Is there a future?

[Camiie]

With XIV going into maintenance non save mode at the end of the month, that should free up some people for XI and SoA.

I highly doubt it. They're going to be working on ARR harder than ever I would imagine. Let's face it. It's all hands on deck for ARR and skeleton crew for XI for the foreseeable future.

[Sapphires]

I highly doubt it. They're going to be working on ARR harder than ever I would imagine. Let's face it. It's all hands on deck for ARR and skeleton crew for XI for the foreseeable future.

As someone who has worked on multiple games at different studios this tactic is a common practice and with games getting larger+risky+more expensive its pretty common to grab your best devs and throw them on the next thing that needs to ship.
Given the lateness on delivering the items on the XI roadmap and the millions SE has to throw at FFXIV to make it become relevant+get some subs to recoup the costs, I expected XI to get even less updates until the expansion comes out (and it will be probably late)

[Nala]

We can only hope that when (if?) FF14 actually starts bringing in some money, they will be able to free up some resources to work a bit more on FF11. Maybe this is why we haven't heard much more about adoulin yet? Could just be that they're currently spending so much on FF14 that they don't have a lot of spare resources to work on adoulin.

As I understand it, they have two separate development teams for FF14. One for the current version, and one for the new version. Hopefully, the people working on the current version could be reallocated to work on FF11 when they finally pull the plug.

And before someone goes all "but the current version sucks, i don't want them working on ff11", keep in mind that the first FF14 version didn't suck simply because everyone involved were poor employees. A lot of the issues were design choices by a person who is no longer working there. There would be no risk of FF11 becoming worse if they take one of the graphics artists who was working mainly with textures and bring him to FF11, for example. With a new expansion and whole new areas, there is probably a lot of texture work to be done. Same with audio related work, area design, NPC dialogue, etc.

Not according to the last interview of he who shall not be named, he claimed he let the 14 team make their own choices, man has no shame.

[Mirage]

They still won't need two separate dev teams anymore.

[Calysto]

never used the blinker method, but voidwatch droping mass logs and gems to npc doesn't sound a lot better...

yet it's still there with 90% of the drop over more "trade friendly" and not currency creating (and rare/extremly rare) hmp, cinder/dross, pulse cells, etc...
the rarity make them expensive and push players to use others methods to gain gils.(ie blinker and the likes)

as for rmt, yes they are still here, i get up to 2 tells/day, the fell cleave party are still there(even if some action seems to be taken against them)

[Jaberwocky]

Everyone crying about the Cruor nerf and PD/EM nerf need to quit, give me their gil, and go play another game.

I don't understand the agony in learning to adapt to the game. Both abilities were overpowered.

I agree with tying PD to skill (quit with the gimps and just raise the damn skill, not that hard), but there needs to be a way to get to the 600 skill cap.

Embrava was just rediculous when it first came out. It was nice and was great for my SCH to be used, but that's it was used for..just to Embrava, nothing more. Its not a one trick pony, its a job that has extreme utility.

Players and groups that whine and gripe after their "routine" to kill off mobs and gain rewards is backward thinking and quite honestly sad. Adapting and change is natural and should be in a game.

The cruor nerf needed to be done. Sucks to be you if that's all you knew to make cash. It shouldn't be that easy to make gil out of nothing. Inflating the servers with bunches of gil didn't do anything expect create lazy, dependent players.

This game has a lot to offer and if you play to obtain individual goals and gain virtual shinies, you're better off just playing Skyrim or something. This shouldn't mean a lot to people who play for fun, to help friends, and be part of a community. They will find a way to adapt. SE and even before when it was SquareSoft with the old SNES FF titles did wonders with their games. Deal with it or quit.

[Winrie]

SE prolly wondering why we are still on XI, I mean it's coming on 11 years old. Sorry to say but even current version of XIV is better than XI in a lot of ways barring endgame content and has a great producer who directly communicates with his playerbase, and he actually has a brain. It's profitable for SE to revive XI and run them both, each having a dedicated playerbase, most playing both games off and on, sadly tho they will hold til they see ARRs launch success I'm betting, but for some of us like me who have been around since NA launch on XI, I'm quite fed with how XI has turned out and what it is becoming, the lack of a real dev team and intelligent decisions, and lack of proper communication and content that isn't complete time sink crap.

[Luvbunny]

So the future is bleak? New expansion is coming but it does not look that exciting. Current contents are rather bad, with bad design revolved around RNG and 20-24 hours cool down, some even take 3 days. Nothing major is going to happen in the next 3-4 months I am afraid, if you are the type of people who consume contents so fast, you won't have much to do. For the rest of us who consume them at snail pace, the current contents are meaty enough for another good 6-12 months at least, for some even longer.

[Sarick]

Should we forget the past or have high hopes for the future. This old email for FF14 may have brought hope to some and dread to others.

Hope can be bad to those who see through ruby shaded glasses. Dread can be just as bad to those looking through a microscope full of flesh eating bacteria.

Thank you for your continued interest in and support of FINAL FANTASY XIV.

While more than two months have passed since the official launch of FINAL FANTASY XIV service, we deeply regret that the game has yet to achieve the level of enjoyability that FINAL FANTASY fans have come to expect from the franchise, and for this we offer our sincerest of apologies.

After thorough deliberation on how to meet those expectations, it was decided that the most viable step was to approach improvements under new leadership and with a restructured team.

