Thoughts on a shared subscription?

[Alhanelem]

The thing is, this isn't about money.

Except that it is, most people don't want to subscribe to multiple MMOs at the same time, even if it's not a matter of whether they can afford it. People don't want to waste money, even if they have plenty of it. There are many people who would be enticed to play another MMO if they could get a discount for doing so. We're not talking big numbers here but it costs basically nothing for SE to offer if people end up not utilizing it, and if they do gain some subs out of it, they're still making more than they would have if those people didn't subscribe to a second game.

To others FFXI is their main game and there is no other game we can move to, because we think the rest of the market is full of garbage.

There is *some* truth to this. Even I feel like MMOs today aren't made like they used to be, when they were really meant to be like an extension of yourself, rather than "just" a game you play. However, that doesn't mean today's MMOs can't be fun, or that they're "garbage," but rather they just aren't enjoyed in the same way. FFXIV is full of fun content that I enjoy for what it is. Where it fails is in the community department. The duty finder, while making it easier to group for content, makes the whole experience a lot less personal because in many cases you're not likely to see the same players again unless you liked them well enough to befriend them.

That doesn't mean the game is garbage or isn't fun, but it does mean FFXI is capable of fufilling needs that FFXIV (and other modern MMOs) can't.

But this is also a reason such a program could be fruitful, the two games offer very different experiences, and there is value for some to be had in playing both of them. And while there definitely are people who see all modern MMO experiences as inferior to those of the era of FFXI, there are also those who like the ones of today, as well as those who are curious about the past.

Need I remind you that during FFXIV's original conceptual phase, they originally envisioned FFXI and FFXIV as being two worlds that were directly linked in the same universe, and you could even switch from one to the other. This is why FFXIV's original races were made in the image of FFXI's, with all of the same hair styles etc (plus more, of course). There was in fact a hope at one point that we would want to play both. There is really a lot to gain by making this easier for people.

A few years ago SE had a corporate stage presentation where they announced FFXI would be shutting down pretty much immediately.

They never said the game was shutting down, much less "immediately," but rather that they planned to end major updates and go into "maintenance mode." So I call [Citation Needed] on that. There was also concern expressed about a major FF title becoming unplayable and them not wanting that to happen. The cancellation of the mobile re-imagining of the game also likely means they will be continuing to support the game (to some degree at least) for even longer.

Ultimately everyone should have the oppertunity to experience Vana'diel, and get a sense of the history of MMOs and how they evolved from games like this (and Everquest, and Ultima)