Originally posted by mastergravy it will be F2P before the 1 year marker.
It won't be F2P because Yoshi-P said that if it ever got to that point he'd close down the game.
Not all MMORPGs can go F2P because that is then the end of the game. All you will get are shallow GW2 style updates which satiate you like eating a single peanut or a single potato chip.
Everyone is acting like this is a bold new model for online games when really what we've been looking at is an over saturation of the market which has divided the MMORPG fanbase out way too much
You want it to go F2P because that is the only kind of MMO that you play. And you probably play a new F2P MMO every week because none of them satisfy you.
Name one F2P game that has consistently released full featured, premium, world changing expansions. F2P as in either a conversion from subscription or F2P from the start. Also this goes for B2P. Guild Wars 1 was an exception and exceptional for what it was.
Talk about inflated egos. I guess they learned nothing from first failure? being stubborn and rigid never works well in this industry.
I hope he is man of his word because in current market when MMOS are failing left and right, a game has to be really extraordinary to survive on P2P model. And FFXIV isn't it.
Ego huh? How many times did Thomas Edison fail at the light bulb? 3,000 times. Yet all of the world can thank him for not giving up.
The truth of the matter is just like SWTOR, FFXIV 1.0 was a bad game. People don't pay to play bad games. Which is why just like SWTOR, 1.0 went F2P. However unlike the former Yoshi's team made vast improvements to 1.0, to the point where people started coming back and they were able to reinstate the monthly subscription. And most of those players stayed.
If something is good people will pay for it. We have no problem paying 17-50 dollars for a good meal at a restaurant that only last for a few hours. Yet some of you bitch about paying 13 bucks for a game that you can play endlessly for a month?
There are those who don't like FFXIV and will not play it. This does not change that fact that it is a very good game. Therefore many will pay and play it.
I'm a beer and wine kind of guy. I don't care for Liqueur. Still there are million who do and pay hundreds of dollars for a good bottle of it.
Don't let your personal taste blind and make a fool of you when it comes to judging the quality of a good product.
I don't think irony means what you think it means. it would be ironic if i said 'FFXIV' is bad but i didn't now did i? i am simply talking about viability of P2P models in current market. To say that only good MMOS stay P2P is just absurd.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.' -Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid." -Luke McKinney
Ego huh? How many times did Thomas Edison fail at the light bulb? 3,000 times. Yet all of the world can thank him for not giving up.
The truth of the matter is just like SWTOR, FFXIV 1.0 was a bad game. People don't pay to play bad games. Which is why just like SWTOR, 1.0 went F2P. However unlike the former Yoshi's team made vast improvements to 1.0, to the point where people started coming back and they were able to reinstate the monthly subscription. And most of those players stayed.
If something is good people will pay for it. We have no problem paying 17-50 dollars for a good meal at a restaurant that only last for a few hours. Yet some of you bitch about paying 13 bucks for a game that you can play endlessly for a month?
There are those who don't like FFXIV and will not play it. This does not change that fact that it is a very good game. Therefore many will pay and play it.
I'm a beer and wine kind of guy. I don't care for Liqueur. Still there are million who do and pay hundreds of dollars for a good bottle of it.
Don't let your personal taste blind and make a fool of you when it comes to judging the quality of a good product.
Come on now. The post i quoted mentioned that Yoshi would rather shut the game down than go F2P. Please tell me how is it even the same as Edison not giving up?
If you look at the current trend of paying models it is safe to arrive to conclusion that players just do not support P2P models..doesn't matter whether game is good or bad. ArchAge for example recently went F2P in Asia ad i can assure you that many would swear by how good that game is.
That is why i mentioned earlier that it is not only bad games that go F2P. If it was true than WOW is best MMO ever made.
So i don't know why you feel the need to repeatedly tell me that 'game is good' even though i never said it is bad in first place.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.' -Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid." -Luke McKinney
Originally posted by Malvious Everyone will play it for about a month then hop back to wow. Only the true FF fans will stick to it just because its FF.
That sounds like quite a success, for both sides. The WoW players can go back to the game they lovehate, and the XIV players can play their game free from WoW players.
Come on now. The post i quoted mentioned that Yoshi would rather shut the game down than go F2P. Please tell me how is it even the same as Edison not giving up?
If you look at the current trend of paying models it is safe to arrive to conclusion that players just do not support P2P models..doesn't matter whether game is good or bad. ArchAge for example recently went F2P in Asia ad i can assure you that many would swear by how good that game is.
