FFXIV Team Sacked. Going F2P Until It's "Good".

[Angelo Credo]

In a bid to bring my own little bit of gaming news to the forum, I stumbled across this recently, which may be of interest to anybody who doesn't know.

Thank you for your continued interest in and support of FINAL FANTASY XIV.

While more than two months have passed since the official launch of FINAL FANTASY XIV service, we deeply regret that the game has yet to achieve the level of enjoyability that FINAL FANTASY fans have come to expect from the franchise, and for this we offer our sincerest of apologies.

After thorough deliberation on how to meet those expectations, it was decided that the most viable step was to approach improvements under new leadership and with a restructured team.

To realize this vision, and in doing so, provide our customers with a better game experience, we have assembled our company's top talent and resources. Taking over the role of producer and director is Naoki Yoshida, a passionate individual for whom customer satisfaction has always taken top priority. Not only is he one of our Group's most accomplished and experienced members, Naoki Yoshida is also a charismatic leader possessing the skill to bring together and effectively helm a team which encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. We also welcome several new leaders handpicked from other projects to work with the existing talent on FINAL FANTASY XIV.

We realize time is of the essence and are fully determined to provide our customers with quality service. It is because of this that we ask our customers to be patient until we are able to confidently present them with a concrete plan outlining FINAL FANTASY XIV's new direction. The free trial period will be extended until that time.

Regarding the PlayStation 3, it is not our wish to release a simple conversion of the Windows version in its current state, but rather an update that includes all the improvements we have planned. For that reason, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release of the PlayStation 3 version beyond the originally announced date of March 2011.

The FINAL FANTASY XIV team is working hard to bring our customers an unparalleled adventure, and we ask for your continued understanding and support as we march ever diligently towards that goal.

President and CEO, Yoichi Wada

Player numbers became so embarrassing that Square Enix had to hide them, so just what state server populations are in is no longer known – given the scope of the announcement it seems likely they have declined even further.

In light of Square Enix’s other comments it seems increasingly likely the game will end up being sidelined as permanently free to play with players being nickelled and dimed for items and extras – certainly recovering from the existing PR cataclysm seems unlikely.

Shame really, could have been somewhat promising if done right from the start.

 

[aka958]

Well... My friend showed me this earlier today, saying if WoW is a bad game, then what is this game?

My response was: "I dislike Final Fantasy XIV but Wow... is just disgusting."
Of course that is my opinion and all but let's focus on Final Fantasy XIV right now.

The way the game is now is how it should have been during the beta, not how it should be now. The game will remain a free to play until they get their asses straight and do a damn thing about the game, not letting people charge for crap I think that was an honorable move. Final Fantasy XIV has it's moments, it has it's splendid places but everything although new feels overused and overly repetetive. With the server lagg (who has been said to be fixed, I have yet to see as I haven't gone close to the game for months) things that already were a tedious task like selling, crafting, or equipping abilities due to the User Interface it became 5x worse.

Sell stuff in any other MMO, takes about a minute, no?

Sell stuff in Final Fantasy XIV with the server lagg takes about ten minutes to twenty. That should just take five minutes now that the lagg is no bother anymore.

Still, this game is far from complete. It's crafting system is deep and it's class system is too. But who would want to go fighting the same things over and over and over again with a good battle system? The lack of dungeons, variety in fiends and ANY adventures at all except that even more repetetive Guildleve system makes this game shallow even though it has some really deep elements.

Graphics, beautiful. Landscape, repetetive.

Music, great.

Gameplay mechanics, deep. Gameplay, shallow.

Yeah, you get the point.

 

[Richtofen]

I'm glad I didn't get that game right now, it seems they are in dire need to get their sh!t straight. :lol:

 

[Meg]

Not surprising. I wouldn't be surprised if they thought they could get away with pretty graphics and the FF name alone.

 

[Richtofen]

Not surprising. I wouldn't be surprised if they thought they could get away with pretty graphics and the FF name alone.

