Stop Making Should-Be Achievement Gear.."Optional Gear"

[Nicodemus_Mercy]

I always find it interesting that some people actually like getting taken advantage of to the point of defending it. There used to be a time where 100% of in-game items would be obtainable, you know, in-game in subscription based MMOs. They didn't need the extra money to continue supporting the game.

In my opinion cash shops in subscription based games should only offer services such as transfers, name changes, race changes and the like. You're quite the sucker if you support something like the Red Baron or White Devil recolors for a stunning $12.

That "time where 100% of in-game items would be obtainable" you're remembering so fondly was also a time of "you got what the budget allowed them to create and not a drop more". Times change, as do business models. It's not about "needing" money to support the game. It's about expanding your business as a whole, not just one specific IP. Could SE run FFXIV on subs alone? Probably. Would that limit how much they could invest in expansions and content patches? DEFINITELY.

Your opinion that someone is a "sucker" for paying for something they want is noted, but it's just that, an opinion. I certainly don't feel like a sucker for buying the Thancred Modish outfit. I've used pieces of it for various outfits and its brought me a great deal of pleasure being able to make my character look the way I want him to. I'd wager others who have made purchases don't feel like suckers either. Just remember that those extra dollars people spend on the store are benfitting you directly by increasing the available budget for future FFXIV content. From my perspective, I'd say "thank you" to those people for helping the game I play grow. But that's just me.

The point that you may be missing however is that there is a market for these things, else SE wouldn't bother making them. Are they "taking advantage"? Mmmm, I suppose that's not inaccurate. They are "taking advantage" of a tap-able revenue source to expand the available resources to develop FFXIV and other SE intellectual properties. At the same time they are providing additional things for FFXIV players that go beyond the allotted budget, and apparently meeting a demand of their player base by doing so.

For me personally, there's very little I find desirable from the Mogstation, but damn if my eyes didn't light up at the prospect of getting that Thancred Modish outfit... something I would NEVER have gotten to have if they hadn't went above and beyond the allotted budget to make it useable by players, and put it into the store.

[Alerion]

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While you're correct about budgets your argument falls apart when you realize we could have it all spread over time. All it would take to add in those pieces is to push back a piece of craftable gear or some such to another patch.

You're putting far too much faith in a system designed to soak up every cent possible. There is nothing benevolent about a cash shop, believe me. It was an idea to support entire games in lieu of subscriptions. When companies realized they could actually double dip without much back lash that's when it became the norm. I'm not saying a for profit company is wrong for getting every bit they can, but I am saying if you're paying $12 for what amounts to a single artist's afternoon to recolor existing mounts, you just might be the sucker they're looking for. No one will argue it works.

So I suppose you're right, I do fondly remember the times of olde.