While it’s still too early to tell, but according to a interview with by Develop, SE president Yoichi Wada has hinted that FFXIV will have some form of micro-transaction system in place.
“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.”
While we at this point don’t know if or how such a system will be implemented. I sincerely hope that SE will reconsider this course of action. Especially in light of SE wishing FFXIV to become a legitimate competitor to the major MMO’s out today, including World of Warcraft.
Kimiko loves pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. On her free time, she wrestles Bogies by moonlight. She also spends 3 years of her life writing literature on 
I SO hope that they won’t implement a system of that sort…i mean, paying monthly fees + item charges (which I guess will be “required” for certain stuff to make leveling/engame much easier) just sucks…
I guess they would lose more players because of such a system than they would gain from it…
I don’t see why they can’t appeal to both, just don’t make the pay to use items so biased, sure maybe an extra 1 or 2% on something, but make an item that can compare that is RA/EX like a Chivalrous Chain to PCC type of difference. Though in the end it may hollow out my soul to play a game where all i have to do is buy items..
Hopefully by ‘items’ they mean things like race/gender chances, name changes, etc…those types of transactions I can tolerate because they are just concerning vanity…but I really hope they don’t start selling swords and armor for money….Everquest 2 did really well with that model >.> Make me come back SE! don’t push me away with your micro-transactions!
If by this they mean the ability to purchase weapons and armor then it would be a terrible idea! There would be thoes who could afford all these items and thoes that couldnt. Right now in FFXI if you want an item you either have to quest it, make it or purchase it with in game gil. For me that shows that you have put in the work to own that item and with that comes respect from other players. The ability to buy items would totaly cheapen the whole experience for me. DO NOT DO THIS SE! I am sure I am not the only person who would feel that this would simply be SE becoming a RMT! Do not become that which you have fought to banish.
Actually, I think it’s a decent solution to the RMT issue. Just have SE sell the gil themselves. Perhaps, things like expanded inventory would be nice. I too would have a problem if they made a habit out of just offering items to buy for cash though. If it was like a special item maybe once a quarter I could see it, but certainly not on a large scale.
I’d have to agree with Nick on this one. If it is nothing major and just a pretty object that doesn’t really do anything useful (ie festival gears in FFXI) than I wouldn’t really complain too much. I’d be mildly annoyed that i couldn’t strut my elf around in a nice shirt when I’m not stabbing something, but I wouldn’t complain. If this proposal of theirs turns out to provide a real benefit in game mechanics based on how much real money is spent on the game, then suffice to say… Andrian will be cruising around Kujata/Vana’Diel again because I won’t waste my time competeing with people throwing money at their character. At least in FFXI there were R/EX items that you could get if you didn’t have the gil for it. I think SE was on the right track when they made the Emperor/Empress Pin etc update a few years ago.
I’ve been looking forward to this game for months, if they want to be a serious contender with WoW than microtransactions are certainly not the way to go about doing it. All that will accomplish is make the grinders happy and alienate the people interested in community and PLAYING the game.
I don’t see how this will make grinders happy, or any hardcore players. All the time they spend questing, camping, and saving gil to get the best gear won’t be any more rewarding than Timmy begging his mommy for $5.
Terrible idea….Anything outside of vanity items; name changes, hair products, piercings, or makeup is unacceptable.
If they do implement this system again in a larger scale in ffxiv I doubt the competition between it and WoW will get close. Most people are not really into paying extra for other stuff i.e. a second character on the same account but you can only play one character (such as in FFXI). When in WoW you can have multiple characters for no extra money of course still being able to use only one character at a time. In general items should be gained via quests, camping, buying in game, not spending more money on items just to profit SE.
Paying for extra items like this is the kind of thing NOOB companies do with NOOB games so they dont have to charge monthly fees, not for RPG Legends Square and certainly not for its Flagship game. To have both monthly fees and item purchasing (beyond merely cosmetic items) is an absolute disgrace to the Final Fantasy name and as a life long fan of the Final Fantasy series I would be literally heartbroken if this were to really happen. Poor Aeris DIED FOR THIS? NOOOOO!!!!!!!
COSMETIC ITEMS, YES PLEASE!!!
USEFUL ITEMS, NO THANKS!!!
Selling GIL? OK… BUT ONLY IF… It is made VERY PUBLIC which ACCOUNTS bought GIL, when and how much. I say accounts, because a character could buy GIL, transfer it, then delete that character! It should be made sooo public that the account can never deny that it bought GIL, and if they get any resentment from other players, SO BE IT. Those should be the terms IMO.
