Hey, you can believe what you want. Also I don't need good luck, as I opted to wait for the ps3 version of this game after beta feedback. Still I see this as more a positive than a negative. Those who are on the fence get to stick around longer free of charge, as well as get to see the changes for themselves, negating a need to trust or not what they read about them.
Even those who gave up already, can come back if they qualify for this offer, when changes are made and see them for free. There's no con job as far as I can see, as the only risk is on SE with this decision. As they're also allowing any detractor the opportunity to prove they haven't done what they said they will. Win, wIn for the players, at least as far as I'm concerned.
I agree somewhat...it's costing present players nothing and buys SE some time to improve things and keep more of the player base they currently have amd get some good PR to offset some fo the bad PR they bene getting lately.
The only time a game company will give 30 days free and slash the price of the box less then 2 weeks after launch is when they enter a panic mode.
Not even Cryptic did that with STO.
Square-Enix is clearly panicking and they only have themselves to blame.
It's not gonna change much though, MMO history teach us that no MMO ever recovers from a bad launch, these washed out developers should have known this by now...
Actually, they probably did but went for a money-grab-western-style anyway, sell boxes on hype, deal with ruined rep and game later...sad.
I think you may be right about them going into panic mode but I doubt they planned for a money-grab. Don't forget that they didn't just release it here, they also released it in Japan at the same time. Business culture is a bit different there and to do something that dishonorable to your own people just doesn't fly. You will have corporate executives hanging themselves in their offices before you see them laughing all the way to the bank while pitching their customers the middle bone.
it's basically a "I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your steak. it's on the house. hope to see you again and we promise we'll cook it right next time".
Originally posted by Hrayr2148
Don't be so petty as to say that the $40-75 you spent was a "rip off." How's that any different than going to see a movie, paying $25-30 bucks for tickets and popcorn/candy/drink, walking out of the movie and saying "This movie sucked ass, give me my money back."
It doesn't work that way. What SE is doing is like a movie company giving you a free ticket to their next movie because the movie you just saw sucked. It doesn't happen, but SE did it.
Both of these analogies are a bit off, really. In Robokapp's, it's more like they're still charging for the steak, but not charging you for your appetizer and dessert. In Hrayr's example, they didn't cover your entire ticket for a free movie - they gave you a voucher for a free small drink and popcorn at your next visit (if that; freaking refreshments at movies are insane).
I don't think this is a bad move on their part, at all. It's far better than doing nothing. Admitting they were wrong and that they're willing to (in some way) make it up to the customer is a great first step. Of course, I have to join the camp that realizes this only satisfies those who were interested in/planning to stay to begin with, unless they would allow you to hold the free month in the way of Crysta or allow the option to activate that month when you choose. At least with that option, the player could just stop playing while they wait for updates that are crucial to their concerns, or maybe even use the Crysta itself for whatever else it's good for (I guess nothing yet; maybe later?). As it stands now, it's still asking that unhappy players continue to play when they've likely lost interest already, essentially offering those players nothing.
Either way, having read through the notes that are up for being fixed first, most of these issues are things that could have and should have been hammered out through the open beta process. Things such as: the lag tweaks they intend to implement which will also allow for more monsters in the world; the simple search feature that's being added; basically all of the relatively minor tweaks and 'fixes' that shouldn't have made it to release in the first place. Isn't half that stuff the entire purpose of an open beta? Rather than releasing the game and unleashing players into their world at such a premium, they should've extended the open beta while these things were taken care of and they could've released in a far better state and avoided a good bit of the immediately poor reactions in the first place, rather than having to play catch-up now. The game isn't even a full month into release and they're already having to offer current customers incentives just to hang onto them, when they could've been fighting much less of an uphill battle had they just delayed a bit longer.
An extra free month is certainly a nice step forward, but it's still only a step on a flight of stairs which, otherwise, could've been much shorter. In the meantime, they've got a ton of work to do both on the game, and to repair their public image. At least they've admitted to and accepted that fact.
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." George Bernard Shaw
What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Oscar Wilde
While I think it is a pretty stand up thing for SE to basically admit to the problems and give people a significant compensation for it, there is still just one problem.
Why would I want another free 30 days when I couldn't force myself to use more than a week of the first 30?
What would really impress me would be if in say 3 months, when they do have these things fixed and they want to show them off to people to try to get them back in the game. If then they offered a free 30 days to replace the 30 lost with the original purchase.
