Microtransactions are here to stay. And they are a good thing.

[DefendPopPunk]

OP = $E Employee disguised as a normal forum user? lol

You would think so with how vigorously he defends the issue and all his claims ("facts") about game development and project planning/budgeting that he goes on about. Lol

[Naelle]

I finally cleared Turn 13 today! Thank goodness SE sold me those wind-up pets to help me through that content!

[Pibz]

I finally cleared Turn 13 today! Thank goodness SE sold me those wind-up pets to help me through that content!

Didn't you know, gold wedding dress will let you oneshot turn 13..

[DefendPopPunk]

Didn't you know, gold wedding dress will let you oneshot turn 13..

Seems appropriate that it be made of gold.

[Ecks007]

1) Microtransactions are becoming an industry standard for every kind of game, including pay to play MMORPGs.

That's the problem. For a Subscription based MMORPG there should be no microtransactions. Period. Some things are exempt, like server transfers, name and race changes since those are things that should have been carefully considered during character creation. Though I don't approve of having to pay real money for anything that I might want in an MMORPG that I already pay a subscription for. To be honest all retainers should be completely free. It's not our fault the game that focuses on characters being able to level up a lot of jobs/classes and therefor need room for gear and other items for those jobs/classes doesn't have enough space in it's "Armory System" to account for all current classes, let alone the addition of future Jobs and glamour items. Inventories themselves easily get filled to the max.

As for the current "Extra Feature" of "extra" retainers it's not terrible, and certainly not nearly as dumb price-wise as everything else on the Mog Station as $1 per retainer a month actually doesn't seem like an unfair price. Though I still think they should be either free, or should be purchased with Gil and not real money. Even items like they have in the cash shop, should be available for a set amount of gil if they are going to put them in a shop at all. Game items should be bought with game currency, if they are to be bought at all and not awarded through quests or as random drops.

SE makes enough money. In fact I'm fairly certain they have recovered completely from the 1.0 fiasco, and XIV is a solid and stable name in MMO gaming. Not the laughingstock it was in 2010. "Looks pretty, but GL actually playing it."

Microtransactions have no reason to be in subscription based MMORPGs unless the company backing said MMORPG just wants to be greedy. Successful subscription MMOs don't require these cash grabs, and should not even need them as they have a sustainable income already.

If you want people to donate extra money, then set up a donation fund somewhere. I am sure there are people that would donate if they had the extra money and loved this game enough. Don't charge real money for game items, no matter how trivial those items might be. That's just dumb. That's just it. Dumb. That's a perfectly good word to sum it all up. Well, and the word greedy. Greedy and dumb. ....Yup.

[Blaon]

I don't give a damn about the cash shop as long as it stays as it is right now: completely optional stuff that doesn't affect your in-game experience. Pets and mounts in a cash shop? Sure, I don't mind.
However, I am looking forward to Triple Triad. Sadly, I guess it's a given there will be buyable cards in the cash shop... which does affect in-game experience. I don't play Heartstone or games like that because the more money you put in them, the better cards you have.
I know, I know, it would be naive to even consider cards won't be in the cash shop. But AT LEAST I hope the difference between people who do not buy cards and those who do is minimal. Purchasable cards would indeed make Triple Triad a P2W game inside another game which is supposed to be P2P, not P2W.

Please SE, if you make this (mistake) decision, let P2P players to get ALL cards in-game without an extra huge time investment just because we do not want to waste money in it. Or even better, make the correct decision and do not sell cards in the cash shop (haha, silly me.)

[Maphyr]

Crazy all the people here who are apparently upset that a business's goal is to make money. Whodathunkit?

[Kallera]

Not interested, OP. Never will be interested.

[Datu]

It's people like the OP who allowed the degeneration of MMORPGs. I will never support micro transaction or Free to Play (Pay to Win) or any such hybrid.

I'll be more than happy to pay a higher monthly sub if it means there are no cash shops in the subscription game I'm playing.

[Sessurea]

It's people like the OP who allowed the degeneration of MMORPGs. I will never support micro transaction or Free to Play (Pay to Win) or any such hybrid.

I'll be more than happy to pay a higher monthly sub if it means there are no cash shops in the subscription game I'm playing.

Doesn't mean others would be happy to pay higher monthly sub, especially if they don't care about weddings etc. In fact the good thing about this is the opposite of what you said, it keeps the monthly sub unchanged.