Just say no

[Ilyrian]

Yes, this is another thread - and hopefully one of many.
I encourage you to post your own one.

What SE is doing with this new patch is a cynical and divisive move, aggressive and thoughtless. The one thing that we all have in common is we love Final Fantasy and are happy to subscribe to FFXIV because we enjoy this game and in turn are happy to pay SE for this product.

This game has been on the edge of exploitation for a long time - so close to the nonsense they've been pulling (or at least trying to) with the other arms of the company but until now it hasn't been as blatant.

This is bad and should be called out.

I don't know what to do - I won't pay for the app, yet I don't want to be in a game that sets this up as a thing. I don't think it's right - and I think as a community if we let it slide it will be the first step on the way to the end.

This is a bad day for this game, for us and our community.

[Mikki]

I completely agree. We need to stand up and be loud.

However, after talking to my boyfriend (Japanese), I'm disheartened to hear... the Japanese community is mostly POSITIVE about the announcement. 75% of people polled said they would be happy to pay for the app and some even said they would pay MORE. When I expressed my concerns to my bf, he told me that the player base they target in Japan is mostly adults with a steady income, where this is their only form of entertainment and so they have no issues to pay for it and have the traditional mindset of Japanese people where paying more = quality.

So we really need to push back hard if we want to make it clear that the western player base won't stand for it. But seeing the feedback from the Japanese community.... I'm not sure if it will make a difference. :/

[Jybril]

Well with what Mikki said is true, we can forget about doing a damn thing. Homefront comes first.
Japanese love mobile anything as it's their forte and preferred way of gaming and stuff anyways.

[Vhailor]

Don't support the app. Don't support the Mog Station. Hell, don't support SE's other titles - both published and internally developed - or at least not at full price. That's what I'm doing. After all, my subscription is likely helping fund their development costs for other titles anyway; why shouldn't I wait for a discount?

Peer pressure is also valuable here. The items on the Mog Station are appealing partly because they elicit 'oohs' and 'aahs' from fellow players. "Hey, where'd that glowing Carbuncle mount come from? It's awesome!" Instead of reacting this way, either keep quiet or, politely, shrug and point out that you don't support shameless cash grabs. Get people thinking.

So we really need to push back hard if we want to make it clear that the western player base won't stand for it. But seeing the feedback from the Japanese community.... I'm not sure if it will make a difference. :/

A negative backlash could theoretically push SE to limit the Mog Station efforts to Japanese servers. Blizzard does this with some of their titles; the Asian versions are very much distinct from NA / EU versions in terms of monetization efforts. It shows an astuteness that SE simply lacks.

Honestly, though, I'm still leaning toward the idea that this is simply corporate greed at work, be damned player feedback. They've done similar monetization shit with other titles they've published, too; timed Xbox exclusive for the second Tomb Raider game, a companion mobile app and crappy tacked-on DLC for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, etc. Those are titles marketed at NA and EU audiences more than Japan, and yet they're still tone-deaf. I suppose it's possible that they are well and truly ignorant of cultural differences, but I suspect they're intentionally abusing these practices to make a quick buck.

[Squintina]

I completely agree. We need to stand up and be loud.

However, after talking to my boyfriend (Japanese), I'm disheartened to hear... the Japanese community is mostly POSITIVE about the announcement. 75% of people polled said they would be happy to pay for the app and some even said they would pay MORE. When I expressed my concerns to my bf, he told me that the player base they target in Japan is mostly adults with a steady income, where this is their only form of entertainment and so they have no issues to pay for it and have the traditional mindset of Japanese people where paying more = quality.

So we really need to push back hard if we want to make it clear that the western player base won't stand for it. But seeing the feedback from the Japanese community.... I'm not sure if it will make a difference. :/

They get polled? (do we?) Do you have a Source? Is this an official poll or just a player asking random Japanese people in the servers?

Personally I find it hard to tell if they like it or not because there hasn't been a single topic in the JP forums about it - positive or negative.

[Vstarstruck]

They get polled? (do we?) Do you have a Source? Is this an official poll or just a player asking random Japanese people in the servers?

Personally I find it hard to tell if they like it or not because there hasn't been a single topic in the JP forums about it - positive or negative.

I went to do a quick look, there is a thread that got nercoed and found this:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post4647529
from my understanding they are complaining the cost is too much (I/e you are not getting enough for 500 yen price tag) in other words this poster like more functions to meet a 500 yen value or reduce the cost down to say 200 yen.

I still find it disappointing as locking retainer UI management on a second sub is ridiculous

[Remedi]

However, after talking to my boyfriend (Japanese), I'm disheartened to hear... the Japanese community is mostly POSITIVE about the announcement. 75% of people polled said they would be happy to pay for the app and some even said they would pay MORE. When I expressed my concerns to my bf, he told me that the player base they target in Japan is mostly adults with a steady income, where this is their only form of entertainment and so they have no issues to pay for it and have the traditional mindset of Japanese people where paying more = quality.

Saying that I'm not surprised about this would be an understatement, the whole cheering from the crowd was really a stab in the heart

[Alael]

snip

i am happy to pay more would the price be always worth it, I play only FF14 as of now and would those money be used directly in the game creation i would gladly even pay 30 € / month unfortunately it does not look the case or at least not in the way i would like, Seems that SE give a bigger budget to ff14 every year depending on their success.

[kamenkuro]

the Japanese community is mostly POSITIVE about the announcement. 75% of people polled said they would be happy to pay for the app and some even said they would pay MORE. When I expressed my concerns to my bf, he told me that the player base they target in Japan is mostly adults with a steady income, where this is their only form of entertainment and so they have no issues to pay for it and have the traditional mindset of Japanese people where paying more = quality.

Japan has notoriously terrible taste. They love paying for stuff that makes things easier. Those pay to win things are super popular over there. The only reason there's none of those randomized boxes in ffxiv that you pay for is because it's also in a western market and they're not so out of touch that'd they'd include them.

[Nightroad]

We can shout and rant as much as we want , but they will ignore us.....

All we can really do , is vote with our wallet.