I suspect, however, that my free 30 will run right after my current 30 runs out in about a week. And I will have to pay for a month to try it again after the ps3 release. Well, not likely to happen. I will wait for a free re-enlistment program like Warhammer is currently doing. Which, by the way, is turning out to be a heck of a lot of fun.
Disgruntled Customer: "I hate this game, your game sucks!"
Square-Enix CS: "Terribly sorry you feel that way sir, here, take 30 more days on your trial."
Disgruntled Customer: "Hah! I told you your game sucks!'
Something's not quite right there.
I agree there is something not quite right here. I think you misrepresent the situation a bit.
Of course he does... Nothing new there at all. Though he's unarguably on the wrong side of the argument this time.
Developers don't give out 30 days of free playtime and apologize for the state their game is in when it's going well.
There's simply no way to spin this as a positive for FFXIV's current condition. It is what it is. Though, it does speak well for SE.
SE botched it with FFXIV's launch, they are - very much to their credit - owning up to it and doing what they can to right it.
Now let's hope they really dig in, get their noses to the grind-stone and turn that ship around.
There's still an epic game hiding in there somewhere and, if FFXI's any indication, I'm still confident SE can bring it out over time. I just don't know WTF they were thinking with some of the choices they made during its development.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
The only time a game company will give 30 days free and slash the price of the box less then 2 weeks after launch is when they enter a panic mode.
Not even Cryptic did that with STO.
Square-Enix is clearly panicking and they only have themselves to blame.
It's not gonna change much though, MMO history teach us that no MMO ever recovers from a bad launch, these washed out developers should have known this by now...
Actually, they probably did but went for a money-grab-western-style anyway, sell boxes on hype, deal with ruined rep and game later...sad.
I think you may be right about them going into panic mode but I doubt they planned for a money-grab. Don't forget that they didn't just release it here, they also released it in Japan at the same time. Business culture is a bit different there and to do something that dishonorable to your own people just doesn't fly. You will have corporate executives hanging themselves in their offices before you see them laughing all the way to the bank while pitching their customers the middle bone.
I agree with everything you said that´s why I was so amazed to see the state of the game at launch, I never expected this from a company like this in million years, I felt like if they ever release an unfinished or unpolished MMO we are going to see harakiris performed by execs.
It´s mind bogling to me how was it possible for so much fail to go unoticed.
The only logical explanation is that it didn´t go unoticed and for some reason a critical decision was made to go for a money grab, I can´t explain it any other way.
There is just too much fail here that even a total dissconect with the player base or massive incompetence can´t explain it.
I care about your gaming 'problems' and teenage anxieties, just not today.
Freaking best move I've seen a MMO developer do in a long time, probably ever. They seriously need some major applause for thise.
You just fell for the human pychological phenomenon of gaps. They were so bad, and now they do something they absolutely had to do to stay afloat anyway, and bam, instant goodwill. Bank it.
Not at all.
If I had fallen for some psychological trick, I would go out and buy a game that I want tomorrow. Instead, I'm going to keep waiting it out, until they fix the issues I know they are going to fix.
It's more of, a Developer actually admitting that they were wrong and instead of trying to hide it, deny it and keep raking in money, they are actually taking actions to appease their current population to give them time to fix it, so they don't lose their customers forever.
Most games, basically say "The game isn't broke. YOU'RE BROKE! Here take this shiny thing and stfu." WAR did it, AoC did it, WoW does it all the freaking time, Fallen Earth does it, EVE does it, Darkfall does it, we all know how APB turned out, and I could keep going and going down the left on the side all the way to the end.
Great business move and a great move to give them time.
But I understand that some people think that every company is some super evil monster spawned from Hitler himself, but that doesn't make it true. If they don't fix the game and push at least a few good updates out during this time, they will still lose the money. They understand this and seem to be working on it.
Should they have waited to release the game? Probably.
i'll agree it's a sign that they've adknowledged the discontent of alot of the people who have susbscribed and felt cheated or disappointed, hopefully they are listening closely. a company like SE....should take one disgruntled customer like 50 cancelled subs, especially in this day and age....money is tight and people won't put up with product they're not satisfied with. i'm not unhappy, but i know it needs improving...alot of it. i'm willing to bear with them, and now i got an extra 30 free days to do just that. i'm not one but i know more than a few people who were waiting for their free time to be up and then just leave....hopefully they get to work, like yesterday.
This is a typical response from a company. It's also probably going to be a life saving one for them. Companies do this when they want PR boost or to get people back. IN this case it's to get people to stick around while they massively improve the game.
