Development Team Downsizing and Justification Makes no Sense

[Alhanelem]

I strongly disagree. Players don't have to know exactly what's going on behind the scenes to feel the impact of resource reallocations.

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.

so take the damn L and move on.

This isn't a contest, there is no L to take. Opinions can't be wrong. "I"m not disputing..." the purported fact being presented doesn't affect my opinion. Still doesn't. Opinion. OPINION. o-p-n-i-o-n.

Sorry, I must have misunderstood what you meant. I thought you were musing about what actually happened instead of some theoretical situation where SE had good management and infinite money.

I never said SE had infintie money lol. 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.

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.

[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.