Square Enix Financial Loss report – Is FFXIV really at a risk? DEVS pls comment

I was checking FFXIV ZAM today and read the Thursday (May 12/2011) blog regarding the financial report of Square Enix dated May 12/2011. The report looked pretty grim and it would seem that Square Enix might be put in a situation where they have to pull the plug on some game projects to manage their operating costs more efficiently.
Now here is the big question…will Square Enix continue on with FFXIV and continue to have YoshiP and the current dev team improve the game and use FFXIV as their last ACE to make a huge come back and get their financials to the positive side?

I am one of the many FFXIV players that stayed loyal to FFXIV and continued to be an active player since Sept 2010. Many of you might not agree to this, but should SE decides to continue with FFXIV and decides to have the current dev team to continue improving the game and announce that they will have to start charging the monthly fee sooner than later. I will fully support SE, I have not made any major contributions to Japan when the Earthquake happened, but I believe that by supporting the FFXIV monthly payment WITH THE PROVISION that YoshiP and his team will stay and continue the amazing progress they are doing with FFXIV, is worth it and in some ways I can redeem myself.

To add to this, I believe that FFXIV is in the perfect position to still compete with other current MMOs, sure there is still a lot of work to be done, but FFXIV has made notable, yet subtle progress, even Thayos of FFXIV ZAM noticed these positive changes. The changes might not be as profound as we expected them to be but at least the game has improved and is continuing to improve. Thayos also shared my belief that there is a huge chance for YoshiP and his dev team to help FFXIV make its huge come back.
Another fact I want to address as a FF fan is that FFXIV lore is something that most current MMOs cannot imitate IMO, even the graphics is still much better compared to other MMOs IMO. I know I sound kind of bias here but I really truly believe that FFXIV has huge potential to compete in the MMO industry.

I would appreciate any comments from the FFXIV DEV team in terms of how they feel about what is happening in Square Enix’s current financial state. I would hope that SE does not give up on FFXIV, I can’t come back to FFXI at this point, I have already moved forward from FFXI and I don’t find the other current MMOs captivating enough to take me away from Final Fantasy lore.

I second this.

This game has the potential to be the best MMORPG on the market.

But.

Time is running out.

It's gonna take a lot of hard work to bring it around. I just hope SE can stomach it.

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Originally Posted by Rentahamster

This game has the potential to be the best MMORPG on the market.

But.

Time is running out.

It's gonna take a lot of hard work to bring it around. I just hope SE can stomach it.

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Yes I understand Time is a major factor, Thayos of FFXIV ZAM did pointed that the next major updates could very well dictate on where FFXIV will stand. I hope YoshiP gets this message "I believe YoshiP and his team can do it!"

The little report thing never mentioned they were losing money on FFXIV(even though I would have to bet they are) but they lost alot of money because they cancelled some games that were in development.(one was confirmed to be Gun Loco and another was confirmed to be a unannounced Highlander game and people are assuming they cancelled a few 3DS games) so that big loss was money put into games that will never come out and as such are a loss.

Despite the fact that FFXIV is losing money SE knows the potential the game has and I doubt they would kill it anytime soon.(I mean look at FFXI it's still making them alot of money and it could be the sole reason they have no outright killed XIV already) I would bet as a matter of fact they would be far more likely to switch the game over to a free to play model as a last ditch effort before finally letting it die(as Free to play games are becoming increasingly popular and profitable)

I doubt any of the SE people will comment on this as the only thing they can really say is everything is fine(as saying something bad would make people just flee the game and kill it quicker anyway)

i never understood why people act like this game is so bad and they cant play it. i mean sure theres a few little things wrong with balance but overall, its playable and fun. all i ever see is people talking about a huge lack of content, and i agree but that doesnt mean the whole game is bad.

To address the OP I do not believe that the game is in danger of shutting down right now.