Few MMO companies do this now a days. That shows something on SE part. They care about keeping their customers and keeping their product alive. Otherwise they wouldn't have done it. They would have just gotten all the money they could, scrap the project and move on. Instead they are trying to offer more time as to give themselves lead way and more time to fix issues.
They've admitted their actions may have not been in their best interest. You don't have to resub but give them a second chance to get it right. I know some won't, to SE those customers are lost, but i think a fair few will give SE their second chance to make FF11 part 2 so to speak.
Help me Bioware, you're my only hope.
Is ToR going to be good? Dude it's Bioware making a freaking star wars game, all signs point to awesome. -G4tv MMo report.
Freaking best move I've seen a MMO developer do in a long time, probably ever. They seriously need some major applause for thise.
You just fell for the human pychological phenomenon of gaps. They were so bad, and now they do something they absolutely had to do to stay afloat anyway, and bam, instant goodwill. Bank it.
Not at all.
If I had fallen for some psychological trick, I would go out and buy a game that I want tomorrow. Instead, I'm going to keep waiting it out, until they fix the issues I know they are going to fix.
It's more of, a Developer actually admitting that they were wrong and instead of trying to hide it, deny it and keep raking in money, they are actually taking actions to appease their current population to give them time to fix it, so they don't lose their customers forever.
Most games, basically say "The game isn't broke. YOU'RE BROKE! Here take this shiny thing and stfu." WAR did it, AoC did it, WoW does it all the freaking time, Fallen Earth does it, EVE does it, Darkfall does it, we all know how APB turned out, and I could keep going and going down the left on the side all the way to the end.
Great business move and a great move to give them time.
They can see who has cancelled the sub, which I would guess would be 75%+ of the 300K that bought it or so. (estimates of course) They know they aren't going to be 'raking in money' in a couple week so they very strategically are trying to save face by letting people play for for another 30 days since they know they lost 75%+ of there subs money next month anyways. Great PR move but don't make it seem like its anything other than a than trying to save face for screwing over their customers more than any AAA ever has. WAR, AoC, and WoW weren't half as empty as FFXIV combined.
They can see who has cancelled the sub, which I would guess would be 75%+ of the 300K that bought it or so. (estimates of course) They know they aren't going to be 'raking in money' in a couple week so they very strategically are trying to save face by letting people play for for another 30 days since they know they lost 75%+ of there subs money next month anyways. Great PR move but don't make it seem like its anything other than a than trying to save face for screwing over their customers more than any AAA ever has. WAR, AoC, and WoW weren't half as empty as FFXIV combined.
If they don't fix anything, then they just made alot of people aware that they need to cancel their accounts before they have to start paying.
It would be a pretty stupid move, if it was just for the sake of PR.
They can see who has cancelled the sub, which I would guess would be 75%+ of the 300K that bought it or so. (estimates of course) They know they aren't going to be 'raking in money' in a couple week so they very strategically are trying to save face by letting people play for for another 30 days since they know they lost 75%+ of there subs money next month anyways. Great PR move but don't make it seem like its anything other than a than trying to save face for screwing over their customers more than any AAA ever has. WAR, AoC, and WoW weren't half as empty as FFXIV combined.
If they don't fix anything, then they just made alot of people aware that they need to cancel their accounts before they have to start paying.
It would be a pretty stupid move, if it was just for the sake of PR.
You didn't say anything . Everyone already cancelled their accounts, that is why it's smart PR to say "We are letting everyone play for free for another 30 days!" But really, most people already stopping paying and don't want to play anymore that they are 'helping out'. It's like if you saw a movie, you hated it, and the company says "Here you go Hatter, we are SO generous we are willing to let you see it again, for FREE!"
Everyone sees this in the paper and says wow, what a nice company owning up and making this customer happy. Meantime, you're like WTF? I don't want to see it again, I want to see a movie that is good and finished...
They can see who has cancelled the sub, which I would guess would be 75%+ of the 300K that bought it or so. (estimates of course) They know they aren't going to be 'raking in money' in a couple week so they very strategically are trying to save face by letting people play for for another 30 days since they know they lost 75%+ of there subs money next month anyways. Great PR move but don't make it seem like its anything other than a than trying to save face for screwing over their customers more than any AAA ever has. WAR, AoC, and WoW weren't half as empty as FFXIV combined.
If they don't fix anything, then they just made alot of people aware that they need to cancel their accounts before they have to start paying.
It would be a pretty stupid move, if it was just for the sake of PR.
