Cash shop confirmed

[RaddCuban]

Except that I suspect you'll find that a large percentage of those buying said physical item are buying it expressly for the in game item. I'm planning on buying the CDs and art book just for the pets and I'm not alone in that.

That is your and people like that's choice to neglect the actual main body of your purchase as you are not interested in it not the negation of the code's existence as an incentive for early adoption of the merchandise. The merchandise will probably be around for much longer than the "early bird special" codes will.

Yes, collecting dust in a corner. For me the main body of the purchase is the virtual item.

Then resell it. There is a healthy aftermarket for these things. And no, when you buy the soundtrack you pay 50 dollars for the blu-ray(s) full of music. You get a cute little minion for buying the merchandise early in its lifespan. The fact that you are choosing to only focus on the incentive doesn't mean that the product is not what is making up the price of the purchase. I'm not saying you are wrong to do it, just that your motives for purchase do not affect the nature of the product being sold.

[Moqi]

I doubt they'd let this game bleed money for a year before introducing a cash shop because it's not generating the revenues it should've, especially after the failure of 1.0

I support this game already with my sub. If they are not able to manage development costs with what I give them, tough luck, it's their problem, not mine. They're not entitled (look! I can use it too) to more money from me just because they can't do their job.

[Lux_Rayna]

snip

It takes a good amount of time to get a clear picture about whether or not a model is going to work. You need 3 quarters at a minimum, which is essentially a year. For example, I run a business and it typically takes about 3 months, or one quarter, for today's efforts to turn into revenue. In order to analyze 3 months' worth of effort, I'd have to analyze the results 6 months later. For 6 months worth of effort, I'd have to analyze it 9 months later.

My point is this is not something they could look at and decide right away. They'd have to wait a while and see how performance measured up to standards.

They're not entitled (look! I can use it too) to more money from me just because they can't do their job.

Cash shop is optional, so I'm not sure why you use the word "entitled" there. You are free to purchase optional items as you see fit. SE isn't demanding more money out of you.

[Roris]

So, why not openly discuss the addition of a cash shop back since the 1.0 days when the 2.0 information was just starting to get released? Why mislead people in interviews stating how cash shops are bad and how the P2P model is better because devs aren't forced to decide which items go into the game and which ones go into the cash shop?

I mean they themselves said they didn't expect the success ARR had on release, they themselves expected moderate to maybe even low sales. That's why all those server errors happened, because they weren't prepared for the traffic, even though they could have easily made a better estimate of how many people would be playing by both looking at the preorder numbers up to a month or two before the final beta, and by how many people had active subscriptions before they were temporarily suspended on September 2012.

You say all this takes time to measure and decide, but it's all just one big contradiction. If modern MMOs can't sustain themselves without cash shops, why not simply launch with one? If the game is successful enough with 2.5 million "adventurers" then why add a cash shop then? It's all about making money I know, business and all, but the transparency that characterized Yoshida should have come into play here. Yes yes, they don't owe anyone any explanation of what they do as a business, but Yoshida did get most of his goodwill and positive image by being transparent and open about 1.0's development, only to seemingly forget about it after 2.0's launch, and yes I know there are people above him the ultimately decide all this even though he was promoted to Corporate Executive, but still.

[Vhailor]

So, why not openly discuss the addition of a cash shop back since the 1.0 days when the 2.0 information was just starting to get released? Why mislead people in interviews stating how cash shops are bad and how the P2P model is better because devs aren't forced to decide which items go into the game and which ones go into the cash shop?

Well based on a lot of their recent decisions, i.e. the cash shop, the atrocious ports of older FF titles to the PC in an attempt to make a few bucks, and the sellout to Microsoft over Tomb Raider 2, I'd say that SE is aiming to emulate EA. At least, I can't think of any other viable explanation.

[Errors]

Eh, as a former 11 player, 1.0 player, 2.0 player and frankly just pure gamer. I as long as only vanity related items are sold in the cash shop I don't care. No given in game advantage for cash. It's how I've enjoy games while people rage on about about possible "ethics" of game companies. If a game gets to the point I can't find entertainment out of it I leave it behind.

If I don't want something in the cash shop I just won't buy it. If I want to pay $400 for a mount that does nothing but look "pretty" so be it. I went to fan fest, got a plush that gives me a minion. I didn't go to fanfest and buy merch to just get minions. My primary goal was achieved to meet fellow players to have a good time and hear about new content.

This thread shows very passionate opinions on both sides. Thanks for the good read folks.

[DefendPopPunk]

SE has it made. They are going to charge us for items we could have had the chance to get as paying subscribers, yet not only are people accepting the practice, they're defending it. That's not a bad position to be in, since not every company's customers react that way to cash grabs.

[zar]

lol @ people against cash shop yet have the deluxe edition

[Vhailor]

lol @ people against cash shop yet have the deluxe edition

Yes, because clearly my upgrade to the CE, made primarily out of gratitude to SE for successfully transforming their next-gen MMO into something I wanted to play, is the same thing as a cash shop. Totally the same thing. /sarcasm

There's no reason to try and ridicule people with valid opinions and, if you are going to do so, using something other than an irrelevant one-liner is preferable.

[SongJoohee]

Yes, because clearly my upgrade to the CE, made primarily out of gratitude to SE for successfully transforming their next-gen MMO into something I wanted to play, is the same thing as a cash shop. Totally the same thing. /sarcasm

There's no reason to try and ridicule people with valid opinions and, if you are going to do so, using something other than an irrelevant one-liner is preferable.

God forbid you actually bought the Collector's Edition for the Security Token or Art book or any of other selection of physical goods.