That is why i mentioned earlier that it is not only bad games that go F2P. If it was true than WOW is best MMO ever made.
So i don't know why you feel the need to repeatedly tell me that 'game is good' even though i never said it is bad in first place.
People also swore how amazing TERA was and just about every other MMO was before it was actually released...
I don't care how great people think Archage and we aren't the eastern market. F2P is the payment model in the east in the west most people jobs and mental age over 20 prefer p2p(generalisation here :P.).
The reason a lot of these games go F2P is because they need cash quick. Not because they weren't making enough but they weren't making it in a short enough time span. They borrowing to much or their investors are getting angry. Sadly game devs don't get the same benefit of the doubt that things like youtube and netflix do (because I doubt the investors are playing the games but I bet they use youtube).
Come on now. The post i quoted mentioned that Yoshi would rather shut the game down than go F2P. Please tell me how is it even the same as Edison not giving up?
If you look at the current trend of paying models it is safe to arrive to conclusion that players just do not support P2P models..doesn't matter whether game is good or bad. ArchAge for example recently went F2P in Asia ad i can assure you that many would swear by how good that game is.
That is why i mentioned earlier that it is not only bad games that go F2P. If it was true than WOW is best MMO ever made.
So i don't know why you feel the need to repeatedly tell me that 'game is good' even though i never said it is bad in first place.
People also swore how amazing TERA was and just about every other MMO was before it was actually released...
I don't care how great people think Archage and we aren't the eastern market. F2P is the payment model in the east in the west most people jobs and mental age over 20 prefer p2p(generalisation here :P.).
The reason a lot of these games go F2P is because they need cash quick. Not because they weren't making enough but they weren't making it in a short enough time span. They borrowing to much or their investors are getting angry. Sadly game devs don't get the same benefit of the doubt that things like youtube and netflix do (because I doubt the investors are playing the games but I bet they use youtube).
Not only it is generalisation but completely false statement. If anything the current trend shows that players in west prefer F2P and B2P models Not one new MMO has survived on P2P model, if what you are saying is true there will be more P2P mmos and less F2P MMOS.
Every MMO needs to make cash quick, because investors don't want to wait on return of their investment. Given how expensive MMOS have got it is no surprise. Only because FFXIV are not dependent on third party investors doesn't mean SE don't want to make profit especially after disaster of first version. That is why i find this whole statement of 'i would rather close the game than go F2P' really weird.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.' -Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid." -Luke McKinney
Come on now. The post i quoted mentioned that Yoshi would rather shut the game down than go F2P. Please tell me how is it even the same as Edison not giving up?
If you look at the current trend of paying models it is safe to arrive to conclusion that players just do not support P2P models..doesn't matter whether game is good or bad. ArchAge for example recently went F2P in Asia ad i can assure you that many would swear by how good that game is.
That is why i mentioned earlier that it is not only bad games that go F2P. If it was true than WOW is best MMO ever made.
So i don't know why you feel the need to repeatedly tell me that 'game is good' even though i never said it is bad in first place.
People also swore how amazing TERA was and just about every other MMO was before it was actually released...
I don't care how great people think Archage and we aren't the eastern market. F2P is the payment model in the east in the west most people jobs and mental age over 20 prefer p2p(generalisation here :P.).
The reason a lot of these games go F2P is because they need cash quick. Not because they weren't making enough but they weren't making it in a short enough time span. They borrowing to much or their investors are getting angry. Sadly game devs don't get the same benefit of the doubt that things like youtube and netflix do (because I doubt the investors are playing the games but I bet they use youtube).
Not only it is generalisation but completely false statement. If anything the current trend shows that players in west prefer F2P and B2P models Not one new MMO has survived on P2P model, if what you are saying is true there will be more P2P mmos and less F2P MMOS.
Every MMO needs to make cash quick, because investors don't want to wait on return of their investment. Given how expensive MMOS have got it is no surprise. Only because FFXIV are not dependent on third party investors doesn't mean SE don't want to make profit especially after disaster of first version. That is why i find this whole statement of 'i would rather close the game than go F2P' really weird.
