Mogstation taking another step to the darkside

[Eli85]

I won't defend the cash shop, but it floors me that people are this passionate about optional, cosmetic-only items. Nothing in the cash shop affects anything meaningful in-game (and to be clear, meaningful means character progression).

Some of the whining in this thread I would expect from pay-to-win options, not cosmetic mounts.

[linay]

I see what you are saying but whether or not its a seasonal item is besides the point. This is another item that could have been in the game that we pay for monthly. Its wrong what they are doing period. All of us paid a sub and expansions to play this. Nothing like this should be locked off for more money.

Well, an in-game seasonal item will likely go to the store any way. So I think they considered that people might want the mount to be account-wide, so they're giving it right now instead of waiting until next year only for it to be single character because it's tied to the seasonal event.

As for whether it's wrong for them to have additional items for purchase, I don't think so. You paid for the expansion, which got you the expansion's content, and you paid for subscription, which got you server access. Mog station purchases are beyond those two. Mog station purchases are not connected to any expansion as you just have to have the base game. And purchasing from the Mog Station won't give you server access, only your subscription does that.

[ForteNightshade]

Even if it is a slippery slope fallacy, there is always the risk that it won't be at some point in the future.

This new Mog Station item is a good example. They would have perhaps offered it in the event itself if there was no Cash Shop.

I think the accepted subscription cost for MMOs may be too low right now, which forces MMOs to invest more and more in Micro Transaction practices to ensure their profit. Problem is, price of MMO sub has stayed the same for a very long time while people seem not get ready to pay more for sub, despite inflation.

If it is a slippery slope fallacy right now, I think it won't be in future.

You're chasing shadows. There has to be some precedence otherwise you can make fallacy claims against anything.

And no. It wouldn't have been made at all. Like I said in my previous post, the team SE has handling the MogStation are separate from the dev team. If the MogStation didn't exist, that team would be working on something else.

This idea we'd get all the cash shop stuff in-game if it weren't for that dastardly SE needs to stop. None of it would be made at all because cash shop exclusive items are designed solely for profit. Take the profit away and what incentive does SE—who we've established is a greedy company—have to make them?

Now this isn't to say I agree with their prices, timing or any of the such. I'm simply being pragmatic.

[Makeda]

If you are going to say "You dont have to buy it" Dont bother...the point is after paying all this money to play the game now....Just wow.

But I will bother.

I could clear all the way through savage and ultimate without any of those mounts. Nor would they even help me do so.

So charging money for them is fair game.

They are not needed to successfully play the game, at all.

Non-issue here.

[Makeda]

the team SE has handling the MogStation are separate from the dev team. If the MogStation didn't exist, that team would be working on something else.

Different skill sets.

If they weren't working on the mogstation most of them would be in the unemployment line.

You've got things like

frontend developers, backend developers, platform integration engineers, project managers,
marketers, graphic designers, story writers, game-designers, community managers, monetization teams, payment-processing engineers (I should know this one's actual name - a good friend of mine specializes in designing the engineering behind processing global payment systems),
animators, riggers, body-modelers, face-modelers, effects modelers, static-object modelers, scene designers, etc... (a friend of mine specializes in leading a team of people who just rig faces so they can be animated in movie effects - and no his team is NOT the one that screwed up Henry Clavel's mustache - "3D modeler" is a term that covers a broad range of different specialists you have to hire separately unless you're hiring interns).

- these are all different skill sets.

And I'm sure that's only a small segment of the types of folks required.

[yukiiyuki]

Remember good ol days when we had shop in Classic WoW? All those cool mounts you could buy with real money, yeah... good times.
We're living in 2k20, where you need to buy season passes, pay additional cash for stuff in games with subscription, charge for New Game+ and even demand 2 dollars for changing color of the hair in DoA that have over 100 purchasble DLC.
It's business and lately people forgetting that big companies are not their friends.

[RubyCirha]

there are no sub mmos today(that im aware of) that dont have a cash shop its just a product of the times the 15$ a month model just isn't paying the bills anymore when you factor in employee pay, production time and upkeep as well as server maintenance its all expensive as hell the cash shop subsidizes that expense.

[SamRF]

Remember good ol days when we had shop in Classic WoW? All those cool mounts you could buy with real money, yeah... good times.
We're living in 2k20, where you need to buy season passes, pay additional cash for stuff in games with subscription, charge for New Game+ and even demand 2 dollars for changing color of the hair in DoA that have over 100 purchasble DLC.
It's business and lately people forgetting that big companies are not their friends.

(not argument against you or something, just adding a point)
Thing is, companies are simply abiding by supply and demand. It's not their fault people are willing to buy these things and make it a profitable business strategy. People should be more strict with where they draw the line with their wallet and feedback. I'm betting many who criticize the Cash Shop's existence still do buy items from there (as have I regretfully).

[linay]

(not argument against you or something, just adding a point)
Thing is, companies are simply abiding by supply and demand. It's not their fault people are willing to buy these things and make it a profitable business strategy. People should be more strict with where they draw the line their wallet and feedback. I'm betting many who criticize the Cash Shop's existence still do buy items from there (as have I regretfully).

Simply put, if you see something you like and it's within your budget of disposable income, then feel free to buy it. If not, feel free not to buy it. There is no need to complicate the matter.

That said, it's another issue altogether if you think the game itself is not giving you what you consider is worth the price you paid for it. Then I can see why having additional purchases would not look favorably, especially if those additional purchases would make the game worth the price more.

But if that's the case, then first you have to identify if FFXIV fits those two conditions for you, and if it does, then frame the discussion around those two conditions, not simply about having additional purchases beyond the price of game + subscription.

[SamRF]

You're chasing shadows. There has to be some precedence otherwise you can make fallacy claims against anything.

And no. It wouldn't have been made at all. Like I said in my previous post, the team SE has handling the MogStation are separate from the dev team. If the MogStation didn't exist, that team would be working on something else.

This idea we'd get all the cash shop stuff in-game if it weren't for that dastardly SE needs to stop. None of it would be made at all because cash shop exclusive items are designed solely for profit. Take the profit away and what incentive does SE—who we've established is a greedy company—have to make them?

Now this isn't to say I agree with their prices, timing or any of the such. I'm simply being pragmatic.

I kind of doubt those claims. It seems to me that you are getting tricked by PR.