Potential Sub Price Decrease

[Stormpeaks]

You don't pay for content you pay to be able to log in on the servers, that's literally it.

So no. Be happy they haven't increased the price due to inflation.

[Payadopa]

I was just about to comment this.
The cost of making a game nowadays is massive when compared to before. Physical copies didn't even come close to matching the difference.
Also there's a lot more money that goes into advertising now.

That's a good point. But why is that? It's because the industry has conditioned their customers to always expect shinier graphics because that's easier marketable in a trailer or picture. Too bad that stuff is expensive but good luck being AAA and not at least looking the part.

So games are made so risk-averse and broad along with ridiculous advertising budgets that dwarf the production costs of the literal game itself so enough people buy it. That is just crazy.

And also happening in a world where indies exist that time and again prove how creatively bankrupt AAA is.
Kinda like Hollywood but with a controller.

Again, it's only a matter of time before the whole thing collapses in on itself. I mean nowadays it's expected of a game to not even work after a day one patch. Look no further than FFXV and XIV 1.0.

As I said in the beginning, at least FF under YoshiP is polished. So that's something. lol

[Striker44]

When you pay a subscription in an MMO, you are directly paying for patch content, not Expansion content. You already paid your $60 for the expansion. If Square Enix does not have plans to ever increase the amount of patch content delivered I think it would be reasonable to entertain the idea of a subscription price reduction as spending power for the average person is falling globally.

Just need to point out - the sub fee pays for maintenance and ongoing upkeep of the server infrastructure (and staff who run it), not for patch content. That would be the recurring cost associated with making servers available.

[Kes13a]

personally, despite some gripes with the game, I think I get more than my.. 50 cents a day worth.

if they increase the cost, maybe it'll be 60 cents... considering more people spend more than that a day on one coffee, doesnt seem like its enough to go mental over

[Jojoya]

It is clear throughout Endwalker that the budget and planning for patch content has not increased since Heavensward.

Have fun failing to prove that.

Costs go up annually. Budgets will increase if only to cover those increased costs. Not all game revenue is generated through the subscription and expansion "box price" though the increasing number of subscriptions expansion over expansion picks up a lot of those increased costs.

As for patch content, planning for new content types takes a lot more effort than planning for new additions to existing content.

The last thing you want is for the subscription price to be lowered so they're forced into monetization through microtransactions, lootboxes and other usually predatory designs. Unless maybe you're a whale that enjoys showing off how much money you spend.

[Payadopa]

personally, despite some gripes with the game, I think I get more than my.. 50 cents a day worth.

if they increase the cost, maybe it'll be 60 cents... considering more people spend more than that a day on one coffee, doesnt seem like its enough to go mental over

The sub could go up to €100 per month and it would still be less then a coffee a day. Your analogy doesn't make sense. lol Everything gets more expensive and yet I'm not sure XIV got more enticing. That's the point that's being discussed.

[Toutatis]

personally, despite some gripes with the game, I think I get more than my.. 50 cents a day worth.

if they increase the cost, maybe it'll be 60 cents... considering more people spend more than that a day on one coffee, doesnt seem like its enough to go mental over

all those “ just 1 coffee a day” keep adding up.

Also, SE doesn’t use local pricing for different countries. Except for a few countries, players are tied to a vast region, cannot change that region and for many that means being tied to USD or another foreign currency and being at the mercy of currency fluctuation (plus bad exchange rates + fees). Atm due to that, my sub went up from under $16 to almost $22 (+ fees and tax). For some other countries, it is much worse and the price, when converted to local currency, has more than doubled. For a few lucky ones it has decreased. I wish I could at least change my region to UK as I would still pay about $16 given that the subprice remains at £8.99 (about $11USD). Atm, the US sub price is the most expensive.

[Jeeqbit]

I think it would be reasonable to entertain the idea of a subscription price reduction

Currencies have become more diluted and mean less. So to not increase the subscription price has been interesting. It is reasonable to think they are losing money by not increasing it as currencies get diluted. Perhaps it is made up for by the increase in the people playing the game. In conclusion, it should not reduce.

as spending power for the average person is falling globally.

If someone can't find the money for a subscription fee then they may need to focus on real life because otherwise how are they paying for food?

Do you think that $60 is a fair price for a half hour of MSQ, 1 dungeon, and 1 trial?

1 extreme trial that is farmed, things such as Island Sanctuary, Variant, Criterion, Savage, Ultimate, Alliance Raids, custom deliveries, 3 beast tribes, PvP rewards. Yes.

$60 is a reasonable price per patch?

What? Subscription fees are nowhere close to that for 1 month.

[Canadane]

It is clear throughout Endwalker that the budget and planning for patch content has not increased since Heavensward.

Are you just not seeing the advancements the game has done, or did you willingly choose to not mention them?

[Lusarae]

Before I start I sadly have to preface, no I am not someone's alt I just don't post here a lot. No this is not a hate thread, if you disagree feel free to discuss. No I do not hate FFXIV just because I am criticizing it. Yes you are entitled to a different opinion. I know this is pointless to ask but hopefully we can keep this thread at least mildly civil.


With Dawntrail less than a year away and my excitement high for it, I was thinking about the game and what plans Square-Enix may have for the future. It is clear throughout Endwalker that the budget and planning for patch content has not increased since Heavensward. Never have we gotten a "more and more" scenario for patches like we do with Expansions where each one has grown in scope and size as the income of the game has increased.

When you pay a subscription in an MMO, you are directly paying for patch content, not Expansion content. You already paid your $60 for the expansion. If Square Enix does not have plans to ever increase the amount of patch content delivered I think it would be reasonable to entertain the idea of a subscription price reduction as spending power for the average person is falling globally.

To put it in perspective, at nearly $15 a month you are paying the entire box price of the game or an expansion *per patch* at their 4 month patch cycle. Do you think that $60 is a fair price for a half hour of MSQ, 1 dungeon, and 1 trial?

This could all be moot as well however, as they've stated that the 7.X series will have the most content of any previous expansion, which is quite different than saying that Dawntrail specifically will have the most, so they may already have plans to ship an expanded patch content pipeline.

What are your thoughts? Do you think that $60 is a reasonable price per patch? Do you think they'll improve patch content in Dawntrail? Am I a big stinky idiot? Will Green Mage have dots?

I think the $15 sub fee is fine. But what they should lower is the cost of having retainers. It's a fun and essential part of the game that just most people get to miss out on because they're limited to two. I think they should just give you four free, and then max it out if you want to pay $20 a month.

Also they need to make everything (but the boosts) on the mogstore accountwide. Period. End of story. I'd get more stuff if that was the case. Say how useless alts are all you want. It is actually essential if you want to join more than one FC, or be able to be competitive and BiS in more than one job at a time. Hell even if you just want to RP as a different race or just play the game more casually on a different identity so stalkers can't harass you. If you buy it, on your account... it should be useable... on your account. Not tied to the character.