You didn't say anything . Everyone already cancelled their accounts, that is why it's smart PR to say "We are letting everyone play for free for another 30 days!" But really, most people already stopping paying and don't want to play anymore that they are 'helping out'. It's like if you saw a movie, you hated it, and the company says "Here you go Hatter, we are SO generous we are willing to let you see it again, for FREE!"
Everyone sees this in the paper and says wow, what a nice company owning up and making this customer happy. Meantime, you're like WTF? I don't want to see it again, I want to see a movie that is good and finished...
No, there are alot of people who do not cancel their accounts and just forget about them until they see it on their Visa bill. It's not the majority, by any means, but it would translate into a considerable percentage of money if everyone is in fact, cancelling their accounts.
It takes time to fix problems, they are just buying their time to keep as many people as they can shortly after launch, why they throw out some patches and try to make headway on fixing the problems before they lose those subscriptions for ever.
They can see who has cancelled the sub, which I would guess would be 75%+ of the 300K that bought it or so. (estimates of course) They know they aren't going to be 'raking in money' in a couple week so they very strategically are trying to save face by letting people play for for another 30 days since they know they lost 75%+ of there subs money next month anyways. Great PR move but don't make it seem like its anything other than a than trying to save face for screwing over their customers more than any AAA ever has. WAR, AoC, and WoW weren't half as empty as FFXIV combined.
If they don't fix anything, then they just made alot of people aware that they need to cancel their accounts before they have to start paying.
It would be a pretty stupid move, if it was just for the sake of PR.
You didn't say anything . Everyone already cancelled their accounts, that is why it's smart PR to say "We are letting everyone play for free for another 30 days!" But really, most people already stopping paying and don't want to play anymore that they are 'helping out'. It's like if you saw a movie, you hated it, and the company says "Here you go Hatter, we are SO generous we are willing to let you see it again, for FREE!"
Everyone sees this in the paper and says wow, what a nice company owning up and making this customer happy. Meantime, you're like WTF? I don't want to see it again, I want to see a movie that is good and finished...
This is why I love mmorpg.com.
There's really such a wide variety of amazing views.
So it's easy for me to love this community.
I especially love the people who defend this game to the bitter death while ignoring flaws, the angry "consumer power reigns supreme I'll use my money to vote" users, the "Square Enix screwed up for the last time I'm never going to ever play FFXIV again" users who will still be here tomorrow, the vitriolic flamespitting dragon "SE stole my money" users, the negative Nancy "nothing is ever going to work out, it's pointless to try, this game is already dead" users, the "I don't know how to accept sincere apologies" users (see also: The my name is ____ you killed my father, prepare to die users), the list goes on but I enjoy all your company
My two favorite types though are the "Corporate Conspiracy" users and of course the reasonable and rational (maybe even witty!) users!
I too in my spare time after a night of sleep deprivation and partying too hard like to think that all corporations are out to get me and that they lie with every other tortured breath they take, that and the government of course. Both are conspiring to take my hard earned money so they can just laugh in my face, cackling with glee, because that's how business works!
So I salute you mmorpg.com you make my evenings cheery and you bring a smile to my face
There's really such a wide variety of amazing views.
So it's easy for me to love this community.
I especially love the people who defend this game to the bitter death while ignoring flaws, the angry "consumer power reigns supreme I'll use my money to vote" users, the "Square Enix screwed up for the last time I'm never going to ever play FFXIV again" users who will still be here tomorrow, the vitriolic flamespitting dragon "SE stole my money" users, the negative Nancy "nothing is ever going to work out, it's pointless to try, this game is already dead" users, the "I don't know how to accept sincere apologies" users (see also: The my name is ____ you killed my father, prepare to die users), the list goes on but I enjoy all your company
My two favorite types though are the "Corporate Conspiracy" users and of course the reasonable and rational (maybe even witty!) users!
I too in my spare time after a night of sleep deprivation and partying too hard like to think that all corporations are out to get me and that they lie with every other tortured breath they take, that and the government of course. Both are conspiring to take my hard earned money so they can just laugh in my face, cackling with glee, because that's how business works!
So I salute you mmorpg.com you make my evenings cheery and you bring a smile to my face
I'm curious. What kind of user do you view yourself as?
We're going to release a game in as bad of shape as possible so that when we post future updates, they'll seem astounding and show we're making progress.
Thank you for reminding me why I never posted here in the past, you sad, bitter little man.
