Opt-in Pay Tier Structure until 2.0 (different than the 'half pay' or 'free to play')

**Llewelyn** · 10-19-2011 09:51 AM

As evidenced by threads like http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...Then-Charge-12, a lot of people aren't happy with the idea of paying full cost for FFXIV right now. (I'm not one of them; I would have given my money a while back, even though the game might not be 'worth it' for me right now, I'm in full support of the great work Yoshida is doing, and I wouldn't mind paying in support of that)

Some people are crying that going away from free-to-play will kill the player base. This is somewhat inevitable, but blocking people from seeing the changes now really would hurt the game in the long term, I think. (more so than forcing people to pay, not allowing people to drop in after patches and see how things are moving will hurt things)

But going to half-pay isn't going to bring that much income, either.

I have a somewhat different perspective on this. Rather than "full pay" or "half pay" have "opt in pay." Let it remain free for everyone (perhaps with limited hours per week), and then let people who want to pay either half or full do so of their own volition. Paying would allow unlimited access, while everyone else essentially gets a "demo"

Alternatively (and perhaps better), allow free play up to level ___ and after that, require a monthly fee. This is essentially what a number of MMOs do to hook players. (I believe Aion does this, for instance)

Originally Posted by Zuellni

What if SE adopted a free to play all content up to rank 25? That way, all the meat and stuff will be for subscribers only while non-subscribers get to experience everything up to getting the Chocobo mount as well as a few dungeons, all the first class quests, etc.

The end result would be thus:

People who want to keep an eye on changes (1.2, 1.21, 1.22) can hop in whenever they like just to see how things have changed. This is what I was doing up until 1.18 launched - I'd jump in after every patch to see what it was like, play for a few hours, and eventually stop playing again. These people would have limited access to the game, since they aren't paying, but it would still allow them to keep track of the game or just to socialize a small amount.
People who want to pay half pay half, and get rid of the access limitation
People who want to pay full do so, with the only difference being how much they're paying. So people like me who can afford to support the devs and want to... can.

I think this way of handling payments would have the minimal impact on the player base. It would let people keep an eye on the game without paying, or those who do pay can choose how much they want to pay (effectively making the full pay option a donation to SE) It would also allow the naysayers to see that yes, Yoshi-P has things under control (and is listening) and the game is getting better and better!

After all, if it hadn't been for this long free-to-play period, I wouldn't have been keeping track of FFXIV's progress. I would have quit about a month after XIV came out and lost interest. Instead, since it's been free, I've been checking in with the patches and seeing progress. And I'm really happy with the state of things - I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.

It's going to be very difficult to relaunch at 2.0 because of the sheer volume of negative reviews that came out at launch. EVERY chance to get more people to see the improvements will help!

**nasomi** · 10-19-2011 09:57 AM

Here's an idea. It's $12.95 a month. Shell it out, or we'll see you in a year. SE's not going to change their policy. You're beating a dead and mangled horse.

**nasomi** · 10-19-2011 10:00 AM

And here's why. It would cost SE a lot of man hours to implement such a system, making it counter productive. They didn't ask for your advice on payment. They asked for your feedback on systems they're putting in. [Removed by Moderator according to the FINAL FANTASY XIV FORUM Guidelines.]

**Zuellni** · 10-19-2011 10:01 AM

What if SE adopted a free to play all content up to rank 25? That way, all the meat and stuff will be for subscribers only while non-subscribers get to experience everything up to getting the Chocobo mount as well as a few dungeons, all the first class quests, etc.

**MrLion** · 10-19-2011 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by Zuellni

What if SE adopted a free to play all content up to rank 25? That way, all the meat and stuff will be for subscribers only while non-subscribers get to experience everything up to getting the Chocobo mount as well as a few dungeons, all the first class quests, etc.

You've had plenty of time free of charge...time to pay up.

**Ruisu** · 10-19-2011 10:04 AM

Thing is, before 2.0 is released there will be another beta. If people want to test the game out again, they're obligated to do so then. Until that time comes, they gotta either pay or temporarily discontinue. As much as I would love to see the game remain f2p, or even $5 a month, it's not happening.

**Llewelyn** · 10-19-2011 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Zuellni

What if SE adopted a free to play all content up to rank 25? That way, all the meat and stuff will be for subscribers only while non-subscribers get to experience everything up to getting the Chocobo mount as well as a few dungeons, all the first class quests, etc.

25 might be a bit high, but it's a good idea (better, actually). Modifying my original post to include it.

Originally Posted by nasomi

And here's why. It would cost SE a lot of man hours to implement such a system, making it counter productive. They didn't ask for your advice on payment. They asked for your feedback on systems they're putting in. If you haven't figured out that once SE says they're going to do something they're not going to change your mind, you need to get that brain cell of yours to start multiplying before you forget to breathe.

That's the old SE you're talking about. SE's behavior is drastically different since Yoshida became producer. Case and point:

But you went ahead and you had this poll and we know that you're a good group of hardcore players that have been there a long time. So we are taking this poll to heart and discuss this again and see if this is an option for us. We will then get back to the players and decide.

Originally Posted by MrLion

You've had plenty of time free of charge...time to pay up.

If you read my post... you would have seen that I said I'm happy to pay and that I would have paid months ago because of Yoshi-P's efforts. This isn't something I'm coming up with because I want to get around paying (I'll be paying regardless of how much they charge). Granted, the suggestion is out of self-interest, but it's communal self-interest. Letting people see the patches is a huge PR boost, which means the general impression the public has of FFXIV is likely to slowly sway, which will in turn likely mean more players stay/come back. And more players means... I'm more likely to be happy. So yes, there is an element of self-interest, but it's not financial.

**nasomi** · 10-19-2011 10:19 AM

Yoshi didn't make the call, guarantee'd. Corporate did. Yoshi is a salesman. He'd give you everything for free all day long if he was allowed, but he's not. He can make plea's but the corporate office holes all the cards.

Weren't you leaving?

**Teakwood** · 10-19-2011 10:22 AM

To be fair, in an interview with BG Yoshida did -actually say- that he's not firmly committed to any one or another payment structure, so ideas like this are actually valuable and relevant.

**Llewelyn** · 10-19-2011 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by Ruisu

Thing is, before 2.0 is released there will be another beta. If people want to test the game out again, they're obligated to do so then. Until that time comes, they gotta either pay or temporarily discontinue. As much as I would love to see the game remain f2p, or even $5 a month, it's not happening.

Having another free trial period in a year is definitely a good idea, and will mitigate some of the casualties in the player base from charging now. But it will only help if people actually hop in-game during that period, and if the last time they were pretty dissatisfied... they probably aren't going to give it much of a second chance a year later.

I'm speaking from personal perspective here - when I quit after launch, I probably wouldn't have considered playing now, or even at 2.0, if I hadn't been on an hour or two a month just to keep an eye on things. What I got from playing a little bit after patches was a sense of progress. It's not enough to slap on a new version number and say "Things are better now!" even when they are; people are cynics and won't believe it without a good PR effort. What I'm saying is this: the current state of the game is infinitely better than it was at launch. But I only believe in the promises of 2.0 because I've been following along with Yoshi-P all along the way and see that he's delivered everything promised, AND been receptive to changes.

Thread: Opt-in Pay Tier Structure until 2.0 (different than the 'half pay' or 'free to play')

Thread Tools

Search Thread

Display

Opt-in Pay Tier Structure until 2.0 (different than the 'half pay' or 'free to play')

Tags for this Thread