NA PS2 - One Last Shot

[Fusionx]

Actually that's the whole idea here. If enough PS2 players are willing to put in the money it would take to make enough copies of the game for them, it proves there's money in it and SE, taking the money upfront, has the profits before it sinks money into the costs.

They had a poll about this- the end result was there wasn't enough people that wanted it.

[Volkai]

They had a poll about this- the end result was there wasn't enough people that wanted it.

At the standard price, yes. That's the whole point of this - figure out if enough people are willing to pay enough money to make it worth doing.

Let's look at this with some possible numbers
If you need, say, 5,000 people buying it at $30 per person to justify manufacture, that's
total funds required: 5,000 * $30 = $150,000

Let's assume most of that ($100,000) is a nonvariable setup/distribution cost. That means the per-person variable cost is $50,000/5,000 = $10

So, if only 3,000 people are willing to pay, they would need to pay on average $(100,000+(3,000*10)=130,000/3,000=$43.34)

Only 1,000 would make that $110 per person (on average).


So, at $30 per disc, there's not enough PS2 players to justify making it. But there might be enough PS2 players willing to pay enough to justify the cost of manufacture. That's the whole point of this thread in the first place, Fusion.

[Perdition]

Maybe we can do a Kickstarter to drop PS2 support all together and finally get rid of some of the limitations! Seriously though, for the money you donate to keep FFXI running on that 13 year old system you can get a decent cheap PC, download the software and just play your account(s) on that.

I do agree it's stupid to keep PS2 support just for Japan and no other regions, either keep supporting it or drop it completely. The one reason I'm not thrilled about FFXIV is because is going to eventually be limited by the PS3 hardware, which by the time FFXIV actually comes out for the PS3 the next generation systems will almost be available and it's already outdated hardware.

Ps2 limitations has been a buzz words since forever. Clearly the PS2 is outdated, but could you specify these limitations? The idea that PS2 is holding FFXI back I think is not really accurate considering that they just released a new expansion that can be supported by the PS2 and all other platforms. In all my years of playing, I have heard the PS2 limitations remark, and in some instances I can subscribe to it, yet I have never had anyone elaborate on exactly what those limitations are.

[Perdition]

Actually that's the whole idea here. If enough PS2 players are willing to put in the money it would take to make enough copies of the game for them, it proves there's money in it and SE, taking the money upfront, has the profits before it sinks money into the costs.

This isn't how business or manufacturing works. Everything is manufactured in bulk, SE custom making copies of FFXI for PS2 would not be beneficial for them. It seems that ppl forget that SE is a business, there bottom line is making money. PS2 is not profitable after all of these years in the United States. That is why they are not bringing the game out. Any thoughts of a NA PS2 release are wishful thinking.

[Volkai]

This isn't how business or manufacturing works. Everything is manufactured in bulk, SE custom making copies of FFXI for PS2 would not be beneficial for them. It seems that ppl forget that SE is a business, there bottom line is making money. PS2 is not profitable after all of these years in the United States. That is why they are not bringing the game out. Any thoughts of a NA PS2 release are wishful thinking.

You are wrong. There are sufficient projects on websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to prove this is a way that business and manufacturing can work. Proofs: Drifter, Dungeon Panic, The Trial of the Clone, Ouya, Pebble.

Using the old business model where there is a single set price, an NA PS2 SoA release would not justify its cost, yes. I have no illusions otherwise. That's why the core idea of this thread is to fund it with a new model that shows if the product justifies its cost before any significant amount of money is spent - and in fact that money comes in before it is spent, or shows definitively that there will not be enough money coming from customers to justify its cost, at which point no money is spent.

EDIT: And as for the 'everything is manufactured in bulk' -- that can be addressed easily. Since the backer-funded model starts with a minimum amount of money that needs to be raised, you include the minimum bulk manufacture cost into said minimum funding value. Any discs that are manufactured beyond what is spoken for by backers can be sold through SE's Online Store website for additional income. Those sales will be pure profit (or very nearly so) since the cost for their manufacture was already covered by the backer's funds before manufacture began.

[Kaisha]

The two main limitations of the PS2 are hard disk partition space and memory.

Only limitation is memory. They already increased the partition from 8gb to 19gb last year for all PS2 (and PS3 BC) players, unless you think they're going to magically bloat the game by another 10gbs on PS2 within a couple years.

[Cleer]

The only issue I see with starting this now is.

By the time you got funding, say whatever that magic number is, you will have lost some of the people willing to do it.
Everyday that goes by true FFXI fans in NA and UK playing on PS2 still are thinking about upgrading because they know they are getting left behind. Also, I would like anyone playing on PS2 who hasn't played on a PC or xbox try before requesting more support for PS2.

PS2 is 640x480
PC Well
The 1st is closest to ps2. where the 3rd is what you can get with PC

I started on PS2 stopped reading disks and tossed it. Switched to laptop till my screen died. Switched to Xbox360 started getting Red ring of death and finally got a PC to play FFXIV on and I play FFXI on it. Out of all of that. PC is the best interface hands down. Followed by xbox360 for gaphics upgrades and 5.1 sound. And finally PS2, if it was the only option to play ffxi today I wouldn't play.


Please try and play on PC or xbox360 you will not regret it.

[Phafi]

The only issue I see with starting this now is.

By the time you got funding, say whatever that magic number is, you will have lost some of the people willing to do it.
Everyday that goes by true FFXI fans in NA and UK playing on PS2 still are thinking about upgrading because they know they are getting left behind. Also, I would like anyone playing on PS2 who hasn't played on a PC or xbox try before requesting more support for PS2.

PS2 is 640x480
PC Well
The 1st is closest to ps2. where the 3rd is what you can get with PC

I started on PS2 stopped reading disks and tossed it. Switched to laptop till my screen died. Switched to Xbox360 started getting Red ring of death and finally got a PC to play FFXIV on and I play FFXI on it. Out of all of that. PC is the best interface hands down. Followed by xbox360 for gaphics upgrades and 5.1 sound. And finally PS2, if it was the only option to play ffxi today I wouldn't play.


Please try and play on PC or xbox360 you will not regret it.

keep in mind you can probably get a $20 PC at goodwill or something that will run this game fine and connect it to your TV with a $5 cable.

[Alhanelem]

At the standard price, yes. That's the whole point of this - figure out if enough people are willing to pay enough money to make it worth doing.

Actually, no price point was mentioned in the poll. Price was not a factor in player's voting.

[Alhanelem]

Only limitation is memory. They already increased the partition from 8gb to 19gb last year for all PS2 (and PS3 BC) players, unless you think they're going to magically bloat the game by another 10gbs on PS2 within a couple years.

hard disk space is a limitation. they can't increase the size of the partition infinitely.

edit sorry bout double post.