Yoshi-P has outlined that server limitations are the reason for the lack of cheap and available personal housing.

It was clear to a small portion of us when FC housing first rolled around that the underlying reason was server limitations.

Now, when it's clear that server limitations are the sole reason for the development decision, people are STILL arguing up and down about gil, economies, and rich players.

So what are the possibilities for the true reasons why Personal Housing is so limited?
  1. SE has decided that they don't want to throw more money at expanding server capacity.
  2. Alternatively, the game can't feasibly/easily support larger, faster, and more complex servers.

Given that FFXIV has proven to be a cash-cow for SE, I find it highly unlikely that they are withholding funds because they don't see it as a worthwhile investment. It's much more likely that the game is deeply flawed in its network and development structure.

Let that sink in for a second.
  • A game that was released in 2013 can't support a housing area with more than 30 plots with a few hundred visible player-placed objects.
  • Over a 9-month period, SE was able to open a handful of housing wards (2 wards in the 2 months since 2.3).
  • Interiors are limited to 200 player-placed objects. Rooms to 100 player-placed objects.

In my opinion, SE is basically telling us that they've reached their limit when it comes to multiplayer interactivity as it relates to their server capabilities.

Static, simple, textured objects that sit on lawns and tables are too much for SE to handle.

What does that mean for open-world environments?
Graphics upgrades?
Faster network code and real-time, client-side actions?

Forget about dynamic open-world encounters.
Forget about seamless alliance interactions.
Forget about flying in airships and seeing anything that isn't pre-rendered/static.

These are some serious shortcomings for a game that is supposed to be current-gen that we as a community, need to address.