Questions Regarding the Vana’diel Project

[bungiefanNA]

Because now I have to spend MORE money, and I already have an alien ware for gaming as well as 5 pcs that I use for gaming,my problem is now in order to play i have to spend more money to replace hardware as well, and when you multiple accounts on 1 device, the game runs significantly slower which is why I play on consoles primarily and not my towers. Not to mention that xboxs can't get viruses....

Believe me, over the last 10 years I have fully explored ways to play ffxi (from using my portable ps2 , to using my swivel/cinemin video projectors and playing it in my expedition SUV) the reason I'm not so happy about them taking away xbox support is because I have found it to be the best way for ME to play the game. The reason I bought all these devices was to play ffxi on a console, when I travel out of the country playing it on my very pricy Alienware (which I customized online and bought from the AW site specifically for ffxi) is more ideal however I enjoy xbox ffxi at home and It sucks I have to say goodbye to something that I still currently use on an everyday basis.

I literally have spent a lot of my earnings and stipends (I'm in entertainment) on enjoying ffxi as to the max, when I purchased my first house I made an arcade room where I could comfortably sit and play ffxi (as well as about 10 stand up arcade machines which mainly run on RAM/ROM) it sucks that I'm also going to have to modify my arcade room as well if I continue to play ffxi.

The other benefit to playing on xbox and NOT running all my chars on 1 system is when I have friends over , they can sit at a ffxi station in my arcade and play the game on xbox with me.

As I stated I have multiple gaming pcs and laptops and game copies so quickly acclimating myself to this change wouldn't take more than the version updates, however I have always found ffxi to be superior on a console due to the ability to not screw up ur laptop / tower. The more third party programs you install on ur PC the more risk u have to viruses which can't be fixed with antivirus software and it's tedious removing viruses.


Lastly, I usually move 2 chars at the same time (which is easy with practice since I play piano) so I prefer to have full access over my chars vs letting a program use them / alt tab, I've always been anti PC games and pro console games so I am heavily effected by this

My favorite way to play ffxi: 2 xbox controllers and 1 keyboard

PS2 and Xbox 360 support from the console manufacturers is ending next year. How is SE supposed to keep supporting it when official support channels are closing. They did the same thing wwhen Win98 and Win2000 were dropped by Microsoft. You're complaining about first-world problems that most people don't have. If you set up right, you can duplicate the console experience on an inexpensive PC. PCs usually have a 5 year lifespan, while consoles usually have a 5-10 year life span. Well PS2 will be 16 next year, and Xbox 360 will be 10. You could always play on your smartphone...

[Krysten]

i see alot of questions and not alot of answers lol. ADDRESS THE MONSTROSITY QUESTION WE DESERVE TO KNOW!!

[Sephiran]

Q3: Assuming that there's demand, will an ARR-type upgrade be possible with FFXI now that it'll be on PC only?

I want this. I could care less about mobile support. Even if FFXI has to go down for a few months like FFXIV 1.0 did, I'd be totally fine with that as the finished product will be worth waiting for. You make a two-for-one subscription to FFXIV and basically bank on two horses at once.

[Louispv]

Can a single player version of this game be released? I go back, sometimes, and play all of the other Final Fantasy games. To have XI, the one I have the most fond memories of, be unplayable ever again would be depressing.

At the very least, if you do end up shutting the game down, one day, can you allow individuals to set up their own servers without suing them into stopping?

[detlef]

I'm wondering if there are any plans around the time of the final phase of updates to release or sell any type of memorabilia for the game. Would be great to have an art book or a compilation of behind the scenes information about the game during the last 13 years and would give fans something to look back on.

Speaking of memorabilia, if you released a figurine that I could personalize to look like my character with noteworthy gear... I think you'd make a lot of money.

[steellords]

I have 0 interest in playing this on a phone will the phone game be essential to playing ffxi?

I have this question too. I fear that the mobile version will use a cash shop and introduce new gear, higher iLvl etc that will carry over into the PC version...so since i won't be getting the mobile, i see even less reason to continue playing when i suspect

1) new content will end for PC
2) progress we do make will be obsoleted by the mobile

[steellords]

Because now I have to spend MORE money, and I already have an alien ware for gaming as well as 5 pcs that I use for gaming,my problem is now in order to play i have to spend more money to replace hardware as well, and when you multiple accounts on 1 device, the game runs significantly slower which is why I play on consoles primarily and not my towers. Not to mention that xboxs can't get viruses....