They can see who has cancelled the sub, which I would guess would be 75%+ of the 300K that bought it or so. (estimates of course) They know they aren't going to be 'raking in money' in a couple week so they very strategically are trying to save face by letting people play for for another 30 days since they know they lost 75%+ of there subs money next month anyways. Great PR move but don't make it seem like its anything other than a than trying to save face for screwing over their customers more than any AAA ever has. WAR, AoC, and WoW weren't half as empty as FFXIV combined.
If they don't fix anything, then they just made alot of people aware that they need to cancel their accounts before they have to start paying.
It would be a pretty stupid move, if it was just for the sake of PR.
You didn't say anything . Everyone already cancelled their accounts, that is why it's smart PR to say "We are letting everyone play for free for another 30 days!" But really, most people already stopping paying and don't want to play anymore that they are 'helping out'. It's like if you saw a movie, you hated it, and the company says "Here you go Hatter, we are SO generous we are willing to let you see it again, for FREE!"
Everyone sees this in the paper and says wow, what a nice company owning up and making this customer happy. Meantime, you're like WTF? I don't want to see it again, I want to see a movie that is good and finished...
This is why I love mmorpg.com.
There's really such a wide variety of amazing views.
So it's easy for me to love this community.
I especially love the people who defend this game to the bitter death while ignoring flaws, the angry "consumer power reigns supreme I'll use my money to vote" users, the "Square Enix screwed up for the last time I'm never going to ever play FFXIV again" users who will still be here tomorrow, the vitriolic flamespitting dragon "SE stole my money" users, the negative Nancy "nothing is ever going to work out, it's pointless to try, this game is already dead" users, the "I don't know how to accept sincere apologies" users (see also: The my name is ____ you killed my father, prepare to die users), the list goes on but I enjoy all your company
My two favorite types though are the "Corporate Conspiracy" users and of course the reasonable and rational (maybe even witty!) users!
I too in my spare time after a night of sleep deprivation and partying too hard like to think that all corporations are out to get me and that they lie with every other tortured breath they take, that and the government of course. Both are conspiring to take my hard earned money so they can just laugh in my face, cackling with glee, because that's how business works!
So I salute you mmorpg.com you make my evenings cheery and you bring a smile to my face
You didn't say what kind you think I am or Hatter is. It's also sad you just had this great revelation that people have different personalities, perspectives, and opinions. Do you talk to people in real life? It's the same there too
There's really such a wide variety of amazing views.
So it's easy for me to love this community.
I especially love the people who defend this game to the bitter death while ignoring flaws, the angry "consumer power reigns supreme I'll use my money to vote" users, the "Square Enix screwed up for the last time I'm never going to ever play FFXIV again" users who will still be here tomorrow, the vitriolic flamespitting dragon "SE stole my money" users, the negative Nancy "nothing is ever going to work out, it's pointless to try, this game is already dead" users, the "I don't know how to accept sincere apologies" users (see also: The my name is ____ you killed my father, prepare to die users), the list goes on but I enjoy all your company
My two favorite types though are the "Corporate Conspiracy" users and of course the reasonable and rational (maybe even witty!) users!
I too in my spare time after a night of sleep deprivation and partying too hard like to think that all corporations are out to get me and that they lie with every other tortured breath they take, that and the government of course. Both are conspiring to take my hard earned money so they can just laugh in my face, cackling with glee, because that's how business works!
So I salute you mmorpg.com you make my evenings cheery and you bring a smile to my face
I'm curious. What kind of user do you view yourself as?
1 derogatory characterization for people who like the game, 5 derogatory characterizations for people who don't, and faux impartiality. I think it's pretty evident.
You mean like when Blizzard gave players a lot more than 30 days of free time, much of it one day at a time, in the beginning while they sorted their shit out?
Yeah, that was actually pretty cool. For as many problems as I had with that game at launch I felt they handled it rather well from a customer service standpoint. I didn't pay a fee for that game until somewhere around the fourth month into that game. I have always said this was one of the reasons Blizzard did so well despite their launch issues.
Quite a few other companies could have learned from them. Lord knows so many try to copy them in other areas yet when it came to those types of moves they sure didn't.
People can say what they want but I say kudos to SE. It doesn't fix everything by any means but at least it is a start and quite frankly a pretty clear admission that they are aware that many are not happy currently. As another poster said, if Funcom would have done these types of things they could have done a hell of a lot better at appeasing their customers and keeping many more of them around.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
There's really such a wide variety of amazing views.
So it's easy for me to love this community.
