in-game-stores
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Could Battle Coins be an earnable currency for the in-game store?
Over at MMO-Champion recently, some new strings were discovered in the client that have begun to cause some discussion. They point to something called Battle Coins being used on the in-game store in China and Korea at least, as part of the in-game store. These are alongside what's called a "Test Currency", which indicates that they might not be the only payment method available. Now, as we say a lot round here at WoW Insider, this is datamining, and should be taken as such. Don't consider it fact, consider it a possibility. The notion of a second game-specific currency being part of the store opens up an interesting option: could this currency be obtained in-game somehow? Of course, it would likely be bought with real money and then spent, just like Riot Points. But, if it were the case that it could be earned in-game, what method would Blizzard use? Maybe it'd work like the Riot RP versus IP system, where you can use real-world currency or in-game earned currency to purchase things from the in-game store. Maybe you could use gold to buy battle coins, on the BMAH or in another in-game avenue. It seems less likely that there would be a way to grind them out, like farming Lesser Charms, or similar, but you never know. If this is the case, and to be abundantly clear we don't know for sure that it is, would this change your opinion of the in-game store? Would you feel happier knowing you could convert gold into Battle Coins to spend? Or would you only be happy if it was another more grindable currency, such as JP or Lesser Charms?
WoW Insider Round Table: On the In-Game Store (for 99c)
The WoW Insider Round Table returns with a somewhat longer discussion of the hottest news of the moment: the In-Game Store. This was recently datamined, and latterly confirmed by Blizzard. We start off by getting a clarification from Matticus on just how Asian servers work, and why their different structure came about, then move into why this store is relevant for those regions. Then we chat about the in-game XP boost, and whether that is a good or a bad thing to sell on the store, before moving into uncharted waters and talking about the other items that have been both confirmed and rumored to be appearing. The panel are all very positive about the idea of an in-game store, and would encourage more and more items to be sold on it, or at least would buy them themselves, but also see the downsides and the risks of such a move by Blizzard. Overall, the end of the world is not nigh just yet. The panel this week was Dawn Moore, Matt "Matticus" Low, Sarah Pine and Olivia Grace.
No microtransactions in Final Fantasy XIV, but many beta screenshots
There are plenty of contentious issues in the MMO field, but one of the biggest at the moment is microtransactions. Controversy over the C-Store, the $25 "sparkle pony" and subsequent imitators, and the general balance in the burgeoning free-to-play field have made the players of nearly every game form an opinion. But those who detest the practice can take heart -- according to Hiromichi Tanaka, Final Fantasy XIV will not be including any sort of in-game store. That's from a recent interview from JPgames.de, translated by the FFXIVCore fansite community. According to Tanaka, Square-Enix isn't necessarily opposed to the idea if the demand is present, but absolutely does not want in-game power to correspond to real-world money. He also confirmed that players will be allowed to pick their server at launch, unlike the server roulette present at Final Fantasy XI's launch. If the interview isn't enough to tide you over, the game's beta has been given a brief writeup from Famitsu (translated from the Japanese), and there's an excellent gallery of screenshots available here. There are just over two months until the launch of Final Fantasy XIV, and they look to be an exciting ride.
