Do we even play the same game? Half of the point of crafting in this game is vanity and minions.
Given that in the past costumes used to be available in the game via sub-quests and challenges, yes, they do.
Rewards are from activities, but when evaluating what 'game content' actually is, the activities are the game content, the rewards necessary to advance (exp, key item, quest completion flag, etc.) are the actual rewards, the material rewards a bonus. Cash shop costumes are not keys to content, they are merely vanity. And vanity is exactly what the word is.
I am honestly more then a little bit surprised that you of all people are making these claims with how much time and effort you have put into the non making fite and leveling parts of the game in gardening. My exact problem with things being sold is that they take no ingame mechanics or in world logic to get, and disagree fully with your claim that they do not represent a form of progression or utilize game mechanics. There is and should be more to an mmorpg world then just killing things as a way to progress, and how your character looks/minions you have is part of that. Do you really believe that the only actual important part of the game is combat and results of combat? I wouldn't find that odd since I'm sure it is the opinion held by the majority of players, and one of the things that has led to just about all instances of even travel in mmorpgs to be viewed as things you just skip to get to the real game. That however is another subject.
Also yes, I think dlc costumes in Tales games is full bullshit too. In older games getting a new outfit and cool things like that would be the result of a side quest or knowing where to buy it from or some other in game method that made the game better. Much like how getting vanity gear/minions/what not now in FF14 comes from crafting/questing/chest drops/gardening. I ask you again. Why is it okay to cheapen that part of the game by letting you just buy it, but not another? The lack of charging for things that should just be a natural part of the gameworld is the first and last reason why I prefer subscription mmorpgs. It continues to disappoint me how willing people are to pay on top of a sub for things that could and should be integrated into the game.
Vanity items can represent a form of progression, but it is only a representation, and not the actual activity itself. Someone can craft an item, but the enjoyment of the activity of crafting is separate from the enjoyment of possessing/wearing the item. Is how you look in a virtual world so enjoyable to you that the prospect of someone else being able to obtain the same looks with real money ruins the game for you? If a person has extra money in real life and uses it through official channels to deck his virtual character in items that do not change his ability to do content, does it bother you a lot that this person did not sit down and exchange his time for such cosmetic items instead?
Precisely because these items do not use game mechanics that placing them in a cash shop is not a huge deal. You don't need to wear a yukata to be an effective dps in raids. You don't need the halloween costume to progress in the story. You don't need chocobo barding to unlock a dungeon. The content of the game is in the game; the development team makes effort in making the high level, in-game obtainable gear look good and cool. Crafting and gathering are similarly undisturbed by the presence of cash shop cosmetic items.
I suppose a tank wearing a cash bought bikini is breaking your immersion so much more than a tank wearing a in-game obtained bikini. Moreover, I imagine a High Allagan healer looks at home with the NPCs in Gridania.
To this date, with all the gardening I did, I do not have a butt pillow, a broom minion, any of the mandragora minions, the furniture pieces that require gardening items, and the total of what I earned from gardening is probably less than 100k, given the extraneous items sold to NPCs and on the market board for low prices are the only sales whose gil returns I keep. Money obtained from selling a few minions back at the height of their value financed the FC coffers and provided the rewards for an FC contest. Other items were used full on for FC furniture, and 20+ thavnairian onions, with a few grown back when each was worth 5 million gil, were handed out free to FC members who requested them.
For all the fits I throw, I enjoy gardening and it is satisfying to be able to help those blocked by a gil wall from gardening on their own. I don't need a gardening robe of honor to show off those accomplishments, nor do I need it to make myself feel good about looking like I've done something exceptional. I don't make gil off of those who do.
Do you play games to have fun or to get cool costumes? Is it that if you don't get the latter, the game is completely unenjoyable? The words 'vanity' and 'cosmetic' are used to describe such items because they are items for show and nothing else. To argue that such items for show are 'game content' like story, dungeons, raids, crafting/gathering, and even hunts indicates a misplaced fixation on ego-oriented material rewards. Nobody plays Bayonetta because they can dress her up in different costumes.
Perhaps there is reason to suspect the cash shop may slide into "pay to win" territory. But right now, people are voting with their wallets, and they're buying the cash shop items. If that changes to bad, people will also vote with their wallets, and leave the game.