[Cash Shop Idea] Game Time Token

[Aldora]

Aldora, you are missing the point. with a Wowtoken system the players Dont control the prices. The prices are generated from an algorythm based on supply and demand, scaling slowly. no rapid pricechanges.

That might be the case for WoW, but as it stands now everyone has full control over the prices on our Market Boards, so SE would have to make a new system so that they can regulate the price of the items (rather then giving it in the hands of the players). On paper that would keep the price from escalating to a ridiculous height, but that brings us to the next point:

People wont have direct control of the prices. They will be generated on a supply/demand basis, slowly changing every hour.

I'm sorry, but how is is that better? You're basically saying that the value of game-time is determined by supply and demand? Who are we/they to say that 1-month worth of game time is worth 1M gil now and the next person has to pay 1.2M for the same amount of game-time? Next to the fact that not everyone will be paying the same price for game-time, you have the upper and the lower end of the economic community you need to take into account. 1M might be peanuts chump change for some, it will be be quite the amount for others.

There is no way you can justify buying game-time through an in-game currency based on supply and demand. It is simply mind boggling that people are actually considering this as a valid means to buy game time and playing a game. Yes, i know that WoW has introduced that particular system, and frankly it makes me sick to my stomach that they did.

With a subscription fee, everyone is paying the same amount of money for the same amount of game time. I've said it once and i'll say it again:

15 Dollars or Euro’s is not expensive for a monthly subscription of an MMO such as WoW or FFXIV. If you really don’t have that kind of money to spend on an MMO, then you really need to reconsider if playing an Subscription based MMO is such a good idea. The same applies to people who don’t have a lot of time to spend on gaming and feel that the 15 Dollars/Euro’s isn’t worth the amount of time they spend playing the game.

On the other hand, we are living in an era where a lot of people want to get “stuff” for free, while throwing money at other things without a sliver of thought. For example, we want to play a MMO for free, but on the other hand, we’re not hesitating when it comes to spending a fortune on vanity items in cash shops.

It's about the principle of it.

Lets make an example shall we?

Little popoto poto is poor and wants gil. Should she turn to Bots? or a safe SE service?
Popoto buys a gametimetoken from the mogstation. She then puts it on the marketboard. She doesnt decide the price as it was already set. She cannot change the price.
It sells and popoto is now X amount of gil richer.


Rhenbyrt Slafyrsyn on the other hand is stinkin' rich but doesnt feel like sharing his gil. How might we pry the gil from his hands? he sees he can buy a gametimetoken for X amount of gil. He does that and gets 30 "free" days.

And this is one of the main reasons why you should never add a system like this... By the Twelve... If you can't afford something, you have to work for it and to save up money in order to pay for the item you want. This is true in real life as well. By adding something like this, you are just feeding the "need" to throw your real life money for something you want in game. How can someone not see that there is something very wrong with that picture?

[Enur]

Lets make an example shall we?

Little popoto poto is poor and wants gil. Should she turn to Bots? or a safe SE service?
Popoto buys a gametimetoken from the mogstation. She then puts it on the marketboard. She doesnt decide the price as it was already set. She cannot change the price.
It sells and popoto is now X amount of gil richer.


Rhenbyrt Slafyrsyn on the other hand is stinkin' rich but doesnt feel like sharing his gil. How might we pry the gil from his hands? he sees he can buy a gametimetoken for X amount of gil. He does that and gets 30 "free" days.

[RobbieH]

Lets make an example shall we?

Little popoto poto is poor and wants gil. Should she turn to Bots? or a safe SE service?
Popoto buys a gametimetoken from the mogstation. She then puts it on the marketboard. She doesnt decide the price as it was already set. She cannot change the price.
It sells and popoto is now X amount of gil richer.


Rhenbyrt Slafyrsyn on the other hand is stinkin' rich but doesnt feel like sharing his gil. How might we pry the gil from his hands? he sees he can buy a gametimetoken for X amount of gil. He does that and gets 30 "free" days.

What if a person is poor in-game and IRL?

In GW2 is pretty much killed bots, it's different because GW2 has no sub, but it allows you to trade real currency for in game cash.

Again i don't see the issue with bots (except them spamming chat), no one is forced to buy from them and people know they can get banned if they buy from Bots.

[Kosmos992k]

[I]FFXIV Tokens provide players with a convenient, secure way to exchange gil for game time directly through the in-game Market.

Let me just complete your thought here;

...(and now the unsaid portion): a convenient, secure way to exchange $$ for gil through the Mogstation and in-game Market - aka officially sanctioned RMT.

No. Definitely not.

I am categorically opposed to selling any item through the cash shop that can be resold in-game for gil, especially an item that is a 'game time' item.

This idea is explicitly an RMT mechanism since you are allowing players to spend $$ in the cash shop in exchange for gil in game.

Absolutely not.

do you even read?

You are asking for sanctioned RMT. Crysta exist already as non currency options for purchasing game time or optional services such as retainers.

All you are doing with this suggestion of yours is legitimizing RMT.

