I'm going to have to agree with the general sentiment in this thread, as well as adding a bit more to it. The game's reputation in the gaming media has already been ruined. Also, nobody on the outside really cares much about what is going on in this game right now. The gaming press already has their story: Final Fantasy XIV had a failed launch and is a sub-par MMO experience at the moment, but they are releasing a new Client and building new Servers. We will be there with early previews and interviews about the new version as they are availabe, more at 11.

"FFXIV is a bad game" is already the story. A server merge on a bad game is not news.

One thing that people aren't considering while doomsaying over pay-to-play is perceived value. A game that is free-to-play is generally considered a waste of time. Paying a pay to play game costs money, so maybe some will see it as worth their time. Human value assignment is a funny thing, and I would not be surprised if pay to play enhances the perceived value of the experience this game offers. Also, players who are paying are more likely to log in and play than those playing for free. I would not be surprised if average server populations at prime time increase as a result of the start of billing. In fact, that's what I expect to see: A modest but noticeable increase in population (pre-merge).