To realize this vision, and in doing so, provide our customers with a better game experience, we have assembled our company’s top talent and resources. Taking over the role of producer and director is Naoki Yoshida, a passionate individual for whom customer satisfaction has always taken top priority. Not only is he one of our Group’s most accomplished and experienced members, Naoki Yoshida is also a charismatic leader possessing the skill to bring together and effectively helm a team which encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. We also welcome several new leaders handpicked from other projects to work with the existing talent on FINAL FANTASY XIV.

We realize time is of the essence and are fully determined to provide our customers with quality service. It is because of this that we ask our customers to be patient until we are able to confidently present them with a concrete plan outlining FINAL FANTASY XIV’s new direction. The free trial period will be extended until that time.

Regarding the PlayStation 3, it is not our wish to release a simple conversion of the Windows version in its current state, but rather an update that includes all the improvements we have planned. For that reason, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release of the PlayStation 3 version beyond the originally announced date of March 2011.

The FINAL FANTASY XIV team is working hard to bring our customers an unparalleled adventure, and we ask for your continued understanding and support as we march ever diligently towards that goal.


President and CEO, Yoichi Wada

The development and management teams would like to make an announcement regarding personnel changes.

[Organizational Changes to the Development Team]
To improve the service of FINAL FANTASY XIV, Square Enix has made the following changes to the development team:

Managerial Changes

Producer/Director
Naoki Yoshida

Section Leader Changes

Assistant Director
Shintaro Tamai (FINAL FANTASY X, Front Mission 5: Scars of the War)

Lead Game Designer
Nobuaki Komoto (FINAL FANTASY IX, FINAL FANTASY XI)

Lead Combat System Designer
Akihiko Matsui (FINAL FANTASY XI)

Technical Advisor
Yoshihisa Hashimoto (Next Generation Game Engine Development)

Lead Programmer
Hideyuki Kasuga (FINAL FANTASY XI, DIRGE OF CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII-)

Senior Concept Artist
Akihiko Yoshida (FINAL FANTASY XII, Vagrant Story)

Lead Artist
Hiroshi Takai (FINAL FANTASY XI, THE LAST REMNANT)

Lead UI Designer/Lead Web Designer
Hiroshi Minagawa (FINAL FANTASY XII, Vagrant Story)

These members will make up the development team’s new core—a core dedicated to ensuring we achieve a level of enjoyability that will more than satisfy our customers. Under a schedule of more frequent version updates, the new leaders and their respective sections will strive for continued improvements to FINAL FANTASY XIV service operation and development.

[Extension of the Free Trial Period]
As stated above, the newly restructured team’s top priority is to bring about improvements to the game’s enjoyability, and therefore we have decided to extend the free trial period until we can provide a plan that outlines a level of enjoyment that will satisfy both us and our customers. When we are confident that we have reached that goal, we will notify our customers immediately.

[Future Version Updates]
At present, the development team is putting the finishing touches on the previously announced version update, which is still slated for release in mid-December. In addition, there is one more version update scheduled for release before year’s end. Details on the content and dates of these updates will be released in the near future.

[Delay of the PlayStation 3 Version Release]
Although the release date for the PlayStation 3 version of the game was previously announced as late March of 2011, we regret to inform that this date has been changed.

The PlayStation 3 release will be delayed until we are confident that the game has reached the level of enjoyability and service befitting the FINAL FANTASY name for users on all supported platforms. We offer our sincerest apologies to any fans anticipating the PlayStation 3 release, and humbly ask for your continued patience and understanding as both the development team and Square Enix as a whole strive towards making FINAL FANTASY XIV a truly enjoyable and unforgettable adventure.

[New Development Team Policy]
I would like to take this opportunity to greet all of you—those currently playing FINAL FANTASY XIV, those who have taken a respite from playing, and those awaiting the PlayStation 3 release—and offer a brief word by way of an introduction.

No doubt there are very few, if any, among you who have ever heard the name Naoki Yoshida. To be sure, I have never been in the fore on any of the titles I have worked on in the past. I am, however, honored and privileged to work alongside many talented and inspiring colleagues, and with their support have enjoyed making games for a number of years. I am aware that a great many people will think the responsibility of leading FINAL FANTASY XIV is far too large a task for someone so unknown. After all, even my very best may seem no more than a drop in the bucket when considering the sheer scope of FINAL FANTASY XIV. But working together with me are the very talented and very capable development and management teams, whose dedication and motivation are unwavering. I would like to ask you to please put to rest uncertainties that you may have.

Now, more than ever, myself, the development team, and Square Enix as a whole, are committed to furthering our efforts to provide a quality service.

Everything we do will be for our players and customers.


FINAL FANTASY XIV Producer/Director, Naoki Yoshida

First of all, I would like to apologize for our inability to fully satisfy our users with the initial release of FINAL FANTASY XIV. I take full responsibility for the game’s current situation, and have therefore made the decision to step down from my role as producer. A number of concerns that have been voiced by users, such as the design of the user interface, availability of tutorials and game content, and battle system functionality, represent key issues that must be addressed. While improvements are already well underway in many areas, we were unfortunately not able to incorporate player feedback as quickly as we would have liked. We are aware, however, that in many cases, addressing these issues will call for a reworking of game elements. As these changes are our first priority, they will be commanding our full attention and efforts. It is to that end that we have put a new organizational structure into place for the development team. Under this new system, FINAL FANTASY XIV will see changes and additions in line with the desires and expectations of players. Though no longer producer, I will be continuing to support the development team in other capacities, and personally hope that you will continue your adventures in the realm of Eorzea.


Hiromichi Tanaka

Will FFXI die? Do we have a future? The true answer is everything dies it's just a matter how and why it dies.

The FF14 was a prime example of what not to do and what to do. Lets not forget.

[Alerith]

Everything dies. Sometimes slowly.