In regards to the future of FF11 though, one thing I found interesting is that it is going to be at Tokyo Game Show this year, as shown on SE's TGS page:

http://www.jp.square-enix.com/tgs15/titles/

For those who're wondering, FF11 hasn't been at TGS for years, and I doubt all they're going to talk about is Rhapsodies. Perhaps we'll get more info on that new mobile client? I dunno, but hopefully some (good) surprise announcements. Hopefully...

Anyways, as far as FFXI 2.0 goes, I'd be happy with just continued content. The game is dated, sure, but I don't care if it gets a graphical overhaul. I just want to see the rest of the world... More of the East, more of Ulbulka, I wanna see the north and the Mithran Homeland. And I want to see it in FF11 itself, not some weird pseudo-spinoff Vana'diel (Those mobile games they announced for Japan only). I've been a FF11 player since NA PC launch because I enjoy the storylines, and the gameplay suits my tastes. I like that I have hundreds of spells and abilities at my disposal across multiple jobs, unlike the handful in FF14. I mean, I currently have 147 spells as SCH/rdm alone and almost all of them have some use. That is awesome.

I have to say, Matsui and the other current devs have done a phenomenal job the past few years. I feel that a lot of the things they've done are things that should've happened years ago, so it kinda gives a feeling of "too little, too late". I still recall interviews of the old Producer, Tanaka, answering questions about certain topics and always saying stuff like "Too hard", "Too expensive", "Too little resources". But here we are years later, with less developers and a smaller budget, accomplishing things on the game client nobody would've ever expected to happen. It's because these things were missing all these years that the game got to where it is today (In my opinion). The game was successful, but it could've been even more so if SE just bit the bullet and put the resources into the game when they were needed, rather than slowly turn the tap lower over the years.

I'm not trying to jab too much at Tanaka (I do feel bad for him, FF14 and all) and SE, since they did a lot of good things too. But it wasn't too hard, it wasn't too expensive, and they did have the resources. Knowing this, it's just a tad bit angering.

With that said though, the past is in the past. I still have some (probably impossible) hopes that they were smart enough to develop a new PC client alongside the new mobile one, and that FF11's core gameplay remains untouched. Perhaps along with this new client, they might've developed new tools to create new content. It's a long shot, but until we get more details I may as well hope a little.

My older brother was actually excited to hear the game was being ported to mobile devices, who hasn't played since probably 2004. But hopes were quickly shattered when I told him the PC and mobile users would be on different servers, so that was that. It's PC or nothing for me... I can't stand playing games on a Nintendo 3DS, much less my smart phone.

I'll stay with FF11 for now, and enjoy it while I can. I'm just worried I'll run out of things to do sooner than later...