NA PS2 - One Last Shot

[Volkai]

I see one possible way to get an NA PS2 release of Seekers of Adoulin made, and that's through a kickstarter-like Backer process. If SE sets a minimum amount of money required for the disc to be manufactured then allows us to set money towards it, with a certain minimum level backed to get a copy (and higher levels for multiple copies and/or a UCSE version) then we can see, in dollar amounts, if it's worth it for SE to make the release or not.

Worst case, the minimum is not met, nobody loses money, we're back where we started except with proof SE was justified in not making the PS2 disc for NA. Best case, we get a (late) NA PS2 release, and SE makes more money.

Here's a straw poll to give the community team an idea of if this is worth taking to the higher ups. If you want an NA PS2 version, please fill it out:
http://strawpoll.me/14568

EDIT: If you check the "also I plan to buy multiple copies" option, please also check one of the other options to indicate how much you'd likely invest into this.


EDIT EDIT: Apparently several people who read this do not understand how a Kickstarter-type "Backer funded" business/project model work. Here's a bit from Kickstarter's own explanation of how it works:

Project creators set a funding goal and deadline. If people like a project, they can pledge money to make it happen. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing — projects must reach their funding goals to receive any money. All-or-nothing funding might seem scary, but it’s amazingly effective in creating momentum and rallying people around an idea

TL;DR : Vote in poll and/or Like this post to help convince SE to set a funding goal and deadline for would-be PS2 NA SoA buyers to back (fund) creation of a PS2 NA SoA release, and prove this is a profitable venture.

[RagingAvatar]

Good work bro.

[Sfchakan]

From the rest of us to you: give it up and move on. You holdouts are holding the rest of the game back.



You are ruining MY immersion!

[RagingAvatar]

From the rest of us to you: give it up and move on. You holdouts are holding the rest of the game back.

Just to let you know, you're wrong. Seekers of Adoulin is out for PS2 in Japan, the US users just want what the Japanese users got. Take your "holding the game back"-yadda talk somewhere else please.

[Bahamut]

I have to agree with you, but I think its more then just not having enough money to do this. Its much more deeper then that. You can see a trend in SE after FFXIV's failure. The company spent craploads of FFXI sub money to make a new final fantasy that actually bombed, leaving FFXI to pay the price for it. SE stocks took a huge hit and they took huge yearly losses from FFXIV by putting all thier eggs into one basket.

Since then they have a new producer and adopted new standards of zero investment for the final fantasy mmo's, and grouped both FFXIV and FFXI together as money losers as far as policies go, even when SE admits FFXI brings in huge amounts of cash for them.

You can also see a failed marketing strategy coming out of the SE department towards FFXI and FFXIV. They havent even released this expansion as successfully as they had Abyssea Add-ons, it was not advertised anywhere close to it, and it had almost no pre-order time with a sloppy last minute release to major stores and marketplaces, with some outlets still not even having it a week past release date. This shows they are being as cheap as possible in the marketing department when it comes to FFXI as if it was FFXIV and had already failed. This approch harms the games image, and thats more important then they realize, because your games image is directly tied into weather people want to play it or not.

They seem to be following the Sony model, which has not even made a new MMO in thier EQ series in years, or even so much as an update to thier graphics system or game engine to keep up with the times, yet at the same time they rake in so much money off of thier station cash stores there is no reason not to spend some of it on upgrades.

SE could also make PS3 version, but they dont even want to invest a penny into that venture either, even though they would make a ton of cash off of it. Releases like this have never been as bad till FFXIV tanked, if you really want the answer to why they have cut all spending to FFXI, look at the monstrosity FFXIV. The old producers admited they spent FFXI sub money to create FFIXV, and they lost so big that FFXI is now paying the price of it in the form of reformed marketing and investing into the final fantasy series, theres no reason to not have ps2 release, a steam release, a marketing campaign with ads on TV to bring in new customers, ect. unless theres been a change in investment and marketing strategies towards saving as much money as possible. Even when money taken in by FFXI doesnt justify it, after all the FFXI subs could build a monstrosity like FFXIV, but not a ps2 version? Seriously... lol.

In the future I see a problem so deep with FFXI pulling back its investment and marketing that FFXI will defiantly not be able to exist. Its facing new mmo's in the near future like ESO, with stunning graphics and a true rpg feel to it. If FFXI is going to compete with those rpg, they are going to have to pull up thier pants after FFXIV and look into transfering FFXI into a state of the art system like the FFXIV game engine. Transfer everyones account over and then continue, or they'll have to take option two which is realize that FFXI wont survive the coming up competition and let it die with as small investments as possible, then create a new FF MMORPG when that happens, which is probably what they are doing. This is taken as a long-term outlook and is probably why your seeing things that dont make sense today as far as marketing and investments go, but for FFXI its a bad sign to say the least.

[Luvbunny]

Totally agree with your post, they need to at least put some money back in developing FFXI, which actually have full paying customers. This kind of attitude does not bode well for the FF image overall, it makes me less want to try FF14, knowing that the same fate could befall to FF14 down the road. Good luck for FF14, the new producer seems like a great guy, curious to see how ARR would launch. SoA is pretty much a bland expansion though, maybe it is good that US/EU PS2 users don't have to deal with it. Save the agony and disappointment. Though I wonder why they could not let them just download it direct from Playonline Service? Its only 250s MB at most.

[Himrik]

Please...every player who paid until now will continue to pay even without the expansion, and the game is really too old to attract a significant "new playerbase".
So basically, Adoulin marketing campaign wouldn't have changed anything and would have been wasted money.

As for "the same fate could befall to FF XIV", I can only hope it will run for ELEVEN years before having bland expansion

[Teraniku]

They seem to be following the Sony model, which has not even made a new MMO in thier EQ series in years, or even so much as an update to thier graphics system or game engine to keep up with the times, yet at the same time they rake in so much money off of thier station cash stores there is no reason not to spend some of it on upgrades.

SE could also make PS3 version, but they dont even want to invest a penny into that venture either, even though they would make a ton of cash off of it. Releases like this have never been as bad till FFXIV tanked, if you really want the answer to why they have cut all spending to FFXI, look at the monstrosity FFXIV. The old producers admited they spent FFXI sub money to create FFIXV, and they lost so big that FFXI is now paying the price of it in the form of reformed marketing and investing into the final fantasy series, theres no reason to not have ps2 release, a steam release, a marketing campaign with ads on TV to bring in new customers, ect. unless theres been a change in investment and marketing strategies towards saving as much money as possible. Even when money taken in by FFXI doesnt justify it, after all the FFXI subs could build a monstrosity like FFXIV, but not a ps2 version? Seriously... lol.

-Everquest Next contradicts the first part of this quote about Sony.

-PS3 version of FFXI would be fail at this point. PS4 is arguable, but even if they did, there is no guarantee that they would make money off it. You think that a 10 year old game, which would need a new expansion tied to the release of the new console version, would make a profit? You want them to do a port of FFXI to new game engine (or even the FFXIV: ARR engine?) This costs money, and in S-E's current situation, investors would balk at throwing their money into it.

[Volkai]

From the rest of us to you: give it up and move on. You holdouts are holding the rest of the game back.



You are ruining MY immersion!

You are ruining your own immersion, nobody else can do that for you.

Also, I no longer play PS2, I switched to PC in 2008 and then PC+360 in 2012. This isn't for me.

Now, if you're done putting your foot in your mouth, does anyone have any /relevant/ ideas about this proposal?

[Kirito_Wind]

Did they ever give a reason why they wanted to stop making US ps2 versions?