Give us our hiragana

[Alhanelem]

It's not a bug. It's by design. Japanese input controls are disabled in the NA client because SE didn't license the IME software they used in PS2 development outside of Japan. They considered it not to be worth the cost given the number of people in the US who can speak Japanese fluently and play this game.

There are ways of working around the restriction, technically, but they are unsupported and more or less against the user agreement.

[Xilk]

It's not a bug. It's by design. Japanese input controls are disabled in the NA client because SE didn't license the IME software they used in PS2 development outside of Japan. They considered it not to be worth the cost given the number of people in the US who can speak Japanese fluently and play this game.

There are ways of working around the restriction, technically, but they are unsupported and more or less against the user agreement.

please stop repeating this silly and false explanation. Any developer can use the microsoft IME. it is available by default in all current versions of windows. One does not need any special licensing to use this. the license agreement for the ms ime is between MS and the end user, not the developer.

[hiko]

It's not a bug. It's by design. Japanese input controls are disabled in the NA client because SE didn't license the IME software they used in PS2 development outside of Japan. They considered it not to be worth the cost given the number of people in the US who can speak Japanese fluently and play this game.

There are ways of working around the restriction, technically, but they are unsupported and more or less against the user agreement.

please stop repeating this silly and false explanation. Any developer can use the microsoft IME. it is available by default in all current versions of windows. One does not need any special licensing to use this. the license agreement for the ms ime is between MS and the end user, not the developer.

PS2 limitation!

[Alhanelem]

please stop repeating this silly and false explanation. Any developer can use the microsoft IME. it is available by default in all current versions of windows. One does not need any special licensing to use this. the license agreement for the ms ime is between MS and the end user, not the developer.

it's not silly, nor is it false. They weren't going to use two different systems for the different platforms. When are you going to realize that the PC version is just the PS2 version copied over with the minimum amount of work needed to make it function on the PC?

The only other rational explanation is "SE doesn't want people who can't speak japanese using japanese characters in spam shouts." Which may be rational, but not true.

If you use third party programs to enable the Windows IME, the text is not being sent directly to FFXI. it's being handled by FFXI, it's being inputted into the IME tool in the third party program and being sent to FFXI from there. In other words, it's just bypassing FFXI's system for it.

[bungiefan]

please stop repeating this silly and false explanation. Any developer can use the microsoft IME. it is available by default in all current versions of windows. One does not need any special licensing to use this. the license agreement for the ms ime is between MS and the end user, not the developer.

PS2 version uses the ATOK IME. SE wants the console version to have the same capability as the PC version, or vice versa, so they don't let the game use the Microsoft IME in regions that the console version doesn't have an IME. An ATOK license is about $60 per user, and accidentally triggering it would generate a lot of tech support calls from people that don't know how to use it, or the keystrokes to toggle it.

Hiragana is one of the three forms of Japanese text. You can type Roman letters on JP FFXI, but can't type Japanese text on non-Japanese FFXI.

We petitioned for it in 2003 at NA FFXI launch.and some SE employees explained it on FFXIOnline.com shortly afterward. Johnnyram started the petition.

[Laciante]

I fully support the need for us Japanese-literates to be able to legitimately type in Japanese. I know there's a long history as to why it hasn't been allowed us, but it is a continuing serious problem. I only play on PC, so the PS2 thing doesn't really affect me, but I would pay to use the legit. IME

For those who say just use romaji, even if the Japanese were willing to attempt to read it, it would be similar to having to read English in kana (I know the example is shot because katakana is made for foreign words so i'll expect to be reading an English word) I can read it, but it'll take a little longer
For those who say to use the "other forms" there's always the risk that a GM notices and is feeling strict that day.
For those who say use the JP client, My (and I'm sure many other JP-literates) Japanese is decent enough for a conversation, not to play an entire game in, particularly such a richly RPG one like this

[Meyi]

For those who say use the JP client, My (and I'm sure many other JP-literates) Japanese is decent enough for a conversation, not to play an entire game in, particularly such a richly RPG one like this

This. I had forgotten about having to read the entire game in Japanese, but I would struggle with that as well.

PS2 version uses the ATOK IME. SE wants the console version to have the same capability as the PC version, or vice versa, so they don't let the game use the Microsoft IME in regions that the console version doesn't have an IME. An ATOK license is about $60 per user, and accidentally triggering it would generate a lot of tech support calls from people that don't know how to use it, or the keystrokes to toggle it.

I'm not sure if I'd be willing to pay $60 for the Japanese IME, but I would be willing to pay $30.
If the community had always been very welcoming of me in my attempts to communicate with romaji and the auto-translator, I would be much more willing to pay $60 to make their lives easier. But for now, I would like to speak in a language I at least know the basics to.

Another question is, if Square Enix knew that they would never release the Japanese IME to anyone outside of the Japanese region, then why did they allow all regions to play on the same servers? Did they honestly think the auto-translator would solve everyone's problems? They are Japanese themselves; did they not find the auto-translator cumbersome when using it? (This is often the excuse I hear about Japanese not using it.) Clearly communication would be an issue from the start, yet it seems it wasn't well thought out.

Add to the fact that we're approaching the maximum auto-translate capacity. And also add that generally it's only the English player base that uses it.