Microtransactions :(

[Loony BoB]

Final Fantasy XIV a serious WoW rival, says Wada | Game Development | News by Develop

“The basic model hasn't changed,” he said. “It's a monthly flat rate service with additional charges for items that users want to buy.

“For FFXI we didn't initially set up the item transaction model that well – although the demand for it was high. We thought that it would be a benefit for users, but that we wouldn't be able to charge.

“We soon learnt that there are a lot of people who want that kind of model, so we would like to introduce more pay-as-you-use items into the game. But there were too few items in FFXI – however we don't want to take it to the other extreme entirely for FFXIV.

I'm not sure if anything else has been said on the matter and I couldn't find a thread about it here. I sincerely hope that if they are going ahead with pay-as-you-use items that they are not advantage-giving items but merely aesthetic or something like that. Because otherwise I can see this game suddenly moving towards my "do not want" list.

[leader of mortals]

Oh no, what if it turns into Maplestory?

[Mirage]

Probably won't play.

The moment i see them sell anything that matters gameplay wise, it's cancel subscription for me.

[leader of mortals]

Why is this such a problem? When I play Maplestory, for example, I just play without nexon cash, and get my mesos from equips and scrolls and such.

What is the big problem with micro-transactions? I understand it is unfair, but unless PvP is among the most important parts of the game, I don't see how it will ruin the game.

[Rostum]

Actually there's nothing there that says there will be micro-transactions in the way that we currently know it. Everyone has jumped on the bandwagon of "omg it'll ruin the game!" and don't actually know what the hell Square is up to; no one does.

But as BoB said, it could most likely be aesthetical items rather than items that give an advantage - all MMO's do this currently including FFXI and WoW and people seem to like it, so that's what they could be refering to.

Btw. Maple Story is lame.

[Mirage]

Maybe I'm just pessimistic, but I really have a bad feeling that SE is gonna mess this up one way or another.

[Rostum]

It must suck being a pessimist and all. Never can look forward to anything.

[Mirage]

That's not fair, I look forwards to plenty of things :p.

[Rostum]

Omecle doesn't play fair.

[Vermachtnis]

And in Imagine even people without AP can get stuff from the Cash Shop. There are people who sell 100AP for 100K in game money and just trade the items and stuff.

[WildRaubtier]

http://www.snowy-day.net/spacetime/s...utkoreans.html

Heard about this ages ago; good for them, really, but they aren't getting [more of] my money.

[Del Murder]

Another thing to wait and see, like most things. I wouldn't like it if you can buy good equipment though. Defeats the purpose of playing.

[WildRaubtier]

Eh, not really. People play for a lot of reasons. For those of us who don't think grinding for the good stuff is worth the time cost, then buying good stuff to do the regular content with is very attractive.

That said, people who say things like "if they let people who are happy to waste money on an online game that isn't the subscription fee an option to do just that then i'm gonna quit!!!!" are silly. It's not like having the option there to be ignored is going to ruin your game experience. Nor is Squeenix stupid enough to seel people things like relic weapons. You'll definitely still have to work your arse off for those, no worries.

[Loony BoB]

Other forums discussing this matter are pointing out that he said "the model is basically the same: Flat rate and microtransactions" - meaning that he saw things in FFXI as microtransactions. I imagine this will mean getting special items in the mini-stories that you can buy for $10, the SE keyfob (security token thing) that allows you to increase the amount you can carry, that sort of thing. Maybe there will be more of the same there, or maybe they will just say "We'll give you this item that allows you to carry extra stuff if you spend IRL money". Which really is the same as FFXI, so yeah. Maybe it won't be that bad. Who knows.

[WildRaubtier]

Purchased - FFXIclopedia, the Final Fantasy XI wiki - Characters, items, jobs, and more

There's your supporting argument. That page doesn't have the Mog Sachel on it though, for some reason. Stange since that was probably the most popular.