It is a Life

Square-Enix recently geared attention towards them for allowing some of the Final Fantasy XIII cast to model for a famous cloth designer brand. As usual, some gamers hated what they see as a sell-out of loved characters to gain some money. But I appreciate the initiative, as it can be positive to the industry and to gamers.

Game companies only have two main sources of income: games and merchandising associated to games. So, the few ways you have to increase the income for those companies is either to make more money out of games (which most gamers hate, like DLC) or to capitalize more on merchandising. The advantage of the second is that it generate money to the company without having to displease gamers, and we all know how gamers hate to pay even a dime more for their games.

So, by investing in using the characters they created to sell stuff, like toys, licensed items like clothes and accessories or to make ads, game companies can profit more and gamers can let go a sigh of relieve knowing the more those companies can profit from sources out of games, the less inclined they are to charge more for games.

Unless you are on of those who thinks you own the entire franchise and the creators of them cannot do anything without your consent. In that case, I really think you deserve to pay more for games.