Are we gonna have to pay to play this time??

[Zyuu]

Yes. 99% sure.

[Shlup]

Guild Wars doesn't charge a monthly free. I call shenanigans against all other MMOs!

Well, except Guild Wars is a CORPG. It's still a cool monthly-fee-free game though.

[Rostum]

Yeah. Guild Wars doesn't require the same server upkeep as an MMORPG. Not to mention they make up for no monthly fees with expensive expansion packs.

Also not to mention that Free-To-Play MMORPG's are NOT free. They usually require that you spend real life money on abilities and items which adds up to more per month than a Pay-To-Play MMORPG.

[Zyuu]

It's been confirmed in our interview at Gamescom that we'll have to pay to play,

FFXIVCore.com - Final Fantasy XIV Fansite

I'm very happy with this, microtransactions are horrible.

[Loony BoB]

Just one thing to say regarding the rant about teens by Yeargdribble: I think I hang out more with 16-19 year olds on FFXI than I do the 25+ generation. I'm 25 myself. I can completely understand that if you had voice chat technology that this could make things different, but at the moment it's all about who is more fun for me. Of course, I'm lucky in that I know a bunch of both younger and older people who are all good for a laugh.

And I agree, monthly transactions suck.

[Quindiana Jones]

The only real problem I had with XIs monthly transactions is that a)they weren't 30 day subscriptions, they were literally for the month. Which is stupid. And b)I don't like direct debit things. If I want to resubscribe, I will. If I don't pay, just suspend my character until I do.

This might sound lame, but I'd like to see parts of FFXIV work a bit like Runescape. Sure, it's been years since I played it, but I remember two things that rocked about that game: the payment system, and the staff. You pay if you want membership, otherwise you don't get membership.

[Rostum]

That's been one of the major complaints about FFXI. The payment system is just the worst. As you said, you pay monthly, not for 30 days. So if you re-activate your account on the 25th of the month, you get full charges for that month and then you get full charges for the next month starting on the 1st.

Not only that, but there's been SO many cases where people have been double charged and when they get their bank to fix it, they get banned from the game! Square-Enix doens't budge either, their customer support is more like "Haha, bad luck mother smurfers!".

[Markus. D]

Yeah. Guild Wars doesn't require the same server upkeep as an MMORPG. Not to mention they make up for no monthly fees with expensive expansion packs.

This isn't comepletely true, GW has added standalone campaigns (as in, completely full games that can play without the original Prophecies campaign) and a single expansion for about half the price.

You can also buy them all together now for a less than what they use to cost by themselves (Just like what normal console/pc/GotY games do).

Also not to mention that Free-To-Play MMORPG's are NOT free. They usually require that you spend real life money on abilities and items which adds up to more per month than a Pay-To-Play MMORPG.

This is extremely 1000% true... I've spent $74+ on SotNW: Granado Espada within two months (and loved it <3).

[Rostum]

This isn't comepletely true, GW has added standalone campaigns (as in, completely full games that can play without the original Prophecies campaign) and a single expansion for about half the price.

You can also buy them all together now for a less than what they use to cost by themselves (Just like what normal console/pc/GotY games do).

I guess that's alright then! I was under the impression that you had to have the original to play all the others.

[JackNapier]

Quite a few people believe that since it's on PSN it won't have a monthly fee, but I don't know how that makes any sense. I would be very very surprised if they announced it as being F2P though, surprised and gleeful. Uematsu returns!

[Rostum]

Square-Enix have already said there will be a monthly fee.

[deadplayer]

Anyhow, I will give the game a try.

[Rad Bromance]

I had a problem with the concept of a monthly fee when FFXI first came out too, but that's because I was not yet an adult with bills and a credit card.

Now looking back, I realize how silly it is to expect to play an MMORPG without a fee and finding a fee unreasonable...I can understand the teenage perspective though!