Why Cant Final fantasy 11 get the same treatment?

[BurnNotice]

Well, I do recall SE stating that FFXI will continue to run as long as their are people playing it. This is not saying they will add system upgrades to today's technology, but it will allow for Dev. to create more add-ons to keep loyal players enticed. With FFXIV overhaul being release in the 4th quarter of 2012, it will still require a great amount of time build a deep player base similar to FFXI. Til that actually happens, FFXI Dev. Team would have to work double time for new content; which is probably the reason why we all got that mystery survey.

With PS3s at a lower price for the holidays, a FFXI patch, emulator, or something is highly recommended. People have put tons of work, hours, sleepless nights, PTO days (Pay Time Off for those who don't know), missed opportunities, nagging parents, aggressive girlfriend/boyfriend, burned food, and anything else that could been worth getting anything in the game over the course of 8-10 years.

[Volkai]

FFXI makes them tons of money. Even if it needs a whole new transmission and a paint job, it is still worth the investment.

Which would Volkswagon prioritize, maintaining the original VW Bugs or improving the New VW Bugs?

A remade FFXIV has no more potential than a remade FFXI for getting new players, possibly less due to it's bad reputation.

Windows XP is still the #1 OS. Is Microsoft making a mistake by developing Windows 8 based off of Windows 7 (plus the Windows Phone 7 'Metro' interface) instead of making a Windows XP redesign?

The FFXIV road map says this:

1. A complete redesign of current repetitive maps
2. The implementation of a new graphics engine
3. A new server system designed for increased speed and performance
4. A fully renewed user interface

exactly what engine are you talking about that isn't getting rebuilt? and what makes you think that it is any cheaper to do it to FFXIV than it is to FFXI?

The game engine is not getting rebuilt. The development tools are not getting rebuilt.

To exceed XI's limitations it appears the game engine - and thus the development tools - would need to be changed. For XIV this is not the case.

The graphics engine is what takes the game engine visual output and makes it monitor-readable. Changing that does not necessitate rebuilding the game's code from line 10 onward.

[Volkai]

Well, I do recall SE stating that FFXI will continue to run as long as their are people playing it. This is not saying they will add system upgrades to today's technology, but it will allow for Dev. to create more add-ons to keep loyal players enticed. With FFXIV overhaul being release in the 4th quarter of 2012, it will still require a great amount of time build a deep player base similar to FFXI. Til that actually happens, FFXI Dev. Team would have to work double time for new content; which is probably the reason why we all got that mystery survey.

With PS3s at a lower price for the holidays, a FFXI patch, emulator, or something is highly recommended. People have put tons of work, hours, sleepless nights, PTO days (Pay Time Off for those who don't know), missed opportunities, nagging parents, aggressive girlfriend/boyfriend, burned food, and anything else that could been worth getting anything in the game over the course of 8-10 years.

That's part of why XI has less potential return from an overhaul than XI. A lot of people have already reached a point where they are Done With FFXI and will not return. An overhaul does not make it a New Game Worth Trying.

XIV is still a New Game, and may yet be made into a game seen by many as a New Game Worth Trying with the PS3 release.

[Greatguardian]

The developers NEVER said the PS2 limited the game. It's always been the player base putting words in their mouths.

I think you should go back and look over some of the older interviews with Sage Sundi. PS2 limitations is not a player-made term.

[Dragonlord]

Which would Volkswagon prioritize, maintaining the original VW Bugs or improving the New VW Bugs?

You can't compare ffxi/xiv to a car sale. Cars are a one time sale, not an ongoing payment (and financing doesn't count bc you owe the money whether u continue to want the car or not) truth is ffxi/xiv are closer to a service than a product. We pay each month so the devs maintain and upgrade what the product is. Would you expect that bc you use the same lawn care service that they can slack off and be worse every time you use them? No, they improve so you keep paying for their service.

[saevel]

That's part of why XI has less potential return from an overhaul than XI. A lot of people have already reached a point where they are Done With FFXI and will not return. An overhaul does not make it a New Game Worth Trying.

XIV is still a New Game, and may yet be made into a game seen by many as a New Game Worth Trying with the PS3 release.

That's not how MMO's work, people with no experience running an MMO really need to stop trying to speculate.

