This is just appalling

[Lycieus]

It really isn't. SE give sub payers what they pay for. Sub payers aren't paying for the development of Cash shop items. Now if what we got in Patch cycles was falling short but the Cash shop was thriving then there would be a problem.

DLC are only a ripe off if the original product is not value for money.

Where do you suppose the finances and resources necessary to create a cash shop came from in the first place? The artists and developers creating these items and the systems to support them had to be members of the XIV team or had to be trained to work with existing systems. This cost time and money that could have otherwise gone into producing an equivalent number of items in the game.

[Belhi]

Where do you suppose the finances and resources necessary to create a cash shop came from in the first place? The artists and developers creating these items and the systems to support them had to be members of the XIV team or had to be trained to work with existing systems. This cost time and money that could have otherwise gone into producing an equivalent number of items in the game.

BUT IT WOULDN'T BECAUSE THE INVESTMENT WAS MADE WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT IT WOULD TURN A PROFIT.

I might also point out that FF14's total revenue from subs at best is probably around 5% of SEs total revenue. Its hardly like FF14 funds everything else.

Seriously.. The money to pay for the staff to make these items would not have been allocated to make those items because such investments were made outside the budget allocated to FF14. They just wouldn't have been made. Likely if money is allocated to production of these items it involved the hiring of additional 3d model artists, which considering the growing size of the FF14 team, is likely. They would have hired more staff to accommodate the need for creation of items for the Cash shop.

So no, the money wouldn't have gone into making more in game items. We get what we pay for. They likely would have just hired less artists as the budget paying for staff for modelling would be less.

Say otherwise is just saying 'SE should cut into their profits to give us more stuff without any actual returns'. People like to call SE greedy over the Cash shop but the attitude that they should give more without any returns is just as greedy unless they are claiming that we aren't getting our value for money with in game content and models for their sub. Ask yourself this: Would you still be paying your sub and playing this game if the Cash shop and the items in it didn't exist? If the answer is yes (and if your subbed you would think the answer was yes) then you should have no issue with the cash shop because it is not effecting your purchase at all. You are getting what you paid for and they are dealing with you fairly.

[Mature]

People don't understand something very simple:

This is business, if the item is a rip off DONT support it by buying. Once the company KNOWS the item is not performing they will take it down on price. Simple as that

But I CAN GUARANTEE YOU that many of people complaining about the price STILL pay for it and buy it. And that is just sad.

Put your foot down and DON'T BUY. This is something that has been doing on for ages and they know about it. But you all who buy it and have the AUDACITY to complain is too expensive Open their wallets and pay for it.... So what are we talking about here?

[Ama_Hamada]

Because that isn't how businesses work. Looking no further then clothing and shoes, which boast some of the highest mark ups of consumer goods goods in existence. Why? People are willing to pay those prices. Value is entirely subjective. What you deem an inexcusable rip off, someone else rationalizes it as a hobby they're okay spending money on. All Square Enix cares about is profit. Should enough peoplefeel $18 is acceptable, what incentive do they have to charge else? As I mentioned above, if you deem it too expensive, don't buy it. That is the only recourse potential customers have. We can complain all we fancy, but what influences change is an unwillingness to spend money.

I am not buying them, but what confuses me is people defending this explanation. I did not know SE was in the business of taking advantage of people. YES AGAIN! my main point is ignored, if they made them cheaper, more people will buy them, meaning they make more money. So you are telling me SE would rather exploit a select few while making less money then to make it cheaper so more people would buy it to make more money? what kind of business model is that? Also another point again yet ignored, this business model as you so call it is self destructive.

People don't understand something very simple:

This is business, if the item is a rip off DONT support it by buying. Once the company KNOWS the item is not performing they will take it down on price. Simple as that

But I CAN GUARANTEE YOU that many of people complaining about the price STILL pay for it and buy it. And that is just sad.

Put your foot down and DON'T BUY. This is something that has been doing on for ages and they know about it. But you all who buy it and have the AUDACITY to complain is too expensive Open their wallets and pay for it.... So what are we talking about here?