Believe me, over the last 10 years I have fully explored ways to play ffxi (from using my portable ps2 , to using my swivel/cinemin video projectors and playing it in my expedition SUV) the reason I'm not so happy about them taking away xbox support is because I have found it to be the best way for ME to play the game. The reason I bought all these devices was to play ffxi on a console, when I travel out of the country playing it on my very pricy Alienware (which I customized online and bought from the AW site specifically for ffxi) is more ideal however I enjoy xbox ffxi at home and It sucks I have to say goodbye to something that I still currently use on an everyday basis.

I literally have spent a lot of my earnings and stipends (I'm in entertainment) on enjoying ffxi as to the max, when I purchased my first house I made an arcade room where I could comfortably sit and play ffxi (as well as about 10 stand up arcade machines which mainly run on RAM/ROM) it sucks that I'm also going to have to modify my arcade room as well if I continue to play ffxi.

The other benefit to playing on xbox and NOT running all my chars on 1 system is when I have friends over , they can sit at a ffxi station in my arcade and play the game on xbox with me.

As I stated I have multiple gaming pcs and laptops and game copies so quickly acclimating myself to this change wouldn't take more than the version updates, however I have always found ffxi to be superior on a console due to the ability to not screw up ur laptop / tower. The more third party programs you install on ur PC the more risk u have to viruses which can't be fixed with antivirus software and it's tedious removing viruses.


Lastly, I usually move 2 chars at the same time (which is easy with practice since I play piano) so I prefer to have full access over my chars vs letting a program use them / alt tab, I've always been anti PC games and pro console games so I am heavily effected by this

My favorite way to play ffxi: 2 xbox controllers and 1 keyboard

Well you won't have to for a year...but you could get a usb controller and AVI port that is pretty similar to a console experience. You can configure it to "alt tab" with a single button. You don't HAVE to use 3rd party programs on PC version either.

[steellords]

Okay this is what im madly curious about, and its kinda nagging at me. I assume they believe the profits coming in from the playerbase isnt sufficient to justify any further development and content costs, which is why they are doing it. However i took a look at EQ and DAOC, both games that are equally if not older.

I googled and saw EQ has had 1-2 major content patches/expansions each year, and its still going, even with a supposedly smaller playerbase than ffxi.

DAOC has an expansion coming out this year, with no apparent news on shutting down, again with a smaller playerbase.

From a very bare and uneducated assumption, this seems like its possible to keep the game going on a very small budget and have it under SE's portfolio as a cash cow.

What is different with ffxi? If someone could offer some explanation, the only thing i can think of is they wish to move their finances elsewhere into some other project.

I guess the main diff is the company has 2 other major and far newer MMOs and the board saw the subs for this one continue to dwindle and that the last expansion only lowered the # of subs. They probly want 11 dev team working on the other MMOs. We're getting to the point that they had to decide between raising the iLvl or wrapping it up...and they chose the latter

Other diffs is the issues with sony/microsoft over adding new content with limited resources. Cut off ps2/xbox as they're doing and you might see closer to EQ numbers. In addition, they may hope that some # of 11 players will move on to 14 long term.

[steellords]

I really feel like i just wasted 5 thousand dollars and I could have bought something much more valuable with my money, and now i feel like a FOOL for wasting time and money on all these Xboxes (ive been thru like 6 box 360s playing ffxi and multiple game cd's) and paying for subscription fees from both xbox and playonline.

edit; why not just put the game out on the xbox one marketplace / psn network so that way the newer systems can play ffxi,

The newer consoles aren't backwards compatible. This would take an investment and cooperation and a percentage from microsoft. Also some of the 'minor' updates after november might include things the consoles can't handle, ps2 especially (much more storage space etc)

Wasted? Nothing lasts forever i'm afraid, including $. So many of us would've spent more than $500/yr at a bar or other games. Well guess what, that is "wasted" just as much. You know what's not wasted is the memories

[Mnejing]

Will Matsui answer some of our questions on the next freshly picked Vana'diel?