A MMO experience's its worst financial moments the first two years after release. MMO's are incredibly expensive to develop, typically requiring 2~3 times the work as a stand alone game. You can cut this short by excluding content you figure the players wouldn't care about (back story / cinematics / ect..) but to make a proper MMO you need those. Initial purchase and subscription fee's never cover the cost of development and rarely cover the cost of maintenance in the first year. The second year is usually a little better, you can reach breakeven where your making enough to keep the servers running but you still need to pay back the investments for creating the game to begin with. With each passing year the game becomes more profitable, even if your subscription base flat lines. Once you've paid back that initial investment the game is running on pure profit, the longer it runs the more total profit it'll pull in.

MMO's become worth MORE the longer their around not less. This is why EQ and Aion are still running, their still producing pure profit for their respective companies. The subscription fee's completely pay for maintenance and whatever new content that's developed, and whatever is left over is pocketed as profit for the owners.

FFXI is producing pure profit for SE, it's already paid for it's own development costs and the costs for all the expansions. Subscriptions are paying for the maintenance and creation of new content. Their even being used to pay for the modification / rebuilding of FFXIV. FFXIV failed as a product, pure and simple. It was released and within the first two years failed to pay back it's initial development costs, it further failed to pay for it's own maintenance and content creation. Investing further money into it will not yield better results, it'll only increase the amount of money that it needs to pay back.

This is why their remaking it as a new product, FFXIV 2.0. It's relaunching and will basically be considered a new MMO. It won't break even for two years, even longer if they stick with the no-AH mentality. It wont' reach the same profitability level as FFXI for another five to seven years unless it has a WoW explosion, which I frankly doubt will happen (but anythings possible).

So all the people talking about "down with XI, XIV is newer" don't know what their talking about. To not continue development for XI would be a fatal mistake for their MMO branding.

[saevel]

The developers NEVER said the PS2 limited the game. It's always been the player base putting words in their mouths. Just as you have now... in fact you put a lot words in a lot of mouths...

Here I have some questions that YOU should ask yourself. When Microsoft designed Xinput... why did they design it in such a way to make it incompatible with directinput?

How does an OS that uses "D3D 10/11" cause "graphical issues" for "D3D 8" games but not "D3D 9" games. Wouldn't they show up in D3D 9 games as well? And what "graphical issues" are you referring too?

How would removing people trying to "fix" a game you claim is "broken" to go work on a ten year old game many people say works pretty well but is reaching the end of it's development lifespan help anyone? Besides you at least.

Did you know that the POL client actually uses D3D9? You didn't? What a surprise... I wonder what else you don't know...

No such thing as "development lifespan". MMO's do not have a shelf life, they don't expire. They are constantly rebuild and recreated, they only get turned off when they can no longer pay for their own maintenance fee. MMO's represent a significant up front financial investment, once they pay this investment off their running on pure profit and turn out to be one of the most profitable entertainment products made. Their this profitable precisely because they don't expire, movies expire, console games expire, even computer games expire, but MMO's can be rebuild and remade constantly as long as their are players playing.

Stop thinking NEW = BETTER.

[Keinn]

I really appreciate the direction SE has been taking since they released FF13 & FF14. They know they messed up, and want to make right on the series by fixing all the mistakes they made via Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Final Fantasy XIV 2.0.

They have also been putting a lot more effort into FF11 than they have in the past. Its good to see the game expanding and many of the frustrating elements being remedied over time.

[Catsby]

This thread is so frustrating. It's a bunch of people agreeing with each other angrily.

[FrankReynolds]

Which would Volkswagon prioritize, maintaining the original VW Bugs or improving the New VW Bugs?

Bad example. Volkswagon didn't trash the Bug when the passat came out. They updated the bug. It still sells really well.

Windows XP is still the #1 OS. Is Microsoft making a mistake by developing Windows 8 based off of Windows 7 (plus the Windows Phone 7 'Metro' interface) instead of making a Windows XP redesign?

Again a bad example. Microsoft sells the software. they do not charge monthly fees for it, so yes. They gain profit if you have to upgrade. they make nothing if you stay on xp forever. FFXI is licensed on a recurring monthly fee. If you leave it, they stop making money off it.

The game engine is not getting rebuilt. The development tools are not getting rebuilt.

To exceed XI's limitations it appears the game engine - and thus the development tools - would need to be changed. For XIV this is not the case.

The graphics engine is what takes the game engine visual output and makes it monitor-readable. Changing that does not necessitate rebuilding the game's code from line 10 onward.

I see you ignored all the other changes they are making that do require recoding the game. Good job.