This is true and you know what? those people will have a limit. Some day in the future they will cut SE off completely as someone they do business with from the lingering resentment of feeling ripped off.
https://youtu.be/Mhz9OXy86a0?t=208

[Bourne_Endeavor]

I am not buying them, but what confuses me is people defending this explanation. I did not know SE was in the business of taking advantage of people. YES AGAIN! my main point is ignored, if they made them cheaper, more people will buy them, meaning they make more money. So you are telling me SE would rather exploit a select few while making less money then to make it cheaper so more people would buy it to make more money? what kind of business model is that? Also another point again yet ignored, this business model as you so call it is self destructive.

That is a false assumption. You have no basis to assume they would. As per my example previously, if the Fuga set were reduced to $5 that would necessitate nearly four times the current sales just to break even. Companies have marketing teams whose job it is to determine pricing. Do you not think they haven't researched player purchasing trends and what the average player is willing to pay? Going off what a handful of people on the forums say means nothing. We're a very small portion of the playerbase. Frankly speaking, I have seen more people on Balmung alone who have this outfit than those complaining about the cost here. If this were a self destructive business model they wouldn't continue doing it. When Sleipnir garners a million dollars by itself, it's hardly a reach to say what they're doing works.

Do not confuse this with a defense of Square Enix. I, personally, couldn't care less. So long as they keep the Mogstation purely cosmetic, they can charge whatever they fancy. I'll determine whether it's worth the price or not. Case in point, I didn't feel like spending $40 on the Moogle mount (CAD suuuucks). So I didn't. A friend wound up buying it for me anyway. Likewise, I decided to hold off on the Fuga attire. What I am saying, however, is this is fairly standard practice for any company. They charge whatever the customer is willing to pay. Why do you think pre-order bonuses exist? They certainly don't run out of copies. People are willing to spend $10-30 more just for extra goodies.

[alimdia]

While "speak with your wallet" is indeed a good course of action, it's good for people to let the company know they would be willing to spend if the prices were lower.

As a side note...

I, personally, couldn't care less.

That's very hard to believe, you're very invested in defending the company at every chance, more than any other forumer I've seen. No offense.

[mylam]

I did not know SE was in the business of taking advantage of people. YES AGAIN! my main point is ignored, if they made them cheaper, more people will buy them, meaning they make more money.
Also another point again yet ignored, this business model as you so call it is self destructive.

I don't think it's fair to say SE is "taking advantage of people".
You have no way of knowing how many more people would buy if the price was even $1.00 cheaper. Only SE would know definitively and they probably did their calculations based on historical sales, etc. to help determine at what price would both help them return a profit and cover all production costs.

At the end of the day, they are optional and if your value and the actual price dont' align, then don't buy. But to say SE is cheating people is a bit over the top.

[floofuf]

I don't think it's fair to say SE is "taking advantage of people".
You have no way of knowing how many more people would buy if the price was even $1.00 cheaper. Only SE would know definitively and they probably did their calculations based on historical sales, etc. to help determine at what price would both help them return a profit and cover all production costs.

At the end of the day, they are optional and if your value and the actual price dont' align, then don't buy. But to say SE is cheating people is a bit over the top.

They are kinda cheating us when a 3 second emote is $7 and a shirt with matching pants is $18 with no extra exp boost or stats.

[mylam]

They are kinda cheating us when a 3 second emote is $7 and a shirt with matching pants is $18 with no extra exp boost or stats.

Haha granted I agree prices on these aesthetic items do seem expensive for me (in part because CAD/USD exchange rate is atrocious lol), but that's the point a lot of people are also trying to make in that it may be expensive to you, but that doesn't mean someone else won't buy. So how can that mean SE is taking advantage or cheating people?

If you ask me, the only way I think we could absolutely feel cheated is if they raise our sub fees and forced you to buy actual battle related content via the cash shop. Could you imagine the outrage?

But as it stands now, whether I have the new attire or not, my gameplay and everyone else's gameplay aren't affected.

End of the day though, I get that people have the right to provide feedback and agree on prices, but I just find it odd when the argument makes the company sound like it's out to scam people, when the choice is still in the hands of the user.

[alimdia]

I don't know why people are using f2p or b2p games as comparison, b2p games don't charge you monthly so they need the cash shop to make up for that lack of mandatory subscription, f2p games don't even ask you to buy games or expansions on top of lack of mandatory subscription.

The cash shop is here to stay, but it's rather abusive they are using f2p prices when that's not their business model.