You think our Cash shop is bad...take a look at THIS

[Kosmos992k]

Wait, wait, wait, WAIT! Are you trying to tell me that retainer's fee does not go towards the game's development?

I'm pretty sure that I remember at one point it was suggested (cannot remember who by) that the revenue from such things is what enabled the EU datacenter move.

[Archaell]

I'm pretty sure that I remember at one point it was suggested (cannot remember who by) that the revenue from such things is what enabled the EU datacenter move.

Yus, I read that too.

Let me rephrase my question. So far I have thought that retainer fees are part of the cash shop. If they are not... Does it mean that retainer fees aren't used only for the development, but also for the profits?

[Malevicton]

If we have to compare our cash shop to a non-sub cash shop to make it look good, then that doesn't make our cash shop look good.

[Kosmos992k]

Yus, I read that too.

Let me rephrase my question. So far I have thought that retainer fees are part of the cash shop. If they are not... Does it mean that retainer fees aren't used only for the development, but also for the profits?

I'm not sure about that myself. Since retainers are a service fee like the subscription, it's continual, plannable revenue for the game. I would expect that like the primary revenue from game sales and subs, this would be rolled back into the game. But of course SE is like any large company, and they have products that make good money, products that break even and products that don't make a profit. That's the risk they take in this field, so I have to assume that some of the profit from FFXIV helps SE's bottom line as a whole.

On the other hand, FFXIV has been a pretty high profile success for Yoshi, the dev team and SE as a whole, so common sense suggests putting money back into the game to keep that goose laying the golden eggs. Unfortunately, common sense and business seldom mix.

[Mycow8me]

Developement is pretty generalized anyways. Was moving EU considered development...? Now im actually curious how specifically all the cash shop revenue is used towards game "development". Be funny if it was used to "develope" more cash shop items.

I might actually use the cash shop with current pricing if it turned out to be whats funding the hildibrand quest log. Stuff like that is actually more entertaining then trying to save the world on a daily basis.

Maybe transparency is an issue for some people too.

[Nutz]

Apparently there are some rumors circulating about level boosting microtransactions in Destiny that were added but currently unavailable as well.

I don't mind FFXIV's shop selling old seasonal items as those are all just glamour that could have been obtained in game easily by anyone who was subbed at the time. Unique items, especially the dyes that are one time use, are a lot more irksome and to me have no place in a sub model.

The only game I can think of that does a cash shop right is Path of Exile. Free to play and from the cash shop you can purchase additional bank slots (one time purchase), though it's mostly unnecessary unless you like to hoard/ play several characters (shared bank). Everything else is just a cosmetic effect, either alternate skill animations, pets that follow you around doing nothing (minions), wings, halos, and the like.

[Kosmos992k]

Apparently there are some rumors circulating about level boosting microtransactions in Destiny that were added but currently unavailable as well.

I kind of expect that Destiny will progress towards the kinds of microtransactions that support Warframe. Players will buy silver in order to finance their in game purchases of the downloadable content (aka updates) including weapons, armor, new maps, etc.... Bungie might be able to give the maps for free, but I am about 99% sure that new weapons, consumables and gear that arrive with updates will be split between lack luster free stuff and temptingly shiny shop items. Since the Destiny player base is leveling out, new sales of the game have definitely slowed, leaving no revenue source other than microtransactions.

With FFXIV even if new purchases slowed considerably, there is a pretty good solid core of subscribers that provide a revenue stream to finance ongoing development. If they keep the size of the dev team under control and remain conservative with how the load servers, there's no reason to worry about FFXIV going that route. IMHO of course.

[Whiteroom]

Check out Replay Badges over at DCUO.





Destiny... biggest let down I've had in gaming.

[Kosmos992k]

Check out Replay Badges over at DCUO.

"tokens that enable a player to repeatedly access loot in Duos, Alerts and Raids without having to wait for the set reset period." and across all characters on one account? ::blinks::

Am I understanding this right? A player could pay for as many of these as they like (can afford), spam the living crap out of content for the loot, effectively overcoming the RNG to an extent in order to obtain rare gear far faster than otherwise possible? Is that about right? So in FFXIV it would have been like being able to run, and rerun Coil as many times as you like without the lockout preventing you from doing so? We'd have had people in full High Allagan gear inside two days...lol

I take it that DCUO is known as a pay to win game?

[Pomelo]

Our cash shop is fine to be honest, it doesn't bring anything that can break the game or create an imbalance.
I'd love for them to add the Asia version exclusives to our shop (Panda Minion, Korean Clothing, Dragon Behemoth Mount) but...they are exclusives for not having Gold Saucer I suppose, its Catch 22. Its something I can live with out, which is ultimately the best thing about our cash shop, you can live with out all of it