I must say… Having extra goodies that people can purchase “Out-of-Game” to benefit their “In-Game” progression is all just another way for SE to make money off the “Nick-nacks” that could potentially give he/she that extra edge in the game. Do I agree with it? To an extent… Should it benefit things that would make the game easier for the player, ultimately making him a “Bought God Character” A.K.A. “RMT” NO! To have something like that in a game defeats the purpose of even creating the game in the 1st place… Why create things that in the end will cause the player to overlook it completely. All the time spent in creating an MMORPG, all that imagination put into it, if it were me I’d make sure the game itself… every aspect of it, defines the true potential of the character, not the amount of money in his/her wallet determining whether or not they’re strong. ——Food for thought.
I have never seen a game do the pay per item model well, and I doubt I ever will. Useful items sold in this fashion devalue the game experience, for those who bought it, and everyone else. Selling cosmetic items results in very tacky characters, and gives the developer no incentive to make useful armor/equipment look interesting. I hope this is just a translation misunderstanding and he is referring to out of game services such as world transfers, and additional characters.
gear/items will be degrading so peeps cant horde items,you will be buying the different armor types to level up your stats.I see how the micro-transactions could come into play,maybe be some normal quality items that can last longer than items you buy in a shop or off the auction house in game.I doubt SE will have items for sell that are rare as a K club for 50$ or something lol,i mean they spent years making this.
Ummm I think what they mean is like with the recent mini-expansions. Games like WOW come along with big expansions that cost a lot, vs a system of minin expansions that are not “required” but are fun for people that have done everything else. Micro Transactions doesnt always mean gear etc.
I sure hope that this idea is not implemented, also. But IF it is, at least make items you can buy with real cash in game cost Crysta/Gil as well. EX: Scorpion Harness $19.99 or 5 Million Gil.
For any game, if it something cosmetic it really does not bother me that much. But MT item shops that allow you to buy xp potions, uber gear and so forth get a big hell no from me, especially when I am already paying a monthly fee..
One thing I am so sick of hearing from pro MT users is “MT are the wave of the future!” First of when something is a “wave of the future” its supposed to be something that benefits people as a whole. So basically to me they are saying “Its about time I have to pay for stuff that I used to get for free!” Can I charge you for the air you breath then?
Why not just do like SOE did for awhile with some EQ2 servers allowed MT things and others didn’t? Then of course they did it for all of them but still. MTs are a bigger thing in the east then they are the west, so once again, different payments for different regions.
This would create a nasty divide between players that buy items and those that do not. I don’t think this will be a good idea.
S/E just saw how well RMTs made out on FFXI and they want to take over that roll. Plain and simple.
I say no. Don’t want it. You get what you earn and earn what you get.
Of course, only hardcore grinders play these games. Screw the other ppl who only a play a few hours a week. A balance would be nice. elitist wank stains spoilt FFXI. Pretty sure they’ll be 5 casual gamers to every 1 hardcore gamer with no life, SE will want to keep as many ppl as possible so I say, in moderation, this would be a nice to have. /discuss (like i need to ask)
I think if they want to use this sort of system for anything beyond cosmetic changes, then they should have separate servers. Servers for those who buy, and servers for those who don’t. You can migrate from a Non-Buy server to a Buy server, but not the other way around.
World of Warcraft will continue to spank anything SEInc offers for one simple reason: CUSTOMER SERVICE. Until SEInc is capable of fulfilling its contracted obligations, like in game GM’s, people will avoid their products. Also, there are no “third party RMT” websites, these sites are operated by SEInc already. How do I know? Copyright/trademark infringements that could be ended with a letter from a lawyer but are not.
I would like to know where they are getting this idea that there is a ”demand” fr micro transaction items. WHICH ONE OF YOU CASH SHOP WHORING MOTHER FUCKERS ARE TELLING THEM THIS?!?! I WILL END YOU.
Well to think about it everyone who bought the “Add-ons” for 11 kinda did pay $19.99 each for a piece of gear — SE been testing this alrdy, Also to top it off all those “Add-ons” are very short missions w/ alot of walking/waiting for drops — the longer you play the more they get paid! Whatever happened to the expansion packs?
Fire whom ever came up with this idea! I may seriously consider not playing it if people can buy items; however i do agree, if its for character mods .. ie hair cuts, or outfits… things that wont add to stats .. thats fine.
I agree that having “Super Elite Items” as cash-shop-only things can really spoil the balance of the game. However, look at the last three micro-expansions for FFXI; they were, more or less, cash-shop items. They weren’t the absolute best, but they were good enough most people wanted (and bought) them. You put down your $$, and you get an in-game item exclusive to people who paid for that mini-addon. How many of you either refused to buy the addon, or chewed out Square for putting them in?