December 2011 is the end

[captainpicard]

Another user made a forum post that had a "like" this if you are going to pay and another "like" this if you are not going to pay. I checked it a moment ago and it was at 600+ will pay and 200+ will not pay so it is basically sitting at a 1 out of 3 players will not continue to pay as of the writing of this article.

The results are misleading. This forum is heavily skewed towards people who are fervent players of the game. My guess is many people who still log on and play occasionally or even frequently do not post here. Thus, I really see this as 1 out of 3 players that still care will not pay.

The results do not account for the vast number of people who still log on but do not care enough to post. They also do not account for the vast number of people who quit long ago, and now will have no incentive to return (except for perhaps a very short time periodically to see any progress)

In other words, the forums put forward the voice of the very vocal minority, and do not reflect the majority of players.

Consider the following:

1. The very small current player base, which is propped up by free service
2. The forth coming premiere triple A titles
3. The road map that clues potential new subs into the fact that this game is essentially not going to massively change until 2013

These factors all lead me to believe that those choosing to subscribe through out 2012 will be very alone in the game.

I wish the game success, but I see this move as another in a long series of SE blunders. I understand they would like to start seeing a revenue stream from the game and do not wish to provide free services for another entire year, however, I can hardly fathom how saying the current title is 50% complete, stating that they would not charge until the game was "ready", and then announcing they were going to charge in December 2011, while putting out a road map to "readiness" showing 2013, is staying true to the course.

There have been many comments about the cost vs. people's budgets. I agree with most that the monthly service fee is not the issue, it is the principal behind it that is the issue. SE has exhausted all their personal currency with me, and these recent announcements just reiterate how that personal currency has been squandered.

Another user commented that the commercials for needy 3rd world children could not cause him/her to donate, so they certainly were not going to fund ongoing development of a game for a multi-national corporation.

I could not agree more. The company has other revenue streams, other IPs, and this is merely a money grab.

Ultimately, you can take the "those that won't pay" from the other forum post and multiply it by 10x. You can also take the "those that will pay" and subtract at least a third, because something will come up, a new title will come out, any number of circumstances will occur that change their mind.

This is now officially a sinking ship, until v2.0 is released.

I'll check it out when that happens, until then, I bid you farewell, if for no other reason then I do not anticipate there being many people left to play with after December, making the relative cost vs. benefit untenable.

[Platinumstorm]

Other polls outside of the lodestone actually show more of a 66% retention loss. It might mean there is a higher concentration of SquareEnix fans on the forums and FFXIV fans outside of the forums. It could also just be representative of people who want the game to succeed but haven't logged into the game within the last 30 days outside of this forum.

Basically what's going to happen is a large chunk of players won't be playing anymore, and the economy is going to go down, down, down, down.

February will see a boost to subscriptions, but maybe only for that one month.

Out of my linkshell of about 10 active players only 1 is committed to subscribing. I have a feeling we skew away from what will be normal, but it's still telling.

[Anonymoose]

Just because they're not willing to pay now doesn't mean they're not going to come back when the game's worth playing. Hell, they stuck with it through its darkest days just because it was free at the time... I'd put money on the bet that they'd be back (along with a lot of those that quit earlier than now) if 2.0 is a success.

In the meantime, it'll be less resources consumed from SE and those that stay will at least be putting money in. As far as the development process goes, it's Win/Win. Those of us that do stay will have great stories of the limited-time-only experience we got to take part in... and the cataclysm of course.

[Wynn]

/yawn

3 out of 10

[miqokini]

Even if most people leave, it's quite obvious by now that SE isn't going to let this game fail. After their horrid release, do you really think they will just let the game "die" a second death? They would have to be completely insane to let themselves get THAT much bad rep.

Even if NOBODY stayed, they would still release 2.0.

Mark my words.

[Gath]

You just jelly you're not me.
I am the greatest on this game, and people get mad, and when they get mad, they make rage threads to try and blame the game for letting me play.

My 1 gil is worth more than your 1 gil.

[Anonymoose]

You just jelly you're not me.
I am the greatest on this game, and people get mad, and when they get mad, they make rage threads to try and blame the game for letting me play.

My 1 gil is worth more than your 1 gil.

Have you noticed that it's always Archers with this strange attitude? This and their impatience. Every time someone in my party runs ahead of the tank in a dungeon, engages a mob before we're ready, or aggros accidentally because they're running around - it's an Archer. No wonder they're turning you guys into bards. It'll be like putting you on ritalin. (and giving an aesthetic/responsibility boost, but that's beside the point.)

[Sav]

A poll is a poll, and a roll is a roll. If we don't get no polls, then we don't eat no rolls.

[Anonymoose]

A poll is a poll, and a roll is a roll. If we don't get no polls, then we don't eat no rolls.

I f***king love that movie.

[Gath]

Have you noticed that it's always Archers with this strange attitude? This and their impatience. Every time someone in my party runs ahead of the tank in a dungeon, engages a mob before we're ready, or aggros accidentally because they're running around - it's an Archer. No wonder they're turning you guys into bards. It'll be like putting you on ritalin. (and giving an aesthetic/responsibility boost, but that's beside the point.)

lolol ARC isn't my only class brah. I main PUG, friend.
You jelly I am better than you. It's a shame.

My 1 gil is worth more than your 1 gil.