I especially love the people who defend this game to the bitter death while ignoring flaws, the angry "consumer power reigns supreme I'll use my money to vote" users, the "Square Enix screwed up for the last time I'm never going to ever play FFXIV again" users who will still be here tomorrow, the vitriolic flamespitting dragon "SE stole my money" users, the negative Nancy "nothing is ever going to work out, it's pointless to try, this game is already dead" users, the "I don't know how to accept sincere apologies" users (see also: The my name is ____ you killed my father, prepare to die users), the list goes on but I enjoy all your company
My two favorite types though are the "Corporate Conspiracy" users and of course the reasonable and rational (maybe even witty!) users!
I too in my spare time after a night of sleep deprivation and partying too hard like to think that all corporations are out to get me and that they lie with every other tortured breath they take, that and the government of course. Both are conspiring to take my hard earned money so they can just laugh in my face, cackling with glee, because that's how business works!
So I salute you mmorpg.com you make my evenings cheery and you bring a smile to my face
I'm curious. What kind of user do you view yourself as?
1 derogatory characterization for people who like the game, 5 derogatory characterizations for people who don't, and faux impartiality. I think it's pretty evident.
Wha?!? Who said anything about being derogatory. I have nothing but complete and utter respect for all of you.
Consumer power is great! Being always right especially when you're a paying customer is like winning the internet every second because apparently nobody is right on the internet but everyone secretly thinks they are...
For those continuously quitting and coming back, I salute you. "Staying the course" obviously doesn't always work so switching it up is a great strategy.
Dragons? I love dragons, Trogdor ranks up there, but I think Albi is probably number 1, such a great story of redemption.
Negative Nancy was great! SNL definitely showed that!
Inigo Montoya? He's a classic.
Anyways you probably get the idea, I look forward to continued intellectual debates
Comments
I agree somewhat...it's costing present players nothing and buys SE some time to improve things and keep more of the player base they currently have amd get some good PR to offset some fo the bad PR they bene getting lately.
I think you may be right about them going into panic mode but I doubt they planned for a money-grab. Don't forget that they didn't just release it here, they also released it in Japan at the same time. Business culture is a bit different there and to do something that dishonorable to your own people just doesn't fly. You will have corporate executives hanging themselves in their offices before you see them laughing all the way to the bank while pitching their customers the middle bone.
All die, so die well.
Both of these analogies are a bit off, really. In Robokapp's, it's more like they're still charging for the steak, but not charging you for your appetizer and dessert. In Hrayr's example, they didn't cover your entire ticket for a free movie - they gave you a voucher for a free small drink and popcorn at your next visit (if that; freaking refreshments at movies are insane).
I don't think this is a bad move on their part, at all. It's far better than doing nothing. Admitting they were wrong and that they're willing to (in some way) make it up to the customer is a great first step. Of course, I have to join the camp that realizes this only satisfies those who were interested in/planning to stay to begin with, unless they would allow you to hold the free month in the way of Crysta or allow the option to activate that month when you choose. At least with that option, the player could just stop playing while they wait for updates that are crucial to their concerns, or maybe even use the Crysta itself for whatever else it's good for (I guess nothing yet; maybe later?). As it stands now, it's still asking that unhappy players continue to play when they've likely lost interest already, essentially offering those players nothing.
Either way, having read through the notes that are up for being fixed first, most of these issues are things that could have and should have been hammered out through the open beta process. Things such as: the lag tweaks they intend to implement which will also allow for more monsters in the world; the simple search feature that's being added; basically all of the relatively minor tweaks and 'fixes' that shouldn't have made it to release in the first place. Isn't half that stuff the entire purpose of an open beta? Rather than releasing the game and unleashing players into their world at such a premium, they should've extended the open beta while these things were taken care of and they could've released in a far better state and avoided a good bit of the immediately poor reactions in the first place, rather than having to play catch-up now. The game isn't even a full month into release and they're already having to offer current customers incentives just to hang onto them, when they could've been fighting much less of an uphill battle had they just delayed a bit longer.
An extra free month is certainly a nice step forward, but it's still only a step on a flight of stairs which, otherwise, could've been much shorter. In the meantime, they've got a ton of work to do both on the game, and to repair their public image. At least they've admitted to and accepted that fact.
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
George Bernard Shaw
What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Oscar Wilde
While I think it is a pretty stand up thing for SE to basically admit to the problems and give people a significant compensation for it, there is still just one problem.
Why would I want another free 30 days when I couldn't force myself to use more than a week of the first 30?
