Greetings from the Producer!

Please join me in welcoming the new Producer of FINAL FANTASY XI, Akihiko Matsui, who has written a nice greeting for all adventurers of Vana’diel!

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Originally Posted by Akihiko_Matsui

Hello! I am Akihiko Matsui and starting today I will be assuming the role of producer of FFXI.

I’ve immediately started reading all the newest threads and posts, but I’m overwhelmed by the volume. I also had a meeting today with the Community Reps and discussed about future plans. I’m looking forward to all the official forum activity from here on out.

Everyone on the team is looking forward to your support!

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Why, welcome, sir. I look forward to seeing my #1 game become #1 again.

Welcome, hope you bring the breadth of fresh air that we sorely needed in terms of changing the direction of this game toward one that is more fun, enjoyable and accessible. And hopefully you will have similar attitude and vision as of the golden boy of FF14 :)

Used to be the battle director for XI, among other design roles prior for Square Enix if my mind serves me right, so he definitely has experience with the project.

Curious to see the what changes and new content will arrive in the following year under his (wyvern) wing, particularly once Adoulin hits.

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Originally Posted by Akihiko_Matsui

I’ve immediately started reading all the newest threads and posts, but I’m overwhelmed by the volume. I also had a meeting today with the Community Reps and discussed about future plans. I’m looking forward to all the official forum activity from here on out.

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If the Japanese forums are anything like the English forums, this may be the bravest man I've ever known.

Thank you for taking care of our game. Many of us still enjoy this game and would appreciate it if it continues to grow for years to come. We look forward to your assistance in making FFXI the best MMO in existence and we'll appreciate all your hard work.

I dub thee Akihiko "Almost-a-Palindrome" Matsui!

Edit: Just noticed his avatar is a wyvern!!

Tell me the mechanics of Treasure Hunter, and I shall spare you.

Oh, and welcome~

Welcome, Akihiko Matsui, and congratulations on your new role.
I'm looking forward to your work here and hope to see the game flourish as a result.

Welcome, Mr. Matsui. Looking forward to the future of Vana'diel :)

If I can request one thing Mr. Matsui. Please do not listen to the official forums...

Reading is all good, but granting requests from the official forums. Yeah, not so much :\

Welcome, Matsui-san! I hope that you can lead the charge into making FFXI a more enjoyable experience for everyone.

May I suggest that for your first task, you re-examine these new 2hr abilities. :/

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Originally Posted by Sp1cyryan

If I can request one thing Mr. Matsui. Please do not listen to the official forums...

Reading is all good, but granting requests from the official forums. Yeah, not so much :\

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Some ideas are good, so not listening would be daft, that's what f***ed FFXIV up.

Don't listen to EVERYONE but do listen to some people, even unbalanced ideas, as developers they can balance them to useful and fair.

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Originally Posted by Daniel_Hatcher

Some ideas are good, so not listening would be daft, that's what f***ed FFXIV up.

Don't listen to EVERYONE but do listen to some people, even unbalanced ideas, as developers they can balance them to useful and fair.

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I would not bake a cake with mix that contained mercury. :|

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Originally Posted by Shadax

Welcome, Matsui-san! I hope that you can lead the charge into making FFXI a more enjoyable experience for everyone.

May I suggest that for your first task, you re-examine these new 2hr abilities. :/

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I second this.

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Originally Posted by Sp1cyryan

I second this.

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He can't. You just barred him from taking any ideas from the people of the forum and actually using this, he must do the opposite now.

Dear lord i do not envy you in your daunting task of coming up to speed with the official forums, there are many good and bad ideas floating around i just pray you can be more proactive in addressing our concerns.

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Originally Posted by Komori

He can't. You just barred him from taking any ideas from the people of the forum and actually using this, he must do the opposite now.

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Baby out with the bathwater!

his avatar is a wyvren. incoming DRG boost.

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Originally Posted by hideka

his avatar is a wyvren. incoming DRG boost.

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Not unless he fixes that new DRG two hour,,,

Please bring back Aern Weapons, and revamp the evolith system. Crafting/Synergy needs some original, powerful, and competitive weapons and armor to make.

Welcome Akihiko Matsui! I can understand why you would be so overwhelmed. Its impressive for you to dive in so fast. Looking forward to seeing whats in store you you at the helm of FFXI.

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Originally Posted by Camate

Please join me in welcoming the new Producer of FINAL FANTASY XI, Akihiko Matsui, who has written a nice greeting for all adventurers of Vana’diel!

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Welcome ^^

a Daunting task im sure to weed through the forum, good luck in ur new job.

/em Blm Stares scowlingly..... (towards the blu mage)

NERF BLU!!!!

Thank you,

Blm's

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FINAL FANTASY XI has undergone some radical changes since I left the project two years ago, and although I obviously expected it to evolve in my absence, the degree of change is overwhelming. I will definitely need to familiarize myself with the current state of the game as fast as possible if I want to be effective at this new position.

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All right well for a fast primer on the current mood and hopes of the players here's the top remarks I often hear:

*Don't make randomness an important compenant of anything. Recent examples that have drawn the players ire are Nyzul random floor jumps, the initial very large range of random Voidwatch NM triggers, the pointless daily reward system, etc.

*Many players have become tired with powerful NM fights that use such difficult skills they all boil down to a fast zerg using Embrava and Alexander. Players are looking for fun, unique, fights that require strategy and challenge without being so gimmicky it's simplest to zerg.

*There is a lot of criticism of the FFXI enmity system particularly with a new tank job coming. This is probably a difficult thing to address but players think it has fundamental issues.

