scenario if they're charging extra monthly for it since it does technically give you an advantage over players who can't/won't pay for this. I'm hoping it's simply an in-game gil sink.