XBLA \ PSN \ Sustaining new players

I apologize if there's already a thread like this, but I don't think there is one that's about XBLA or the PSN Store.

For many years, FFXI was a tough game to get. Stores rarely carried it, and when it was PS2 only, good luck finding a hard drive and modem, and convince yourself to spend all that money on it.

When FFXI came out on Steam, it was like a godsend. For the first time ever, the game was easily available! For PC players, that is.

I really, really think FFXI should be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade and PSN Store. And I don't think it's that terribly hard to do, either. If Phantasy Star Universe of all games is available for download, why not FFXI? There's never going to be another huge influx of players, but making the game cheap and easily available would be a brilliant idea.

Granted, it might be a little harder to do this on the PS3 because some aren't backwards compatible and they'd have to make a PS3 version, but I don't see any reason why they couldn't do it for Xbox, unless Microsoft wants to be a problem.

Another way SE could attract new players would be to make FFXI go Free-to-play. However, this isn't going to happen anytime in the near future, as they're in the process of making the game go through a major overhaul, they have another MMO in dire need of a complete overhaul, and converting FFXI to F2P would require a major overhaul. Have I said major overhaul enough? However, it might be worth looking in to in a couple of years.

Mentioning F2P is also extremely controversial, although LOTRO did it and made more money than it ever did with a monthly fee. Those who want nothing to do with the nickle and diming of microtransactions could stay with the monthly fee as MVP users and play the game just as it was before, like LOTRO. I'm probably going to get flamed for just mentioning it, but I think it's a good idea and F2P is the way of the future. If you don't like the idea, that's cool, just please try and keep it civil. Like I said, it's not feasible anytime soon, this is just simple speculation \ a suggestion for SE to consider.

Those who don't pay the monthly fee would of course have to buy each expansion, and many things paid users take for granted. Possibly things like XP rings, Chocobos, Warp scrolls, low-tier equipment.

There's a lot of money to be made with vanity items. Equipment that isn't very good, but looks cool. People will spend lots of money to clothe their Xbox Live Avatars and that's not even a game. Any decent item, like anything from endgame, quested or NM drops would still have to be obtained in the game. See also: non-combat pets that simply sit there and look cool \ different mounts that are really just a chocobo with a different model. You vant to ride shoopuff?

Square could make a killing by selling Cloud and Sephiroth costumes alone. Yes, we all hate the Cloud and Sephiroth clones and nobody wants people named after these characters to actually look like them, but it would give SE a ton of cash and it would make it even easier to tell who's an idiot, so everybody wins! (Well, except for the sucker who paid $5 for the Cloud costume and pissed that nobody will invite him as he hacks away at baddies with a weak ass lvl. 10 Buster sword.)

Though I'm not gonna lie, I'd certainly get a kick out of dressing up as Kefka and running around setting things on fire, laughing maniacally.

I think the easiest way to make money, and possibly the most demanded, would be a race change option. I believe they said they won't do it because of RSE, but I would gladly pay $40 and have the game destroy all my RSE equipment to change my race (I don't really use it anyway.)

While these things certainly aren't game improvements, I think they would definitely be revenue improvements. Development for FFXI is a little slow and things like mobs and zones get rehashed because it's an old game that doesn't make a humongous amount of money. Remember, the more money the game brings in, the more feasible it is for them to really add some cool new content.

If I were to pick any two suggestions I've mentioned, the easiest ones and the ones I'd want the most are easily a race change and offering FFXI for D\L on XBLA.