There is where you are wrong as with every F2P fanboy out there. SE has planned out there game exactly like WoW did. They plan for ONLY 500K subscriptions and to have the investment paid back within 12 to 15 months. If they get more great, they are not going F2P. EVERY GAME that went F2P lately has spend Millions of Dollars and each one of these publishers have investors that want their money back in a short period of time, 1 to 3 months after release NOT 12 to 15 months. That is because here in the west we want FAST PROFIT NOW. In Japan they do not look at their businesses the same. Dont believe me? Toyata and Honda CEOs make what 1.2 to 1.4 Million Dollars annually. Ford and Chevy CEOs are making what $10+ Million per year if not much much more? How often do you hear Japanese CEOs getting 20% 30% 60% pay raises from year to year? Almost Never, here in the USA "General Motors CEO Dan Akerson received total compensation last year of $11.1 million, GM said in a federal filing today — a 44.1% jump from his total in 2011."
Point is here in the US we want A LOT OF MONEY FAST. Anyone who has been around MMOs since the very early days understand. MMOS do not work with this business model. They make good money over time. Only 1 company ever made A lot of Money Fast. That is Blizzard and that was being at the right place at the right time with the right game. Not because the MMO industry was designed for it.
Name one F2P game that has consistently released full featured, premium, world changing expansions. F2P as in either a conversion from subscription or F2P from the start. Also this goes for B2P. Guild Wars 1 was an exception and exceptional for what it was.
every game that has gone F2P..or really could be considered pay to win has sucked. I've probably played around 300 mmo's overall and looking back the only ones that I really REALLY enjoyed were subscription based. One of them went ftp and with in about 3 months everything was flipped into some sort of easy mode(wowified).
Every MMO needs to make cash quick, because investors don't want to wait on return of their investment. Given how expensive MMOS have got it is no surprise. Only because FFXIV are not dependent on third party investors doesn't mean SE don't want to make profit especially after disaster of first version. That is why i find this whole statement of 'i would rather close the game than go F2P' really weird.
How many times does it need to be told that Yoshi-P never actually said this? Will the second time be enough?
Using LOL is like saying "my argument sucks but I still want to disagree".
Come on now. The post i quoted mentioned that Yoshi would rather shut the game down than go F2P. Please tell me how is it even the same as Edison not giving up?
If you look at the current trend of paying models it is safe to arrive to conclusion that players just do not support P2P models..doesn't matter whether game is good or bad. ArchAge for example recently went F2P in Asia ad i can assure you that many would swear by how good that game is.
That is why i mentioned earlier that it is not only bad games that go F2P. If it was true than WOW is best MMO ever made.
So i don't know why you feel the need to repeatedly tell me that 'game is good' even though i never said it is bad in first place.
People also swore how amazing TERA was and just about every other MMO was before it was actually released...
I don't care how great people think Archage and we aren't the eastern market. F2P is the payment model in the east in the west most people jobs and mental age over 20 prefer p2p(generalisation here :P.).
The reason a lot of these games go F2P is because they need cash quick. Not because they weren't making enough but they weren't making it in a short enough time span. They borrowing to much or their investors are getting angry. Sadly game devs don't get the same benefit of the doubt that things like youtube and netflix do (because I doubt the investors are playing the games but I bet they use youtube).
Not only it is generalisation but completely false statement. If anything the current trend shows that players in west prefer F2P and B2P models Not one new MMO has survived on P2P model, if what you are saying is true there will be more P2P mmos and less F2P MMOS.
Every MMO needs to make cash quick, because investors don't want to wait on return of their investment. Given how expensive MMOS have got it is no surprise. Only because FFXIV are not dependent on third party investors doesn't mean SE don't want to make profit especially after disaster of first version. That is why i find this whole statement of 'i would rather close the game than go F2P' really weird.
There is where you are wrong as with every F2P fanboy out there. SE has planned out there game exactly like WoW did. They plan for ONLY 500K subscriptions and to have the investment paid back within 12 to 15 months. If they get more great, they are not going F2P. EVERY GAME that went F2P lately has spend Millions of Dollars and each one of these publishers have investors that want their money back in a short period of time, 1 to 3 months after release NOT 12 to 15 months. That is because here in the west we want FAST PROFIT NOW. In Japan they do not look at their businesses the same. Dont believe me? Toyata and Honda CEOs make what 1.2 to 1.4 Million Dollars annually. Ford and Chevy CEOs are making what $10+ Million per year if not much much more? How often do you hear Japanese CEOs getting 20% 30% 60% pay raises from year to year? Almost Never, here in the USA "General Motors CEO Dan Akerson received total compensation last year of $11.1 million, GM said in a federal filing today — a 44.1% jump from his total in 2011."