Actually, someone did try that with a movie...called Final Fantasy: Spirits Within. I thought it was a rather weird movie to be under the FF name...

 

[Meg]

I watched it before I even knew what FF was. Once I did find out what it was I looked about on the movie and thought "Whut?"

 

[Dark Drakan]

I always said another Final Fantasy MMO would fall on its face like FFXI did and boy did it do just that.

 

[Meg]

I feel like Square wasted the numbers XI and XIV. Here's hoping they don't get any "third times the charm" ideas and make another MMO.

 

[aka958]

I always said another Final Fantasy MMO would fall on its face like FFXI did and boy did it do just that.

FFXI was not a failure. Many people still like it and play it. Of course it's not getting any attention now because after XI's release the hotshot World of Warcraft came and sucked up all the fame.
FFXI weren't as close to fall on it's face like FFXIV. FFXIV really really screwed it up.

I feel like Square wasted the numbers XI and XIV. Here's hoping they don't get any "third times the charm" ideas and make another MMO.

You say that? But you don't even like the series. :\

There is no waste in the numbers, they are what they are. But FFXIV can be alot more, and this thread says that Square will work for making it better. Surely they have lost huge numbers and many won't get back, but this is a must for them, they have to fix it and maybe people will come back, because many have said they will come back in the future when the game is "fixed".

MMO's is just not everyone's thing. Me, I honestly HATE MMO's. But there are many who like FFXI and there are those who like FFXIV's systems as well but they just want more variety then copy pasta terrain and same guild leve system for everything. That is hopefully what Square will fix.

On another note: Yay I don't have to pay! XD

 

[Richtofen]

I actually thought XI was great until a couple years ago when they introduced the Level Sync system and sh!t...then it started going down hill from there. :\

 

[Dark Drakan]

FFXI was not a failure. Many people still like it and play it. Of course it's not getting any attention now because after XI's release the hotshot World of Warcraft came and sucked up all the fame.
FFXI weren't as close to fall on it's face like FFXIV. FFXIV really really screwed it up.

3 friends purchased it and played it for about 4 hours and then binned it after sitting through 11 - 14 hours of updates playing it and finding the game was barren and there was barely anyone online playing it. That is not how to make a good MMO... Ive never played WoW and never will but it has kept people playing religiously for many years now and people have put thousands of hours into it, must be doing something right.

 

[Richtofen]

3 friends purchased it and played it for about 4 hours and then binned it after sitting through 11 - 14 hours of updates playing it and finding the game was barren and there was barely anyone online playing it. That is not how to make a good MMO... Ive never played WoW and never will but it has kept people playing religiously for many years now and people have put thousands of hours into it, must be doing something right.

Did they get the game recently? If so yeah, there won't be anyone on much anymore because most of the players are busy getting lvl 90 or quit for IV. :lol:

I need to find another MMO or another game in general. Games lately seem to be going a bit stale for my taste. :\

 

[Angelo Credo]

I need to find another MMO or another game in general. Games lately seem to be going a bit stale for my taste. :\

Wait for Guild Wars 2 to come out next year.
That actually looks good, and it'll have a hell of a following coming over from the first game.

 

[Richtofen]

Wait for Guild Wars 2 to come out next year.
That actually looks good, and it'll have a hell of a following coming over from the first game.

Yeah, I'm getting pumped actually. I played GW when it first came out, it was fun while it lasted. I've checked out their offical GW2 website and hell, it looks like they've thought it through a lot. I can only find out when it comes out. ^_^

 

[aka958]

3 friends purchased it and played it for about 4 hours and then binned it after sitting through 11 - 14 hours of updates playing it and finding the game was barren and there was barely anyone online playing it. That is not how to make a good MMO... Ive never played WoW and never will but it has kept people playing religiously for many years now and people have put thousands of hours into it, must be doing something right.

Let me guess, it was at the release?

