Sad state of things. Around the time FF XIV released we were getting news on "the largest sandbox style MMO ever designed" which was set to leapfrog everyone else - Everquest Next. It was going to have ahead-of-its-time tech with terrain deformation and physics systems.... and it was cancelled. That's the end of the EQ series being relevant.
WildStar looked good but that died. I would have tried if they made a console version. WoW is almost 20 years old now and it has never been on console. I still intend to try Blue Protocol when it is releases internationally but it has red flags; being run by Amazon tops the list.
S-E are at least very reliable at running an MMO. We're up-to-date on the English side of FF XIV because it's combined with JP service in a global version, not spun off to a less reliable company. And they have in-house localisation. And they aren't going bust or ending service any time soon.
'Good enough' will have to do. There is no wildly innovative next-gen MMO coming to shake up the market and displace FF XIV unless they wake up and adapt to new ideas. :(
