The reason XI is still a profitable and popular mmorpg.

[Pixela]

The reason XI is still running and is popular so long after creation, in spite of strong competition from other games with far bigger budgets is because it fulfills a niche that players want and that these bigger games cannot ever provide.

XI has long hard goals that appeal to progression junkies, difficult and somewhat unforgiving gameplay, region free servers, less spammy rotation based combat, a lack of UI community features that force players into community interaction, high rewards for progression that holds you above others, is faithful to the world / lore, hands off moderation over community interactions, impresses on players that this is a world and not a video game.

The reason the game is still running is because it tries hard to stay true to what its always been, and should always try to do that. Many of the things above would be considered gross negatives in modern mmorpgs, but a large niche of players do not see it that way (and when I say they don't see it that way, I mean they are here).

Even if many of us complain about the "grind" or the difficulty, the drop rates or other things in the moment, we still login tomorrow because even if we moan about it we kind of like it for some reason or another. The day I stop logging in, will be the day I have nothing left to work towards and little else.

To use an analogy, FFXI is like an extra hot spicy 9 alarm chicken wings seller on the side of the road next to a sea of big chain fried chicken sellers.

XI will always have a place as long as it remains true to what it is, and does not try to copy bigger games too much. If you try to copy the bigger games, you will fail because they already do that better than you ever can.

[Zehira]

XI will always have a place as long as it remains true to what it is, and does not try to copy bigger games too much. If you try to copy the bigger games, you will fail because they already do that better than you ever can.

I don't know. I have met a kid in XIV who knew a lot of XI because of her mother. She once encouraged me to play with her on a private server. She only is paying for XIV because she thinks she can see the future.

[Uriah]

The only reason it's profitable is they stopped enforcing the rules and make money from allowing bad actors to run rampant.

If the bots and the hexaboxers got banned for breaking the tos the game would be over.

The only reason it appears to be "popular" is said hexaboxers. The real population is at or under 10k. That's far from popular.

[Stompa]

I totally agree with the OP.

I would add that FFXI allows for entirely Unique Augments.

I have Augments that no other person in the Universe has got.

I have a Gala Corsage with STR+4 Fire-Def +19. Good luck trying to get that same Augment in FOV-NM battles.

Less unique but still rare Augments, like Linos flute with Quad-Attack +3.

ROLE-PLAYING GAMES have always, since the pen-and-paper / dice / tabletop AD&D games of the early 1980s, strived to make each Player Character unique and festooned with Novelty. No RPG Player wants their character to be identical to other player characters.

Fake RPGs offer Linear Gaming, you must go from this to this to this etc. even putting big glowing !exclamation marks! over the next this-then-this location.

Not enjoying missions / quests anymore? In FFXI you can stop doing missions at any time you like, without it affecting your Player Character's growth or <sightseeing> or combat arcade thrills. No Linear voice is commanding you to complete stuff, you can quit missions and just go pwn mobs, hunt NMs, or go Augmenting uniquely novel personal-stylez <you can't have this> type of crazy augments.

FFXI offers FREEDOM, go your own way, be unique, use unorthodox kiting / pinning / DOT strategies, experiment with novel or even unique equipment or bizarre but successful party job setups.

FFXI is the only pure RPG on the market, because it is not Linear, it offers freedom and uniqueness and imaginative play. And imaginative free unique play styles were always the true heart of RPGs.

[Alhanelem]

Well, you have to ask why the bigger game is bigger. Copying it wholesale obviously isn't a good idea, but they had to have ticked more of the "what makes a successful game" boxes (Note that "popular IP" is definitely one of those boxes) to become bigger than something that's smaller, success rarely happens by accident.

You figure out what attributes of the successful game were the biggest contributors to it being successful. Then, if those things make sense for your game, do them. But not all of them will- Often times, changes made to draw new players can alienate existing ones, so if there isn't a net gain, there isn't any measure by which it was worth doing.

Implementation also matters. Take the FFXIV Novice Network and the FFXI assist channel. Both are meant to do the same thing. But sprouts can stay in the novice network as long as they want until they meet the game's definition of not being a novice anymore. While for FFXI, they decided to just put set time limits on it for some reason (concern about bots? I don't know- but that's easily solved by making it invite based). They did later increase the time limit, but it's still a time limit- Mission/story progress should also have been a fector.

So, SOMETIMES, copying what the successful game does can work. But only if it makes sense in the context of your game, and if it's implemented correctly.

[Sp1cyryan]

The only reason it's profitable is they stopped enforcing the rules and make money from allowing bad actors to run rampant.

If the bots and the hexaboxers got banned for breaking the tos the game would be over.

The only reason it appears to be "popular" is said hexaboxers. The real population is at or under 10k. That's far from popular.

You don't have access to their financials to make this statement.

[Alhanelem]

You don't have access to their financials to make this statement.

While it's probably not totally out of left field, I'm really tired of people making up numbers and assertions without any actual data to back it up (Not to mention people who don't cite sources when asked to)

[Zehira]

Well, he isn't wrong about FFXI's far from popular. Only "popular" towards the JP community. Either EN community may not like the way this game is or SE is not doing enough to keep up with the numbers.

This thread is clearly a propaganda.

[Alhanelem]

Well, he isn't wrong about FFXI's far from popular. Only "popular" towards the JP community. Either EN community may not like the way this game is or SE is not doing enough to keep up with the numbers.

I don't really disagree with that, but you still don't fabricate numbers to make your case. You get data to support your assertions or you don't make them until you have data for them.

[Zehira]

I don't really disagree with that, but you still don't fabricate numbers to make your case. You get data to support your assertions or you don't make them until you have data for them.

While SE don't share their secret data to public, you can get data from this forum easily. It has been proven from time to time not enough people visit here. EN community of the other game has been more louder than anyone else.