3 friends is not that much in comparison to a fanbase. Maybe it didn't fall to their tastes but that doesn't mean that it was a failure. Just look at the fanbase now.

Wait for Guild Wars 2 to come out next year.
That actually looks good, and it'll have a hell of a following coming over from the first game.

Yeah, that game looks so damn good. And the best friggin' part, it is free to play!

 

[Meg]

FFXI was not a failure. Many people still like it and play it. Of course it's not getting any attention now because after XI's release the hotshot World of Warcraft came and sucked up all the fame.
FFXI weren't as close to fall on it's face like FFXIV. FFXIV really really screwed it up.



You say that? But you don't even like the series. :\

There is no waste in the numbers, they are what they are. But FFXIV can be alot more, and this thread says that Square will work for making it better. Surely they have lost huge numbers and many won't get back, but this is a must for them, they have to fix it and maybe people will come back, because many have said they will come back in the future when the game is "fixed".

MMO's is just not everyone's thing. Me, I honestly HATE MMO's. But there are many who like FFXI and there are those who like FFXIV's systems as well but they just want more variety then copy pasta terrain and same guild leve system for everything. That is hopefully what Square will fix.

On another note: Yay I don't have to pay! XD

I don't have to love a series over all to recognize when it did something not in its favor and it seems to me that having main entries in the series be MMOs was not the best idea for Square. They could have just called it FF Online or something. People wait and wait for the next main entry and many people get disappointed when that game is an MMO.

 

[aka958]

I don't have to love a series over all to recognize when it did something not in its favor and it seems to me that having main entries in the series be MMOs was not the best idea for Square. They could have just called it FF Online or something. People wait and wait for the next main entry and many people get disappointed when that game is an MMO.

But FFXIV was released right after FFXIII, the same year. We already know it'll be at least a year before another main entry would be announced. FFXIV is more or less an extra.

Being a main entry or not it's still not affecting that much on the main entry that we do want to come afterwards. How? Well, if we would call it just "Final Fantasy Online" it still would take up the same time and crew to make it. The delays on the next main entry would be the same nonetheless.

And FFXI is still popular, although many disliked the MMO, many still liked it. That would be like... almost every other main entry in the Final Fantasy franchise.

 

[Dark Drakan]

Let me guess, it was at the release?

3 friends is not that much in comparison to a fanbase. Maybe it didn't fall to their tastes but that doesn't mean that it was a failure. Just look at the fanbase now.

No it was about 2 years after its release (when MMO's should be hitting their peak) and from the fans ive spoken to after being a member of over 30 forums in my time and owning so many i have met around 10 people who liked it and played it often and if you add up the members on most of those forums thats over 180,000 members on them. It got decent reviews and i thought it looked interesting but everyone always said how empty it felt.

Guild Wars was free to play from the start and i bet its playing figures were 5 times that of FFXI until recently of course now the sequel has been announced. Guild Wars is the only real MMO ive played and enjoyed as i will never pay to play.

 

[Richtofen]

Guild Wars was free to play from the start and i bet its playing figures were 5 times that of FFXI.

Guild Wars wasn't open zone though, only in towns. GW2 though, is going to change that. From what I've heard you have a storyline with each character, depending what you do with that character will either help you or hinder you in your own mission line. Plus a whole bunch of other goodies too that you can find on the official GW2 website.

GW2 Website link: http://www.guildwars2.com/en/

 

[Dark Drakan]

Guild Wars wasn't open zone though, only in towns. GW2 though, is going to change that. From what I've heard you have a storyline with each character, depending what you do with that character will either help you or hinder you in your own mission line. Plus a whole bunch of other goodies too that you can find on the official GW2 website.

GW2 Website link: http://www.guildwars2.com/en/

Yeah ive seen the odd thing here and there about it and that seems like a great idea. For a free MMO Guild Wars was really stable and enjoyable. I may look into it more closer to release as i think any people who create excellent free to play MMO's should be supported. Will show companies that they dont have to charge for every little thing to create a successful one.