To all the people saying that the start of monthly fees will be the end of FFXIV...

[Rhianu]

Your entire stance makes absolutely no sense.

Let's think about this logically for a moment. In order for FFXIV to be commercially successful, it has to bring in more revenue than it costs to keep it up and running.

Now which of the following options do you think would cost SE more money?

Option A) Keeping FFXIV free for another year, while they continue to spend more and more money on development, updates, and new content.
OR
Option B) Start charging a monthly fee so that they can start to recoup their losses from all the money they've bleed out since FFXIV's launch in 2010.

Popularity and subscription number don't mean squat. A player who isn't paying is making zero money for the company, and therefore the company loses absolutely nothing of monetary value if that person stops playing. Sure, they might lose a subscriber, but subscribers that don't generate any income are -- quite literally -- worthless.

Subscription numbers only matter when there is a subscription fee in place. Having a game with a few paying subscribers will always be more profitable than having a game with tons of non-paying subscribers.

I don't understand why so many people seem to think FFXIV would go under if SE started turning a profit on it. Games go under when they lose money, NOT when they lose subscribers.

In order to stay afloat, income must always be greater than expenses. Honestly, this is basic finances here.