*Do not waste your team's precious time, money, and talent on game additions that aren't rewarding. In FFXI if there isn't a decent reward, the content is stillborn. Doing anything in FFXI takes forever and players aren't willing to waste time. And if there are rewards, put them on a point system that everyone gets for participation like Campaign or Assault. Random drops such as in Voidwatch are awful and insulting. As a consequence Voidwatch has become known as "logwatch" for it's constant log rewards that aren't even worth selling to an NPC.

With a full informed and logic-based post such as this:

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Originally Posted by Nawesemo

/em Blm Stares scowlingly..... (towards the blu mage)

NERF BLU!!!!

Thank you,

Blm's

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We see the thread come full circle back to this:

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Originally Posted by Sp1cyryan

If I can request one thing Mr. Matsui. Please do not listen to the official forums...

Reading is all good, but granting requests from the official forums. Yeah, not so much :\

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The circle of internet-life!

This is also a good example of where the player base is strong and weak. We're great at diagnosing issues or finding fault (magic damage through spells has been moderately-to-extremely marginalized for a very long time) but terrible at offering suggestions for solving those issues (negatively change a job that engages monsters and deals physical damage).

If I could give that poor guy reading these forums one suggestion, it would be to take most problems raised seriously but to take most solutions offered with a grain of salt the size of the moon.

Hmm save for the moon sized salt your last post lacked the wustling spanky spunk i've come to expect from you!

On a more serious note well put, i might also add that delaying answering on serious problems or evading the question with roundabout answers will do you little credit.

Hello, and welcome! May the forums be kind to you, and may the ideas and information flow freely!

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Originally Posted by Sp1cyryan

If I can request one thing Mr. Matsui. Please do not listen to the official forums...

Reading is all good, but granting requests from the official forums. Yeah, not so much :\

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A request made with most of the community agreeing on something that would benefit the game doesn't sound damaging to me.

For instance, they finally fixed almost all of PUP's automaton issues when this forum started because it was requested and complained about.

They've listened to our requests/suggestions about redoing the whole UI.

Being able to report localization and in-game problems/suggestions from the test server and the game itself is great.

Remember when they fixed Bully? Remember when they changed Abyssea Empyrean NMs' ???s from 1 to 3?

They added the the Pulse Cell system to help those seeking some of the valued items in Voidwatch.

I'm sure there's much more that I can't think of at the moment, but I can't see any of this ever happening without this forum.

Imagine how many people would have quit the game if this forum wasn't here when they introduced Click & Buy and eliminated payment by Direct Credit Cards.

What I'm trying to say is, a lot of good has come from this forum. A company opening up to their customers for feedback about their product is not always a bad thing.

Putting that aside, I also welcome the new producer and hope for a bright future in Vana'diel! :)

I'm just hoping my wyvern will one day grow up, if only a tiny bit.

I'm hoping he will actually get translated transcripts of this NA side of the forums. I'm hoping he doesn't ignore the NA requests as well. I mean..He said he'd read the forums yes, however, i'm hoping it doesnt end up being only if you can write in Japanese. We'll see.

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Originally Posted by Nawesemo

/em Blm Stares scowlingly..... (towards the blu mage)

NERF BLU!!!!

Thank you,

Blm's

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What is this, I don't even..

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Originally Posted by Vagrua

I'm sure there's much more that I can't think of at the moment, but I can't see any of this ever happening without this forum.

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I think your notions about the forums are more grounded in feelings more so than what is actually the case. They have a hand in shaping this game, but they are not as groundbreaking as you are making them out to be.

Welcome Matsui-san! Good luck with reading the forums; they'll give you a migraine. Be sure to have a White Mage around to Cursna the nightmares that will haunt you at night. You're a brave man to venture into dangerous waters.

To Spank, yes, the Japanese forums are similar to the English ones. Really the only two differences are one, they're in Japanese and two, there's about ten posters to our one.

My word of advice that will set you far apart from the previous administration is to remember the Japanese thought of humans being imperfect. When you remember that your product may not be at its best state, you can listen to your customer's pleas, fix the errors, and make everyone happier. :)

And after discovering new additions to the game, such as Fields of Valor, Grounds of Valor, and Abyssea, consider why they were added. The game is 10 years old now, and that means a lot of the player base was 10 years younger when they started the game. In 10 years a lot of new commitments pops up in a person's life and pull that person away from their luxury time. We love the game and don't want to quit, but the old game you worked on is not plausible by today's standards. When designing new material, please keep the customer's time, energy, and frustrations in mind. That's all I ask.

Thank you! m(_ _)m

One major thing I would like to see is my Wyvern being able to attack like other pets I mean you guys give our Wyverns tanking abilities yet how are we supposed to do anything when we cant command our Wyvern to attack something and build up hate on it before we jump in.

Also Welcome to the community mister producer.

Welcome aboard o/

Welcome to the forum.

Step lightly, for there are giants in the playground.

Welcome Akihiko_Matsui. May i jsut say, take this thread seriously, and you will win the hearts of many!

Welcome, I Thank you for just giving us a little hope.

I can not wait for you to get us out of the stone age of this game and move us to a amazing future for the next 10 yrs, may it be better then the last. Even a catapillar can turn into something amazing.

Welcome! Looking forward to seeing what direction FFXI takes :)

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Originally Posted by Nawesemo

/em Blm Stares scowlingly..... (towards the blu mage)

NERF BLU!!!!

Thank you,

Blm's

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No thanks. How about we beef up Black Mage instead?

Sincerely,

A career Blue Mage.