What would really impress me would be if in say 3 months, when they do have these things fixed and they want to show them off to people to try to get them back in the game. If then they offered a free 30 days to replace the 30 lost with the original purchase.
I suspect, however, that my free 30 will run right after my current 30 runs out in about a week. And I will have to pay for a month to try it again after the ps3 release. Well, not likely to happen. I will wait for a free re-enlistment program like Warhammer is currently doing. Which, by the way, is turning out to be a heck of a lot of fun.
All die, so die well.
Of course he does... Nothing new there at all. Though he's unarguably on the wrong side of the argument this time.
Developers don't give out 30 days of free playtime and apologize for the state their game is in when it's going well.
There's simply no way to spin this as a positive for FFXIV's current condition. It is what it is. Though, it does speak well for SE.
SE botched it with FFXIV's launch, they are - very much to their credit - owning up to it and doing what they can to right it.
Now let's hope they really dig in, get their noses to the grind-stone and turn that ship around.
There's still an epic game hiding in there somewhere and, if FFXI's any indication, I'm still confident SE can bring it out over time. I just don't know WTF they were thinking with some of the choices they made during its development.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
The price didn't go down, it has always been cheaper on Gamestation, no idea why though. I bought it there because of the lower price.
I agree with everything you said that´s why I was so amazed to see the state of the game at launch, I never expected this from a company like this in million years, I felt like if they ever release an unfinished or unpolished MMO we are going to see harakiris performed by execs.
It´s mind bogling to me how was it possible for so much fail to go unoticed.
The only logical explanation is that it didn´t go unoticed and for some reason a critical decision was made to go for a money grab, I can´t explain it any other way.
There is just too much fail here that even a total dissconect with the player base or massive incompetence can´t explain it.
I care about your gaming 'problems' and teenage anxieties, just not today.
Just a marketing move to salvage XIVs reputation for the holiday season and PS3 launch in the future.
Good on SE to do this, but it would've been just smarter to launch in November like originally planned.
Not at all.
If I had fallen for some psychological trick, I would go out and buy a game that I want tomorrow. Instead, I'm going to keep waiting it out, until they fix the issues I know they are going to fix.
It's more of, a Developer actually admitting that they were wrong and instead of trying to hide it, deny it and keep raking in money, they are actually taking actions to appease their current population to give them time to fix it, so they don't lose their customers forever.
Most games, basically say "The game isn't broke. YOU'RE BROKE! Here take this shiny thing and stfu." WAR did it, AoC did it, WoW does it all the freaking time, Fallen Earth does it, EVE does it, Darkfall does it, we all know how APB turned out, and I could keep going and going down the left on the side all the way to the end.
Great business move and a great move to give them time.
But I understand that some people think that every company is some super evil monster spawned from Hitler himself, but that doesn't make it true. If they don't fix the game and push at least a few good updates out during this time, they will still lose the money. They understand this and seem to be working on it.
Should they have waited to release the game? Probably.
Too bad that's not how business works.
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That's not how BAD business works. There are plenty examples of companies that have done it right (Turbine) and companies that do it wrong (SE).
i'll agree it's a sign that they've adknowledged the discontent of alot of the people who have susbscribed and felt cheated or disappointed, hopefully they are listening closely. a company like SE....should take one disgruntled customer like 50 cancelled subs, especially in this day and age....money is tight and people won't put up with product they're not satisfied with. i'm not unhappy, but i know it needs improving...alot of it. i'm willing to bear with them, and now i got an extra 30 free days to do just that. i'm not one but i know more than a few people who were waiting for their free time to be up and then just leave....hopefully they get to work, like yesterday.
Played:FFXI, WoW, LOTR,EQ. Playing:FFXIV.
Looking Forward To:DCU, SWTOR.
This is a typical response from a company. It's also probably going to be a life saving one for them. Companies do this when they want PR boost or to get people back. IN this case it's to get people to stick around while they massively improve the game.
Few MMO companies do this now a days. That shows something on SE part. They care about keeping their customers and keeping their product alive. Otherwise they wouldn't have done it. They would have just gotten all the money they could, scrap the project and move on. Instead they are trying to offer more time as to give themselves lead way and more time to fix issues.
They've admitted their actions may have not been in their best interest. You don't have to resub but give them a second chance to get it right. I know some won't, to SE those customers are lost, but i think a fair few will give SE their second chance to make FF11 part 2 so to speak.
Help me Bioware, you're my only hope.
Is ToR going to be good? Dude it's Bioware making a freaking star wars game, all signs point to awesome. -G4tv MMo report.