Point is here in the US we want A LOT OF MONEY FAST. Anyone who has been around MMOs since the very early days understand. MMOS do not work with this business model. They make good money over time. Only 1 company ever made A lot of Money Fast. That is Blizzard and that was being at the right place at the right time with the right game. Not because the MMO industry was designed for it.
I am a MMO fanboy...i play games as long as i find those fun regardless of the payment model. And as far rest of your post is concerned i don't know how you know what SE has exactly planned. Maybe you have more insider information that everybody else does not.
FFXIV is no low budget MMO either so i am pretty sure they spent million on it too and considering the fact that it has been made twice the cost must have gone up more. Only because SE are the in house investors doesn't mean they don't want to make large profit on the game. Planning is good but plans always does not work. I am pretty sure they must have some back up plan if population dropped to say 100K in few months.
By the way it is not just west. games go F2P in Asia too a lot lately. Unless you are trying to tell us that Japanese are the only people in entire world who don't care for making profit quickly when it comes to business.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.' -Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid." -Luke McKinney
Originally posted by itchmon its a darn good game that pretty successfully straddles the depth / accessablity line. i hope it will and i think it will
You hit it on the nail that is exactly what they are trying to do.IMO it is a very risky decision because you never really fully satisfy both hemispheres.The problem is the big brass no longer want creativity,they told ALL of it's divisions they want mainstream.All content takes time and money so i guess until things turn around they want to make sure everything is at least acceptable.
However the question is on long term,will it last.Well Yoshi stated it has to,the whole company is riding on this game.There is a big problem though,one that whoever is making the big decisions is not getting it through his thick skull.I have watched 7 straight crap expansions for FFXI,that is not 1 or 2 that is seven !.The msot recent really took the cake doing something i never expected o see them do.They created the major city with no guts,90% of the structures have no insides,thta is the kind of junk i expect from all the f2p games not from a FF game.
So imo we need to see the very first xpac to really get a grasp on their decisions.IMO so far we have seen a solid effort in FFXIV and having already struggled once they should not make the same mistakes agian but looking at recent FFXI tells me to not be too sure either.There is the fact that at least for the next year they have tons of content still to be added to the game and i expect more classes as well.So this game is not going to be a release and 3 months dead like we have seen from other games,i see at least 2 years of solid success.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I think it depends on how you define "going to last."
2-5 years from now, is the game still going to be running with players logging in and playing? Yes. Without a doubt.
2-5 years from now, are they still going to have a very solid number of players and "active" development (patches, expansions, new content/classes, etc.) My vote is on Yes.
If SE is aggressive in the first year with new content, classes, dungeons, raids, even systems like housing, expanded PvP, maybe some sort of AA system I feel this game will do very well in the first year.
Lots of factors after that.
Success of other games, announcement of new ones, how successful the PS3/PS4 versions are, how global their reach is (how many languages and regions etc.), the success of other SE titles and/or other Final Fantasy titles, etc. etc etc.
Lots of factors.
Will a personally be playing?
Who knows. Right now I can easily see myself getting a solid month or two of enjoyment. Depending on end game and if I can find a good Linkshell, what kind of additions they make to the game, if my brother picks the game up and invest in it etc.
I could easily see myself playing this game on my PS3 through the fall, going back to it from my PS4 until the PS4 version is released sometime next year.
Come on now. The post i quoted mentioned that Yoshi would rather shut the game down than go F2P. Please tell me how is it even the same as Edison not giving up?
If you look at the current trend of paying models it is safe to arrive to conclusion that players just do not support P2P models..doesn't matter whether game is good or bad. ArchAge for example recently went F2P in Asia ad i can assure you that many would swear by how good that game is.
That is why i mentioned earlier that it is not only bad games that go F2P. If it was true than WOW is best MMO ever made.
So i don't know why you feel the need to repeatedly tell me that 'game is good' even though i never said it is bad in first place.
People also swore how amazing TERA was and just about every other MMO was before it was actually released...
I don't care how great people think Archage and we aren't the eastern market. F2P is the payment model in the east in the west most people jobs and mental age over 20 prefer p2p(generalisation here :P.).
