Pay to Play Subscription - Cast your votes!

[Apricoth]

I am not paying one cent until they put the Bard job in!!

I lie. I want Bard really bad but I will pay to play even if it isn't playable when subscription fees start up. I do enjoy the game. I appreciate the great lengths SE has put out to get this game to where it needs to be - enjoyable as well as beautiful. With their continued game plan for the end of the year into January I am definitely paying. It has been well worth it to me, and I am sure my linkshell-mates will agree, to have stuck it out since the launch of this game. Some of us since the beta.

Did I just say too much to a simple question? orz

[Fyobihaha]

Ofc, im gonna pay, game was free for over 1 year alrdy, with 250+ppl constantly working on it. further the whole 2.0 thing completly gave me back my faith in FinalFantasy. GO GO GO Dev Team!!!!!!

[Zanfire]

They said the game going to cost 12.99 when it was release i'm asking if they changing there mind and set a 14.99 price tag now.

i dont think so if they are doing the same for FFXI. its just simpler to charge 1 price for both (and they will still have that combo price im guessing). The rage meter would spike even more if they had the gall to charge even more for a game in beta til next year.

[Wulf]

I only just started playing about a week ago and then I heard about 2.0.

It looks good but... this came completely out of nowhere. Subscription starts in November/December 2011, but the actual 2.0 patch won't hit until late 2012/early 2013? I dunno, it seems kinda early to be thinking about charging the players.

Assuming the roadmap is accurate, we still have patch 1.20 (November), 1.21, 1.22, and 1.23 to go through before 2.0 hits.

I need more detail about upcoming content and changes to decide if I should pay or not. If not, I definitely will return when 2.0 hits. Hopefully the game will look like that one screenshot because it looks amazing.

[razielvh]

No for me, the old republic comes out a couple weeks after subscriptions kick in, I just finished a beta test weekend on that and it was a lot of fun. I'll keep checking out the updates, maybe I'll give FFXIV a look at 2.0.

[darkstarpoet1]

As much as I agree with you, going another year without any revenue will hurt the company. I think they are relying on the ps3 release to make up the loss of players in the upcoming month. It's really at a business stand point and they feel this the way to go.

And to answer your question...No I don't feel this is a good way for them to represent themselves.

no i wasn't wanting another year. i was just stating that there are core basics i expect in a game when i play it on release and expect to be charged for doing so.

the core basics of a mmo to me are

1. in game community such as tutorials for new players, ability to manage linkshells/guilds/squads/clan, ability to transfer items with ease.

2. a stable server that does not have massive lag spikes and where actions are not multiple seconds behind where they are registered.

3. a completed battle system. i know in mmo's they are always changing and will be tweaked, but when we undergo a full transformation like we have undertaken those changes need to be complete to judge the 2 systems completely.

4. not partial fixes. if the battle system needed to be redone finish it and implement it at one time. crafting changes new recipes, training manuals, guild support, materia was all added while materials were removed in one patch, but the changes to the hq process along with multiple other crafts are still not in place.

there has been work done on each of the areas i consider core features, but none of those have been completed as of yet. i'm not saying we should wait to pay until 2.0, but i just feel these 4 things need to be completely fixed before they expect us to pay.

[Preypacer]

They're barely able to keep the attention of like ten thousand people without a subscription fee, there is no way most of them will stick around when they start charging.

Errr... barely able to keep the attention....

Have you not noticed the overall increase in players in FFXIV these days? It started increasing with 1.18, and went up even more with 1.19. I literally see people everywhere now... even out in the middle of nowhere, there are other players about, killing stuff, harvesting, traveling, etc.

Even Gridania is active.

If anything, I'd say they're holding more people's attention with the game now than they have since its beta, and just after launch.

That said... I voted yes. Definitely yes. For one, I'm thrilled that they didn't announce they're going the F2P/Cash Shop route. I was really concerned I'd see that lol. Relieved I didn't.

SE seems to still understand and value the idea of earning your players' support (e.g. subscription dollar) over the long-term by providing engaging and entertaining content, rather than trying to nickel and dime them in the short term. In a genre that's going microtransaction-crazy, that's a relief for me.

As for people leaving... honestly, I think there are people who are hanging around purely because the game is free and because they get to troll the community (I'm sure many of us an name at least a few of them by now). I doubt (m)any of those people ever had any true intention of sticking around in the first place.

Is the playerbase going to drop off when they reinstate subs? Yeah, probably. It happens in every single MMO right after its launch and that first free month is up. No reason to think it'd be any different here. I'm sure SE expects this as well.

Of course, I also expect that as time goes on, the buzz gets around and people start to see the game's improvements... it's gonna change some minds.

[Paninaro]

The whole of SE should be complimented and rewarded for their honesty surrounding the ingame FFXIV issues,working relentlessly to resolve them to enhance the end user experience.
I will gladly pay to further the development of such an expansive and thoroughly enjoyable game-Keep at it guys,you are doing great!!!

[Deminia]

I have 2 accounts, I will drop my mule for certain. I would like to continue playing, but at the same time I don't feel this game is ready at all for a fee. There are far too many very broken things - not to mention the huge hassle of having to deal with the new version. I do want the game to continue and I don't mind paying a fee when the game is ready. However, it isn't and I am not confident that it will be in a month. I won't want to stop playing, but I might have to until the game is ready.

My time to play is very limited, and right now much of that time is still spent dealing with the many problems this game still faces. While it is free, I don't mind - but if paying a monthly fee, I will have to carefully weigh the amount of enjoyment I get based on what I can get accomplished as a casual player. I am really not sure. For me, it could not have come at a worse time to start billing - the fall and early winter are always when I have more bills than normal. /sigh

For now, I voted no because I can't say for sure if I can keep playing.

[options]

Undecided.

While i want to try and fund SE to make 2.0, i'm having a hard time getting past their business decisions. They released this game just before cataclysm prematurely and now they want to charge, conveniently just before SW comes out. And i would say its premature to start charging. 1.19 was a fantastic patch, but its only a hint of what the game will become. 1 patch out of many needed to fix this game up. 2.0 is when the game should be live.

I so do want to give them my money, $12 is nothing, I've spent more money on worse but its their practice which is swaying me to say no. I've stopped buying games if i know the developer brings out buggy pieces of crap, /cough besthesda. I've stopped buying ubisoft games cause of their stupid drm policies, refused to acknowledge apple for the same reasons. If the company has a poor practice in my eyes, i have to say no more. Its enabling them to keep up the same practices.

I have no problem handing over my money if you deliver me a great quality product, but to ask for money on a whisper that the game may one day be great, dunno.

As i said.... undecided