They can see who has cancelled the sub, which I would guess would be 75%+ of the 300K that bought it or so. (estimates of course) They know they aren't going to be 'raking in money' in a couple week so they very strategically are trying to save face by letting people play for for another 30 days since they know they lost 75%+ of there subs money next month anyways. Great PR move but don't make it seem like its anything other than a than trying to save face for screwing over their customers more than any AAA ever has. WAR, AoC, and WoW weren't half as empty as FFXIV combined.
If they don't fix anything, then they just made alot of people aware that they need to cancel their accounts before they have to start paying.
It would be a pretty stupid move, if it was just for the sake of PR.
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You didn't say anything
. Everyone already cancelled their accounts, that is why it's smart PR to say "We are letting everyone play for free for another 30 days!" But really, most people already stopping paying and don't want to play anymore that they are 'helping out'. It's like if you saw a movie, you hated it, and the company says "Here you go Hatter, we are SO generous we are willing to let you see it again, for FREE!"
Everyone sees this in the paper and says wow, what a nice company owning up and making this customer happy. Meantime, you're like WTF? I don't want to see it again, I want to see a movie that is good and finished...
They should suspend suscriptions untilt he PS3 release because all this is right now is a paid beta until the PS3 launch anyway.
No, there are alot of people who do not cancel their accounts and just forget about them until they see it on their Visa bill. It's not the majority, by any means, but it would translate into a considerable percentage of money if everyone is in fact, cancelling their accounts.
It takes time to fix problems, they are just buying their time to keep as many people as they can shortly after launch, why they throw out some patches and try to make headway on fixing the problems before they lose those subscriptions for ever.
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This is why I love mmorpg.com.
There's really such a wide variety of amazing views.
So it's easy for me to love this community.
I especially love the people who defend this game to the bitter death while ignoring flaws, the angry "consumer power reigns supreme I'll use my money to vote" users, the "Square Enix screwed up for the last time I'm never going to ever play FFXIV again" users who will still be here tomorrow, the vitriolic flamespitting dragon "SE stole my money" users, the negative Nancy "nothing is ever going to work out, it's pointless to try, this game is already dead" users, the "I don't know how to accept sincere apologies" users (see also: The my name is ____ you killed my father, prepare to die users), the list goes on but I enjoy all your company
My two favorite types though are the "Corporate Conspiracy" users and of course the reasonable and rational (maybe even witty!) users!
I too in my spare time after a night of sleep deprivation and partying too hard like to think that all corporations are out to get me and that they lie with every other tortured breath they take, that and the government of course. Both are conspiring to take my hard earned money so they can just laugh in my face, cackling with glee, because that's how business works!
So I salute you mmorpg.com you make my evenings cheery and you bring a smile to my face
I'm curious. What kind of user do you view yourself as?
Thank you for reminding me why I never posted here in the past, you sad, bitter little man.
The earnest kind that means everything they say?
You didn't say what kind you think I am or Hatter is. It's also sad you just had this great revelation that people have different personalities, perspectives, and opinions. Do you talk to people in real life? It's the same there too
1 derogatory characterization for people who like the game, 5 derogatory characterizations for people who don't, and faux impartiality. I think it's pretty evident.
Yeah, that was actually pretty cool. For as many problems as I had with that game at launch I felt they handled it rather well from a customer service standpoint. I didn't pay a fee for that game until somewhere around the fourth month into that game. I have always said this was one of the reasons Blizzard did so well despite their launch issues.
Quite a few other companies could have learned from them. Lord knows so many try to copy them in other areas yet when it came to those types of moves they sure didn't.
People can say what they want but I say kudos to SE. It doesn't fix everything by any means but at least it is a start and quite frankly a pretty clear admission that they are aware that many are not happy currently. As another poster said, if Funcom would have done these types of things they could have done a hell of a lot better at appeasing their customers and keeping many more of them around.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
Wha?!? Who said anything about being derogatory. I have nothing but complete and utter respect for all of you.
Consumer power is great! Being always right especially when you're a paying customer is like winning the internet every second because apparently nobody is right on the internet but everyone secretly thinks they are...
For those continuously quitting and coming back, I salute you. "Staying the course" obviously doesn't always work so switching it up is a great strategy.
Dragons? I love dragons, Trogdor ranks up there, but I think Albi is probably number 1, such a great story of redemption.
Negative Nancy was great! SNL definitely showed that!
Inigo Montoya? He's a classic.
Anyways you probably get the idea, I look forward to continued intellectual debates