"Add all DLC to Cart" - Mogstation Cash Shop is akin to a Train Simulator Price Tag

[Destati]

We haven't seen any reduction in cosmetics or good cosmetics in-game, the cash-shop works as an asides to normal content is is extra.

This may be a hot take, but I think this expansion has had the weakest lineup of in-game glam offerings to date, and it doesn't help that most of the dungeon sets have been recolors of old gear (I get that they're probably trying to lessen the workload for the graphical update but still). I've hardly seen anybody walking around wearing the Varsity or Salon Server's glam (and the prices for their mats show how unpopular they are too). No one seems to want anything to do with the variant dungeon glam. The sheer popularity of this patch's PVP gear and the Martial Artist's sets tell me that people have been starved for decent glam in EW. I don't know, maybe I'm speaking out of turn but I remember more people wearing and enjoying the glam in older expansions.

[Sebazy]

Meh, a big chunk of those items are old event items as well.

IMHO the only things I see as contentious in the store are the job skips and the Cloud Bike with the built in speed boost.

The rest of it is horse DLC tier, largely ignorable and completely sidesteppable if it really bothers you.

[Iscah]

If you bought atleast of 1 of everything available to purchase (this includes single items and sets that could include those single items), it would cost around $5,417.36 USD.

Im currently working on what each category costs rather than the total of everything together.

What are your thoughts?

I think you're being disingenuous.

There is simply no need for the average player to buy everything from the store or even everything in a single category.

Level and MSQ boosts are completely unnecessary, especially if you don't have alts.

You can be selective with which glamours and mounts you buy, if any. Some people will already have a fair chunk of it if they've been subscribed to the game for a while and earned the seasonal gear from the original events. Not everything looks good on every character, and some of the items (especially the older beach gear) are just the same thing in five different colours and gender-exclusive models.

Do you go into a clothes shop in real life and say it's a rip-off because of how expensive it would be to buy one of everything they're selling?

[KenZentra]

I think you're being disingenuous.

There is simply no need for the average player to buy everything from the store or even everything in a single category.

Level and MSQ boosts are completely unnecessary, especially if you don't have alts.

You can be selective with which glamours and mounts you buy, if any. Some people will already have a fair chunk of it if they've been subscribed to the game for a while and earned the seasonal gear from the original events. Not everything looks good on every character, and some of the items (especially the older beach gear) are just the same thing in five different colours and gender-exclusive models.

Do you go into a clothes shop in real life and say it's a rip-off because of how expensive it would be to buy one of everything they're selling?

How is stating a undeniable fact being disingenuous? Roughly, the total price of all cash shop items combined is $5,417.36 USD

I don't know why are you are trying to equate a virtual shop for a online video game to being the same as a real life clothing store. Aside from, you buy thing and see thing, there really isn't a comparison to be made. If anything, it being a virtual shop for a online video game, the total price should be considerably lower since you can't run out of anything on sale.

[Kacho_Nacho]

How is stating a undeniable fact being disingenuous? Roughly, the total price of all cash shop items combined is $5,417.36 USD

I don't know why are you are trying to equate a virtual shop for a online video game to being the same as a real life clothing store. Aside from, you buy thing and see thing, there really isn't a comparison to be made. If anything, it being a virtual shop for a online video game, the total price should be considerably lower since you can't run out of anything on sale.

In addition, virtual items are just computer code. Ultimately, you are paying for something which doesn't exist in the real world. It should be cheaper since you are just adding a little bit of code to your virtual character.

The work needs to only be done once. Afterwards, the company has the potential for to sell unlimited copies with no labor or material cost which means Square Enix is making 100% profit on cash shop items. In those conditions, does it really make sense to have items which cost $45.00 US Dollars?

[Jojoya]

In addition, virtual items are just computer code. Ultimately, you are paying for something which doesn't exist in the real world. It should be cheaper since you are just adding a little bit of code to your virtual character.

The work needs to only be done once. Afterwards, the company has the potential for to sell unlimited copies with no labor or material cost which means Square Enix is making 100% profit on cash shop items. In those conditions, does it really make sense to have items which cost $45.00 US Dollars?

They charge that much because there are enough players willing to pay that much so going lower may end up resulting in less net profit. They are a for-profit publicly traded corporation. They have a duty to their shareholders to make reasonable attempts to maximize their profits.

Even as a virtual item there are still some ongoing costs they have for support of the website, payment processing, customer support, etc. Certainly it's not $45 in expenses but once again: for-profit corporation. As long as enough people are willing to buy at the price, they're going to sell at that price. It's no different from any other for-profit business. I don't know why so many players act like game companies are non-profit organizations.

If someone thinks an item is priced higher than reasonable, then they shouldn't buy the item. They won't die if they don't get it. That doesn't stop others from valuing the item differently and being willing to pay more (or having an overabundance of money so the price is immaterial to them).

[Kewitt]

I don't know about ffxiv, but in wow the 1st store sold item took about 15 hours to make and made more then all of starcraft.

[Jeeqbit]

Personally, I think its awful that so much is in the cash shop. We have so many avenues for items to be introduced to the game.

A large percentage of the items were available in the game for free from seasonal events (including many mounts, minions, emotes, glamour, maybe orchestrions). They were only intended to be available that one time, but SE was willing to let you obtain them still if you were willing to pay.

A lot of other items come from characters in the MSQ, which again, they don't really want you to wear because it detracts from how unique those characters are, but if you're willing to pay, they are willing to ignore all that.

The level boost and MSQ skip packs are not something they want people to buy. They want them to go through the story. But if they insist on skipping the story they worked so hard on to the point they are willing to pay, SE is willing to let them.

There may also be primals versions of music that is again not the versions used in the game or that they intend for the game experience anyway and buying the music is meant to cost as well.

What remains is the mounts that were never part of seasonal events and were designed exclusively for the mog station. There is a lot more controversy over these, but they are only a percentage of things on the mog station, amongst lots of things that were previously available in the game or that SE doesn't really want you to get anyway.

[Boblawblah]

I'll never support (as in actively defend) cash shops in video games, I think they're inherently predatory and unnecessary.

That said, I've used them myself, and feel no guilt over it and have nothing against people that do use it (unless you try to brag about spending real money on a video game as a 'look at all the money I have lul' thing)

[CaptainLagbeard]

Majority of the cash shop's contents are 9 years worth of Seasonal Event rewards and old promotional reward stuff.

If you enable the "Online Store Exclusive" filter the various categories, it hides all the Seasonal Event stuff. And even there will be some outfits you shouldn't buy as they're gender locked, most specifically the NPC outfits.
Additionally on the outfits, they're often rather questionably designed for when it comes to Miqo'te, Au Ra and Rrothgar as the people designing the outfits don't seem to know that races with tails exist in the game.