Mogstation and New Content

[Alien_Gamer]

The cash shop isn't purely cosmetic. Extra retainers aren't vanity, jump potions aren't vanity.

Incorrect. The game plays perfectly well without extra retainers; they are in no way necessary to play the game, they are a convenience. Jump potions are the same, you don't need to buy one to play, it just makes getting to SB more convenient.

I don't for one second believe that our subs aren't enough to cover everything

This is only partially true. Subs can be enough to run a game but that doesn't mean they're enough to run a game well or to the standards that their players expect. There is a reason most subscription MMOs also have a cash shop, game development is expensive; while the costs of game development don't require a cash shop but they are very attractive to the business. For a company like SE I can very easily see how the subs wouldn't be enough to pay for everything and implementing the cash shop could be a necessary part of their business model to keep the game going.