The pull factor of Pay to Play

[Delily]

Aren't you cute. I don't have to buy anything in the cash shop to finish dungeon runs, quests, participate in PvP, or craft gear. Talk to me once that happens.

[Ashgarth]

Aren't you cute. I don't have to buy anything in the cash shop to finish dungeon runs, quests, participate in PvP, or craft gear. Talk to me once that happens.

Ok, I will.

[Delily]

Ok, I will.

Don't hold you breath. WoW's cash shop has been out for 5 years now.

[Erudain]

Or maybe it's me just getting old and not getting this new gaming times?

I'm gonna sound like a grandpa now but..."when I was younger, companies didn't release DLC content the very same day they launched the game......that would be a rip off since that's content that should've been in the game and everyone in the press and gaming communities would be at their throats"

But hey, that has become pretty much the norm now.....so either the world and gamers had gone nuts or I have.....I'm gonna go with the later.

[Tiggy]

Doesn't bother me in the slightest that the store is here. It's 100% cosmetic and when I see people with the rewards I only think to myself "wow, what a waste," but never do I think to myself "holy crap I just have to get that or I won't progress." So I can live with it even though this is p2p. The size of the free content patches are so large that a few mounts or pets are easily ignored.

[Meshico]

Has the introduction of items behind a pay wall meant the game has lost its P2P pull factor to you?

Was the fact that it was purely P2P never a factor in your purchase?

Has the game gotten better because of the cash shop in your eyes?

To those of you for whom it is an issue, is it enough of an issue to cause you to cancel your sub?

To both sides: Do you see a difference in paying for Server Transfers compared to paying for Minions, how about paying for Fantasias?

1. It is wearing it's pull on me. The only real thing that bothers me, is the Marriage thing...that is a real annoyance and it seems it was done with the intent of people "needing" it vs. wanting it. I don't like that one bit...but not enough to make me quit.

2. Yes, it was a factor, it was a very important factor. Even though I love FF series, if it was F2P, I would not have joined.

3. I'm sure the game has been improved behind the scenes in some ways, but one example of it not getting better is, again, the spending of our hard earned cash on putting the "better" wedding experience behind a cash shop.

4. No.

5. Yes, a server transfer is a special, should be one time thing, because otherwise people will take advantage of it, and make this wonderful (for the most part in my experience) community suffer.


@Yoshida-san, and team. This is one of those instances that you as game players should realize how annoying this is, and if you are trying to find the limit, you guys are playing a dangerous game. You guys may be gamblers, but please look to "Xbox One" as an example of what the gaming community is capable of doing.

You guys can make more money sure...but in the long run is it more than what it could have been? I hope you guys can answer this with real facts and data. remember 10,000 tests is the minimum to get more accurate results.

-Tari

p.s

Not going to lie, I'm somewhat reconsidering preordering heavensward. I kinda want to wait and see if they take it too far with the cash shop at that point.

[Arkine]

Not going to lie, I'm somewhat reconsidering preordering heavensward. I kinda want to wait and see if they take it too far with the cash shop at that point.

[Jacost]

Does anyone have an official definition of "content"? Otherwise the semantics arguments are going absolutely nowhere.

So far there's nothing in the cash shop that interests me. My sub is still getting me everything I want out of the game and a lot more besides. It doesn't get me everything there is, but it's still a good deal for my money. If that ever changes, I will obviously stop buying it. That said, it is a concern that I will be keeping a close eye on. I'm wary about the implications for Gold Saucer...

[Aegis]

Not at all. Minions, mounts, and dyes are reskins of existing items, the development time on them, as compared to new armor sets, quests, and stories is negligible.

That's sort of what I was getting at. Would you as a director set aside a half-dozen people to make a new raid, with a new dungeon, new mob types and bosses to introduce 5-6 new item designs for those playing the sub, or would you set aside those same six people to churn out 30+ new items for the cash shop. Unless you think that new raid will bring in more revenue than the vanity items the best business case is to make teh vanity items.

[Meshico]

That's sort of what I was getting at. Would you as a director set aside a half-dozen people to make a new raid, with a new dungeon, new mob types and bosses to introduce 5-6 new item designs for those playing the sub, or would you set aside those same six people to churn out 30+ new items for the cash shop. Unless you think that new raid will bring in more revenue than the vanity items the best business case is to make the vanity items.

Not necessarily, you are gambling whether one will make more money or not. As while the other has decades of "testing" if you will as a source of truth. That new, non-extra-paying, content keeps people entertained, while being an entertaining industry keeping people entertained seems priority.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again, look at "Xbox One" a lot of people may not vote, but if put up against a wall...they will and they usually vote for the better deal (not necessarily the cheapest).