The reason a lot of these games go F2P is because they need cash quick. Not because they weren't making enough but they weren't making it in a short enough time span. They borrowing to much or their investors are getting angry. Sadly game devs don't get the same benefit of the doubt that things like youtube and netflix do (because I doubt the investors are playing the games but I bet they use youtube).
Not only it is generalisation but completely false statement. If anything the current trend shows that players in west prefer F2P and B2P models Not one new MMO has survived on P2P model, if what you are saying is true there will be more P2P mmos and less F2P MMOS.
Every MMO needs to make cash quick, because investors don't want to wait on return of their investment. Given how expensive MMOS have got it is no surprise. Only because FFXIV are not dependent on third party investors doesn't mean SE don't want to make profit especially after disaster of first version. That is why i find this whole statement of 'i would rather close the game than go F2P' really weird.
There is where you are wrong as with every F2P fanboy out there. SE has planned out there game exactly like WoW did. They plan for ONLY 500K subscriptions and to have the investment paid back within 12 to 15 months. If they get more great, they are not going F2P. EVERY GAME that went F2P lately has spend Millions of Dollars and each one of these publishers have investors that want their money back in a short period of time, 1 to 3 months after release NOT 12 to 15 months. That is because here in the west we want FAST PROFIT NOW. In Japan they do not look at their businesses the same. Dont believe me? Toyata and Honda CEOs make what 1.2 to 1.4 Million Dollars annually. Ford and Chevy CEOs are making what $10+ Million per year if not much much more? How often do you hear Japanese CEOs getting 20% 30% 60% pay raises from year to year? Almost Never, here in the USA "General Motors CEO Dan Akerson received total compensation last year of $11.1 million, GM said in a federal filing today — a 44.1% jump from his total in 2011."
Point is here in the US we want A LOT OF MONEY FAST. Anyone who has been around MMOs since the very early days understand. MMOS do not work with this business model. They make good money over time. Only 1 company ever made A lot of Money Fast. That is Blizzard and that was being at the right place at the right time with the right game. Not because the MMO industry was designed for it.
I am a MMO fanboy...i play games as long as i find those fun regardless of the payment model. And as far rest of your post is concerned i don't know how you know what SE has exactly planned. Maybe you have more insider information that everybody else does not.
FFXIV is no low budget MMO either so i am pretty sure they spent million on it too and considering the fact that it has been made twice the cost must have gone up more. Only because SE are the in house investors doesn't mean they don't want to make large profit on the game. Planning is good but plans always does not work. I am pretty sure they must have some back up plan if population dropped to say 100K in few months.
By the way it is not just west. games go F2P in Asia too a lot lately. Unless you are trying to tell us that Japanese are the only people in entire world who don't care for making profit quickly when it comes to business.
FFXIV is different because they are not spending $100 Million on an MMO like Trion did with Defiance, or SWTOR with $250 Million. FFXIV likely spent about in the range of 50 Million. They reused some of 1.0 content and rebuilt the game from the ground up. If they have 500K subs thats about $7 Million a month. So less than a year the game will be paid off.
Also end game is why many people leave MMOs now a days. If the end game SUCKS and is too easy people will not pay to stay. Guess What, Yoshi already said that their internal QA team has not even completed all of the end game content because how hard it is. They already have plans for another tier of End Game content for 3 to 4 months out and another tier at that for 6 to 8 months out from launch. Even the hardcore gamers will have to quit their jobs to be realm first as Yoshi Says. So this means people will be chewing on end game content for months not weeks and then be board and cancel their accounts. So likelihood of servers closing down and only 100K subs Not likely if hardcore players even have a challenge for months. Casual players like myself will see the content as the hardcore players move to the next tier of content. I highly doubt this game will fail for many key components put this game over many other games. How many MMOs in the last 7 years came out stating they have enough content planned out though patches to double the world size? None. They only do that via expansions. Not Patches like SE is doing.
I don't think irony means what you think it means. it would be ironic if i said 'FFXIV' is bad but i didn't now did i? i am simply talking about viability of P2P models in current market. To say that only good MMOS stay P2P is just absurd.
Except I've seen you state that it is a bad game several times in multiple threads.
Comments
Ego huh? How many times did Thomas Edison fail at the light bulb? 3,000 times. Yet all of the world can thank him for not giving up.
