Development Team Downsizing and Justification Makes no Sense

[Immortal]

So what exactly was going on at this time that would give you insight into the impact of resource reallocations? We were still getting large scale new contents at the time. I disagree with your notion that there was anything at all to give any indication to players (before the reveal of the new game) that focus was being shifted to a new project.

8 months+ between updates during WOTG.... Surely nobody s aw it coming

Just that they have the resources to work on more than one project at a time without compromising either one. SE has multiple development studios and divisions. I think the only reason this decision was made was because they put the guy in charge of FFXI in charge of the new project. Why, I don't know, I can only suppose that it's because he had experience directing an MMO. In hindsight, that really didn't do them much good did it- since they basically ended up firing the team behind XIV 1.0 and forming a new one.

Yes but they essentially used almost all the same team and RESOURCES on the beginning of XIV 1.0.... You really think that had 0 impact on XI? The interview spells it out for you in plain letters.

Anyway, my point remains the same: Everyone here is blaming FFXIV for everything that happened/is happening to FFXI, but the reality is FFXIV was a product of the state of FFXI- If FFXI had become the same big mega-hit as WoW did, I doubt they would have been considering a new project when they did. Opinion, of course, but you don't cast aside something that is doing well (unless you have no business sense...)

I can understand why people think and feel that way, considering the facts presented. But I maintain that FFXIV was a product of FFXI's declining popularity, rather than the cause of it.

The game never had to be a WoW killer, if that was the case they would only copy popular games like candy crush and WoW going forward for any project they did. They've been shown to be really bad at business multiple times through multiple games and directions they've taken the company. They are just too prideful to back down in most cases...

[Catmato]

So what exactly was going on at this time that would give you insight into the impact of resource reallocations? We were still getting large scale new contents at the time. I disagree with your notion that there was anything at all to give any indication to players (before the reveal of the new game) that focus was being shifted to a new project.

What Draylo said. I just said players felt the impact of the focus shift; not that they necessarily knew what was causing the lack of content.

o-p-n-i-o-n.

opnion

I never said SE had infintie money lol.

I know you never said that; I was using hyperbole. You used the phrase "had to" in an abstract manner saying in the grand scheme, it wasn't required for FFXI to suffer in order for FFXIV to succeed. I thought you meant that it didn't, in fact, suffer, which is absolutely not based in this reality.

Anyway, my point remains the same: Everyone here is blaming FFXIV for everything that happened/is happening to FFXI...

I can understand why people think and feel that way, considering the facts presented. But I maintain that FFXIV was a product of FFXI's declining popularity, rather than the cause of it.

It can be both. FFXIV has been taking resources that could have been used for FFXI for well over half of FFXI's existence.

I can only speak for myself, but I don't blame FFXIV for anything; it's an inanimate game. I blame SE and Tanaka for pulling resources from FFXI at a time when they could have turned the metaphorical ship around. Whether that would have meant refactoring the code completely to get rid of the PS2 devkit dependency while they still employed the programmers who wrote it, just pulling their heads out of their asses and developing content that people could actually get excited for, or something else entirely.

I don't blame FFXIV, that's just where the pulled resources happened to go.

[Sp1cyryan]

The resources were leaving anyway. Have we not all grasped that simple fact? Let's not be grumpy fanatics.

[Alhanelem]

What Draylo said. I just said players felt the impact of the focus shift; not that they necessarily knew what was causing the lack of content.

This interview is talking about when FFXIV 1.0 was in development. At this time there wasn't any sort of lack of content in our updates- At least I certainly don't remember getting that impression. I'd agree with you if this was near or post-audolin times, but this was much earlier than that.

I blame SE and Tanaka for pulling resources from FFXI at a time when they could have turned the metaphorical ship around.

I respect your perspective on this, but you have to remember this was a business decision. They felt like they would be more financially successful with a new game that can attract a lot of new players vs trying to keep a ship from sinking. And at this time there wasn't really an accepted rule as to whether sequelling an MMO was a good idea or not- Few games other than Ultima and Everquest had been around remotely long enough to demonstrate how long an MMO can truly last.

It wasn't til later that they realized "Wow, there's still quite a few people playing this and it's worth our time to keep things going a while longer" because players of FFXI and FFXIV were substantially different and there wasn't a ton of overlap.

8 months+ between updates during WOTG....

I don't recall us ever going 8 months without an update of any sort, at least during the time period relevant to this discussion? Even today we *technically* still get updates on a monthly basis. Even the updates that actually add things hadn't been 8 months apart.

[Immortal]

Look it up, it happened and I lived thru it lol. I remember tons of people then were contemplating quitting because we literally were bored to death doing the same content rotation for years... The latest thing they added was those dumb NM fights you started w/a pixie and gotten the worst side grade augments ever seen.

[Catmato]

I don't recall us ever going 8 months without an update of any sort, at least during the time period relevant to this discussion? Even today we *technically* still get updates on a monthly basis. Even the updates that actually add things hadn't been 8 months apart.

Maybe there was never 8 months between actual version updates, but if you look here, you can see that there are many instances of going three months or longer between version updates. Some of these updates added little more than a few quests and some job adjustments; nothing substantial.

I respect your perspective on this, but you have to remember this was a business decision

I understand that it was a business decision. I can't say whether it was the right one or not, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

[Alhanelem]

I think the key here, especially in the context of the time, is there was no pre-existing standard for how to handle the kind of situation they were in. MMORPGs were the earliest "live service" games. Even from before they were released, they had an expected lifespan that was unknown to the players. But as time went on, they realized that people were willing to play these games a lot longer than they thought. I highly doubt we'll see a Final Fantasy ## Online until FFXIV is basically dead.

[Pixela]

They will never make another mmorpg if they have any sense, there has never been a group of players more attached as ff14 players and if they ever do anything to that like what they did with 11 they will lose their minds.

[Alhanelem]

They will never make another mmorpg if they have any sense, there has never been a group of players more attached as ff14 players and if they ever do anything to that like what they did with 11 they will lose their minds.

I mean both games will eventually and truly die. It's entirely possible that the realm will be re-reborn but beyond that, FFXIV will have to die before SE makes another MMORPG in the final fantasy universe. They could certainly make one with a different IP though.

[Immortal]

Wait says who? They aren't as smart as you give them credit for. They will probably make another MMO to surpass XIV just like they did with XI, I will get some twisted satisfaction from watching it happen too, sorry to say. Those XIV players hated on XI for the longest time until it was no longer relevant, I never forget!