I was considering buying Final Fantasy XI Online today, when I got to thinking… Is it worth it? In the past I have very much enjoyed the Final Fantasy series of games, right up to the bubblegum-ish FFX-2. But FFXI kind of poses a philosophical internal debate. If I were to buy it, I would buy it for PS2 as opposed to the PC version. This is not because I believe using it on the PS2 will improve the experience necessarily, but rather it would pre-empt possible conflicts with my younger brother about who uses the computer. So the initial layout would be $106.50US (allowing for Minnesota’s 6.5% sales tax) to get the game… But wait! There’s more ! Not only do I gain the privilege of buying the actual game (and needed accessories), but I get to continue buying the game ! For the princely sum of $12.95US/month (or $155.40US/year) I get to keep playing it! I’m sorry Square-Enix, but no game is worth paying $261.90US to play. I prefer to buy my games when I buy them, not lease them. I would even disregard that entire issue if the game provided a decent single player, non-online experience (yes, I realize the entire “thing” with FFXI is the online experience).

I considered posing this topic on Square-Enix’s PlayOnline forum (although I am sure my login has long since been deleted; it has been at least 18 months since I last logged in), but I think that would be a little like walking in to a meeting of the Republican National Committee and shouting out ol’ King George the Second Bush is a poor leader.

It seems that these pay-to-play MMRPGs are, with few exceptions, a niche market. That would seem to explain why ones from smaller companies have not done terribly well despite the fact that the game itself is good. The other downside to this is that many other software companies are seeing that Square, one of the pioneering companies of the gaming industry, is getting away with what amounts to legalized extortion, and they are getting ideas of subscription based games themselves. Why Square cannot follow the immensely successful model of Blizzard’s BattleNet free-online play system is beyond me. I would sincerely prefer the occasional inability to log in or the banner ads to having to pay $155.40US/year to play a game I already bought.

There. That is my little rant of this week. Please feel free to comment or post your own feelings either specific to FFXI or to pay-to-play schemes in general.

p.s.
I really was on my way to Best Buy to buy it when the above struck me...

I'll never pay for an online game again. I've played Ultima Online, and due to the lack of service I was getting and a 50% increase in the monthly fee I am now the proud owner of my own server. Amazing how little hardware you need for it, and amazing I didn't see that EA/OSI were just exploiting us earlier. I've added a lot of content myself, and in all that time NO serous updating was done on the official shards, despite to the ever growing complaints.

Once more, I'll never pay for an online game again, the argument of maintenance costs is bollocks, can do that for $3 a month too and still make profit.

ive playeed final fantasy XI as well, i didnt really like it due to the online part, ive never been a fan of online RPG's, look at everquest, expensive, too many people who over react, people have been killed in real life for killing someons character in everquest, thats how sad things can get with online games, but the idea of paying to play a game we just payed around 50-100 dollars for is pathetic, everquest is a prime example for how sad something can get, and i for one will never play an online RPG again.

Yeah, i just don't like the idea of having to pay for a game after i bought it. Plus, the game costs $100 US kinda makes it expensive. Sorta like Steel Battalion, where you paid 200 for a FREAKIN HUGE CONTROLLER.

You can call me pathetic, but I play RUNESCAPE! THAT'S RIGHT!! AND I ENJOY IT!

Hold on now, steel batalion was an oddity among gems among japanese fighting robot games. That was really intense, and might be worth it if the visuals are allright.

The whole basis behind MMORPGs is the fact you're paying $10 - $15 / month so the developers can keep developing and expanding on the game structure they've laid down. One only need look at EQ when it first started, and EQ now (WITHOUT addons) to notice the developers have added more than any single-player-orientated-but-with-multi-player-functions game. You're paying for the large number of servers and dedicated back-bone connections which are fuelling the servers which enable thousands of simultaneous users at once, and you're paying for new content, new areas to explore, et cetera, et cetera.

Despite what some have said, MMORPGs are the current "fad" of the gaming industry and many companies are buying in on the action. An example of a nobody company making it big with MMORPGs would have to be Mythic with DAoC. I played Mythics original games; Rolemaster: Magestorm, Splatterball, Darkness Falls and they were all great - 8 - 10 years old now, but great. They really hit it off well with DAoC and, as a still paying customer of Magestorm at Mythic Realms, I'm happy that they have.

Unfortunately the whole gaming industry is flopping on the basis of "release now, patch later" - thats what I hate - companies deliberately releasing a buggy game with the promise of patches later on. But what I also hate is companies saying they'll have a game out by such and such a date, only to post pone it for a year. Its as if they say to themselves "Hey, we've announced the release date..now lets sit back and eat tea and digestives".

Sucky, but true.