The truth of the matter is just like SWTOR, FFXIV 1.0 was a bad game. People don't pay to play bad games. Which is why just like SWTOR, 1.0 went F2P. However unlike the former Yoshi's team made vast improvements to 1.0, to the point where people started coming back and they were able to reinstate the monthly subscription. And most of those players stayed.
If something is good people will pay for it. We have no problem paying 17-50 dollars for a good meal at a restaurant that only last for a few hours. Yet some of you bitch about paying 13 bucks for a game that you can play endlessly for a month?
There are those who don't like FFXIV and will not play it. This does not change that fact that it is a very good game. Therefore many will pay and play it.
I'm a beer and wine kind of guy. I don't care for Liqueur. Still there are million who do and pay hundreds of dollars for a good bottle of it.
Don't let your personal taste blind and make a fool of you when it comes to judging the quality of a good product.
I don't think irony means what you think it means. it would be ironic if i said 'FFXIV' is bad but i didn't now did i? i am simply talking about viability of P2P models in current market. To say that only good MMOS stay P2P is just absurd.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
Come on now. The post i quoted mentioned that Yoshi would rather shut the game down than go F2P. Please tell me how is it even the same as Edison not giving up?
If you look at the current trend of paying models it is safe to arrive to conclusion that players just do not support P2P models..doesn't matter whether game is good or bad. ArchAge for example recently went F2P in Asia ad i can assure you that many would swear by how good that game is.
That is why i mentioned earlier that it is not only bad games that go F2P. If it was true than WOW is best MMO ever made.
So i don't know why you feel the need to repeatedly tell me that 'game is good' even though i never said it is bad in first place.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
That sounds like quite a success, for both sides. The WoW players can go back to the game they lovehate, and the XIV players can play their game free from WoW players.
People also swore how amazing TERA was and just about every other MMO was before it was actually released...
I don't care how great people think Archage and we aren't the eastern market. F2P is the payment model in the east in the west most people jobs and mental age over 20 prefer p2p(generalisation here :P.).
The reason a lot of these games go F2P is because they need cash quick. Not because they weren't making enough but they weren't making it in a short enough time span. They borrowing to much or their investors are getting angry. Sadly game devs don't get the same benefit of the doubt that things like youtube and netflix do (because I doubt the investors are playing the games but I bet they use youtube).
Not only it is generalisation but completely false statement. If anything the current trend shows that players in west prefer F2P and B2P models Not one new MMO has survived on P2P model, if what you are saying is true there will be more P2P mmos and less F2P MMOS.
Every MMO needs to make cash quick, because investors don't want to wait on return of their investment. Given how expensive MMOS have got it is no surprise. Only because FFXIV are not dependent on third party investors doesn't mean SE don't want to make profit especially after disaster of first version. That is why i find this whole statement of 'i would rather close the game than go F2P' really weird.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
There is where you are wrong as with every F2P fanboy out there. SE has planned out there game exactly like WoW did. They plan for ONLY 500K subscriptions and to have the investment paid back within 12 to 15 months. If they get more great, they are not going F2P. EVERY GAME that went F2P lately has spend Millions of Dollars and each one of these publishers have investors that want their money back in a short period of time, 1 to 3 months after release NOT 12 to 15 months. That is because here in the west we want FAST PROFIT NOW. In Japan they do not look at their businesses the same. Dont believe me? Toyata and Honda CEOs make what 1.2 to 1.4 Million Dollars annually. Ford and Chevy CEOs are making what $10+ Million per year if not much much more? How often do you hear Japanese CEOs getting 20% 30% 60% pay raises from year to year? Almost Never, here in the USA "General Motors CEO Dan Akerson received total compensation last year of $11.1 million, GM said in a federal filing today — a 44.1% jump from his total in 2011."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/04/25/gm-ceo-akerson-executives-pay-jump/2112741/
Point is here in the US we want A LOT OF MONEY FAST. Anyone who has been around MMOs since the very early days understand. MMOS do not work with this business model. They make good money over time. Only 1 company ever made A lot of Money Fast. That is Blizzard and that was being at the right place at the right time with the right game. Not because the MMO industry was designed for it.
every game that has gone F2P..or really could be considered pay to win has sucked. I've probably played around 300 mmo's overall and looking back the only ones that I really REALLY enjoyed were subscription based. One of them went ftp and with in about 3 months everything was flipped into some sort of easy mode(wowified).
How many times does it need to be told that Yoshi-P never actually said this? Will the second time be enough?