[MomomiMomi]

I am categorically opposed to selling any item through the cash shop that can be resold in-game for gil, especially an item that is a 'game time' item.

I'm of the opposite mind. I believe that everything that is in the game should be obtainable within the game. If that means buying cash shop items from other players for gil, then that is what I support.

Of course you do, you have a very healthy bank balance, this would enable you to play for free, so of course you support it.

It's healthy enough. I've stopped trying to make gil for well over a year though. That part of the game is, quite simply, dead to me. Which is a shame because it was one of my favorite parts of the game. But there's just no point to it anymore.

[Kosmos992k]

I'm of the opposite mind. I believe that everything that is in the game should be obtainable within the game. If that means buying cash shop items from other players for gil, then that is what I support.

This game time token would be a completely different sort of in-game item though. It's not like the other in game items. I mean, I disagree with the idea of being able to trade/sell cash shop items in-game for gil, as I am sure is obvious. So I disagree with you. But I can see some logic to an all or nothing approach. If it's to be an all or nothing, then I say nothing, and close the Mogstation optional item purchases immediately.

It's healthy enough. I've stopped trying to make gil for well over a year though. That part of the game is, quite simply, dead to me. Which is a shame because it was one of my favorite parts of the game. But there's just no point to it anymore.

I understand, and I do apologize for what is a cheap shot.

I knew you were a very active omni-crafter at one time and know that can generate huge amounts of gil. To me this idea is very squarely aimed at letting people who want to make gil in game - without doing what you did - spend $$ in the real world to do so. I dislike that idea. I do respect the ability of many players to craft their way to billions, even if I am a bit envious of it because I really don't have sufficient playing time to match that earning capability...but no matter what people say about market board prices, the point is that you earned the gil you acquired through your effort, and that needs to be respected.

People should earn their stuff, and if they don't want to earn it, then they should deal with the consequences of that.

[CocoPuff]

In GW2 is pretty much killed bots, it's different because GW2 has no sub, but it allows you to trade real currency for in game cash.

This. Why do the token thing at all? Just jump straight to the issue and allow people to buy 10 million gil for $20 (about what it's going for, as a quick Google search indicates). Gil sellers and bots will be gone the next day.

[RemotaySugoi]

As a long time MMO player and someone who has played WoW, the Token system is the best possible idea to hurt gil spammers AND improve the user experience overall. Everyone knows people buy GIL from third party sites - it's no secret. Might as well sanction it within the game AND let Square Enix make money off it AND benefit players by giving them an option to pay for their subscription with in-game gil.

It's a really a win-win-win. WoW has done it, Eve has done it, FF14 is probably the biggest MMORPG after WoW. No reason not to implement this.

Has anyone at Square Enix talked about this in the past? It would be a great idea.

[Caitlyn]

Little popoto poto is poor and wants gil. Should she turn to Bots? or a safe SE service?
Popoto buys a gametimetoken from the mogstation. She then puts it on the marketboard. She doesnt decide the price as it was already set. She cannot change the price. It sells and popoto is now X amount of gil richer.

Well, Little popoto poto is lazy and does actually RMT. Since Heavensward (including Aquapolis and Palace of the Dead) you have so many ways to get rich easily. Many players have so much gil, because they are investigating the markets and do alot of crafting stuff (and maybe because of RMT).

Off course, I would like to pay my subscription via ingame currency (like EVE already does). But it could be very dangerous when you give players the option to "legally" buy gil.

[Violyre]

Now knowing that it seems to have really helped WoW, which no one can deny is the #1 most popular MMO in the world, let me weigh in with an opinion. And the reason why WoW is the best example for this is because it would also be the #1 most popular game for RMT.

This system can work, but limits need to be placed on it. You shouldn't be able to buy the entire server playtime and Scrooge McDuck in your gil. Looking at the replies here, some, not all, of the negative votes seem like they understand it as an unlimited purchase. That would be a horrible idea. One per month or two would be a decent limit, I think. Don't tie this to individual game accounts, make the SE account keep track instead. Also, make it so that you have to reach a certain point in the game before you can buy it, as well as free accounts being ineligible. This is to dissuade people from making multiple accounts to get around the limit.

Retainers are not considered part of this deal. Potentially also added a retainer service purchasable separate.

Okay, so we've placed a limit by account. The next step is to make the price of gametime fluctuate by server. Because different account types pay different amounts, of course it'd be weird to charge a flat fee.

The price should be variable, with the cost raising based on how many are in existence on a particular server. When someone uses a token, a timer will start that lowers the price after so much time. This is an aid to keep it in control. It also would help to prevent hoarding, due to the natural instinct to "buy low, sell high." How much are people willing to pay in gil for the token? Let's say the selling price in-game is 5M gil. How much would that 5M be worth in real money to you?

This proposal is not perfect. I'm terrible at economics. SE would have to build an entirely new infrastructure to support the pricing adjustments and track existence on server, as well as make sure Mog Station sees that you've used the item. It's a complicated process no matter how you do it.

It's just my personal thoughts.