My guess is the mobile version of ffxi because everybody has phones now and Yoshi-P thinks highly of Blizzard. He even said in a recent interview he'd like to be a part of Diablo 4 development lol.
My guess is the mobile version of ffxi because everybody has phones now and Yoshi-P thinks highly of Blizzard. He even said in a recent interview he'd like to be a part of Diablo 4 development lol.
Consider the cost of an FFXI sub is more than what little competition is left in the sub market before considering things like mules or extra storage space, I'd argue that XI players are and have been getting fleeced for a long time now. Further weigh that against the shrinking size and quality of updates and the value you're getting now certainly wasn't what it was prior to WotG or earlier. I think you also underestimate how many would be willing to play if the game were only $5 a month, or better yet, free (and not have to deal with the failings of the private server scene).
So bluntly, I'll just stick to them needing to reduce the cost of the sub significantly (while removing other charges) or go outright B2P. I wouldn't say server merges are mandatory so much as improving the world transfer process and also making it free. Let XIV pay for XI now, just as XI paid for years of XIV's production and revamp to suffer for it. Though, from the looks of it, I'm getting more of the vibe that XIV is on the way out and XVI or XVII will probably be another MMO.
I disagree, it's such a small amount of money for a month of entertainment. A lot of people play with numerous characters too, which equates to up to around $100 a month.
Reducing the costs would not be viable, and would have an even more detrimental effect on the game. SE are a business after all.
In my days of pubs, bars/clubs I could spend $200 in a night just on drinks, which ended up in the toilet 4 hours later.
Your irresponsibility with cash does not greenlight SE giving players third-rate service.
Everything is relative. Just because you think they're irresponsible or that you don't think it's worth the money doesn't mean other people feel the same way. Most people don't intentionally throw their money down garbage chutes, so if they paid or keep paying SE sub money, then that means they feel they're getting some amount of value for their money. When they stop gaining said value, they will unsubscribe. Obviously, you already passed that threshold, but there are plenty of people such as him and me that feel they're getting enough out of what they're paying to continue supporting them.
Ultimately though, I think SE would rather pull the plug than go free (or buy) to play. Having continuous sub money obligates their continued support of the game, so in a way it's really the best way to keep the game online. If it was b2p, once ppl stopped buying new copies the game would be done, whereas even if only a small number of people are subscribing, the game can be kept online.
The main problem is many don't want to acknowledge that things should be better here and that such a realization would cheapen prior investment. "It's just a few cups of coffee!" we're told, as if everyone should be happy sacrificing that or whatever betters their day-to-day life. This shouldn't be confused with me saying SE shouldn't be getting money for the game, but that they should be more realistic about its expectations from players if their own reinvestment is going to be so comically bare bones. Customer appreciation is a commodity, too.
More relative to the OP, the mere suggestion that anything is 3 years out reeks of desperation to milk yet more subs from people. That's an eternity in gaming years. Can you say, with genuine sincerity, that current XI endgame would satisfy the majority of current players for that span? I can't, as not everyone wants to build multiple RMEAs or grind umpteen jobs to Master. No, the game needs new stories, new zones (not a 4th Dynamis iteration), new mobs to fell, dare I even say a new job or two along with further revamps/additions.
The mobile version is pretty much phantom status, with the last bit of info I've heard is that the relationship between SE and Nexon has been difficult. I never really expected that to be another system we could play our same characters on, anyway, so whatever on that. A 3 year timeline may infer a sort of Remaster, as it's obvious the game needs some overhauling to shed it's absent PS2 master, but this just goes back to calling into question if that's soon enough, let alone worth it for SE if we're really going to play the business sense card. Nonetheless, the concern the game may one day "die" is a valid one, and I see that death more as a result of poor player behaviors than SE finally pulling the plug on the servers. Which is to say you can't expect everyone to be running multiple accounts or have those earlier mentioned multiple masteries/weapons and other perfect gear. The future of the game isn't in pandering to the dwindling number of addicts. It's in winning back those who felt they had nothing to do, couldn't do things (because they weren't the right jobs, on the right server, whatever), possibly never played before "because it's an MMO", and further incentivizing that against the cost of competition (which happens to be cheaper, free, prettier, and kinder in progression in a lot of cases).
Can't remember where I read the idea on B2P, (maybe Reddit) but someone pointed out that F2P is more feasible than B2P only because they can follow the business plan of Final Fantasy Brave Exivus, Dissida Final Fantasy NT and Omni Opera, and a few highly popular ones. However, someone else suggested that if SE did monthly, highly rewarding campaigns without changes to the sub and job adjustments, it should result in higher retention (priority) and increase in subs and resubs. So far, it's been working out (although we need more CP campaigns), but anything can change. Nonetheless, XIV can keep XI afloat like XI paid to revamp XIV. Thus, the opportunity to adjust subs is there, but SE probably really need to a good reason to do it.
This ties into a method of retention. All that you mention are great possibilities (except new zones since they made it clear they weren't doing that anymore). I would like to see a direction with adding new stories and mobs to fight. As for a new job, I think this would complicate things at the moment...besides, a lot of jobs and weapon skills currently need adjustments (like badly).
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