I am a MMO fanboy...i play games as long as i find those fun regardless of the payment model. And as far rest of your post is concerned i don't know how you know what SE has exactly planned. Maybe you have more insider information that everybody else does not.
FFXIV is no low budget MMO either so i am pretty sure they spent million on it too and considering the fact that it has been made twice the cost must have gone up more. Only because SE are the in house investors doesn't mean they don't want to make large profit on the game. Planning is good but plans always does not work. I am pretty sure they must have some back up plan if population dropped to say 100K in few months.
By the way it is not just west. games go F2P in Asia too a lot lately. Unless you are trying to tell us that Japanese are the only people in entire world who don't care for making profit quickly when it comes to business.
"The problem is that the hardcore folks always want the same thing: 'We want exactly what you gave us before, but it has to be completely different.'
-Jesse Schell
"Online gamers are the most ludicrously entitled beings since Caligula made his horse a senator, and at least the horse never said anything stupid."
-Luke McKinney
You hit it on the nail that is exactly what they are trying to do.IMO it is a very risky decision because you never really fully satisfy both hemispheres.The problem is the big brass no longer want creativity,they told ALL of it's divisions they want mainstream.All content takes time and money so i guess until things turn around they want to make sure everything is at least acceptable.
However the question is on long term,will it last.Well Yoshi stated it has to,the whole company is riding on this game.There is a big problem though,one that whoever is making the big decisions is not getting it through his thick skull.I have watched 7 straight crap expansions for FFXI,that is not 1 or 2 that is seven !.The msot recent really took the cake doing something i never expected o see them do.They created the major city with no guts,90% of the structures have no insides,thta is the kind of junk i expect from all the f2p games not from a FF game.
So imo we need to see the very first xpac to really get a grasp on their decisions.IMO so far we have seen a solid effort in FFXIV and having already struggled once they should not make the same mistakes agian but looking at recent FFXI tells me to not be too sure either.There is the fact that at least for the next year they have tons of content still to be added to the game and i expect more classes as well.So this game is not going to be a release and 3 months dead like we have seen from other games,i see at least 2 years of solid success.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I think it depends on how you define "going to last."
2-5 years from now, is the game still going to be running with players logging in and playing? Yes. Without a doubt.
2-5 years from now, are they still going to have a very solid number of players and "active" development (patches, expansions, new content/classes, etc.) My vote is on Yes.
If SE is aggressive in the first year with new content, classes, dungeons, raids, even systems like housing, expanded PvP, maybe some sort of AA system I feel this game will do very well in the first year.
Lots of factors after that.
Success of other games, announcement of new ones, how successful the PS3/PS4 versions are, how global their reach is (how many languages and regions etc.), the success of other SE titles and/or other Final Fantasy titles, etc. etc etc.
Lots of factors.
Will a personally be playing?
Who knows. Right now I can easily see myself getting a solid month or two of enjoyment. Depending on end game and if I can find a good Linkshell, what kind of additions they make to the game, if my brother picks the game up and invest in it etc.
I could easily see myself playing this game on my PS3 through the fall, going back to it from my PS4 until the PS4 version is released sometime next year.
FFXIV is different because they are not spending $100 Million on an MMO like Trion did with Defiance, or SWTOR with $250 Million. FFXIV likely spent about in the range of 50 Million. They reused some of 1.0 content and rebuilt the game from the ground up. If they have 500K subs thats about $7 Million a month. So less than a year the game will be paid off.
Also end game is why many people leave MMOs now a days. If the end game SUCKS and is too easy people will not pay to stay. Guess What, Yoshi already said that their internal QA team has not even completed all of the end game content because how hard it is. They already have plans for another tier of End Game content for 3 to 4 months out and another tier at that for 6 to 8 months out from launch. Even the hardcore gamers will have to quit their jobs to be realm first as Yoshi Says. So this means people will be chewing on end game content for months not weeks and then be board and cancel their accounts. So likelihood of servers closing down and only 100K subs Not likely if hardcore players even have a challenge for months. Casual players like myself will see the content as the hardcore players move to the next tier of content. I highly doubt this game will fail for many key components put this game over many other games. How many MMOs in the last 7 years came out stating they have enough content planned out though patches to double the world size? None. They only do that via expansions. Not Patches like SE is doing.
Except I've seen you state that it is a bad game several times in multiple threads.