This is from their financial reports.
"Our Group experienced significantly lower sales and profit during the fiscal year mainly due to weak performance of console game titles released during the year as well as the impact of a continued delay in billing for a key online title, which was newly launched during the year."

http://www.abload.de/img/capture8cdg.png

Based on the graphic, one would assume Square does want to strengthen their online titles, so I wouldn't put that as a risk to the game closing, despite the loss of profit, and I imagine not even breaking even on the cost of game development, that FF14 has cost.

In the future FFXIV will be in danger if the developers cannot convince players to #1. Return to the game and #2. Subscribe to the game.
There's so much to add, but I don't think it will be ready for "launch" until June of next year, so I do not believe it's in danger of closing until after that time period.

People will give ff14 a chance, ff fans will always give a fair share of time for se to fix the game. there is alot more wrong then right in it atm and although it can be somewhat amusing to play for a short time a huge huge percentage of ppl that originally tried it could never be happy with ff in its current state. atm it is OK.

i dont think se will give up on ff14 , i really dont, BUT if they dont make ps3 out of this world fantastic........then sadly it will never be truly profitable to them.

i want it to be, i want ff14 to be the absolute best out there, they have the talent and the right team on it now. IF ppl can wait it out and IF ps3 release is literally huge and jam packed over the top filled with goodies then i see a good future for it and for SE profit.

I would be willing to pay to keep this project alive. I think it has potential, and I think once we start seeing a few more positive results, more people would be interested in it as well.

From a financial point of view, it is redundant to axe FFXIV anyways, as it has the potential subscription base from FFXI as that game won't be around much longer. Yes people went back to it on 14's release, but these are the people that are STILL playing FFXI, which aren't that many. The population of the game is dropping noticably, as are the subs, so SE will only be able to generate new revenue by continuing support for 14.

It is the only logical step for them, otherwise they just threw millions of dollars into the fire, which again financially, isn't viable, and won't happen.

I'm going to say that FFXIV is not at risk. There are multiple reasons for this:

The majority of the cost has already been undertaken. The server architecture, the development for getting the game this far, and the various systems and tools they developed to make the game have been completed.

Ditching the game now would be like building a house, and then knocking it down because the interior was painted the wrong colour.

Yes, there are issues. No, these issues are not a major cause of money loss for SE at the current point in time. SE are well aware that once they are able to charge for the game, they will begin to get return on their investment over time. That is how MMOs work, massive upfront costs (which have already been outlayed) - followed by comparatively small costs.

The fact of the matter is, a lot of causes were involved for SE to lose money, and they made the decision to drop low profit/high risk projects which were in early development. That was the correct decision.

Hopefully that clears it up for people who don't really understand what is going on.

Not to burst your bubble about new server architecture or anything, but the amount of servers FFXIV has is the same amount that were removed from FFXI.... coincidence?

FFXIV isnt at risk, and worrying that it is is silly.

The section of the company funding the game would have known well in advance what the budget sheet looked like. If FFXIV were to get "axed", it would have been done months ago. Reason: no budget, no updates. Budget for an axed game = waste of money. Companies exist to profit. "But they arent charging for FFXIV!" you say? They're still signing the budget permits and the devs' paychecks. They would NOT be doing this if the intent was to end the game's development. And you most certainly wouldn't be participating on these forums (they cost money too).

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Originally Posted by Issachar

FFXIV isnt at risk, and worrying that it is is silly.

The section of the company funding the game would have known well in advance what the budget sheet looked like. If FFXIV were to get "axed", it would have been done months ago. Reason: no budget, no updates. Budget for an axed game = waste of money. Companies exist to profit. "But they arent charging for FFXIV!" you say? They're still signing the budget permits and the devs' paychecks. They would NOT be doing this if the intent was to end the game's development. And you most certainly wouldn't be participating on these forums (they cost money too).

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perfectly stated. /endthread

I'd have been willing to support it back then, but not for the past five months. Not that it matters either, I already had put in $80 for Crysta from back in September.

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Originally Posted by IveraIvalice

i never understood why people act like this game is so bad and they cant play it. i mean sure theres a few little things wrong with balance but overall, its playable and fun. all i ever see is people talking about a huge lack of content, and i agree but that doesnt mean the whole game is bad.

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Poeple dont "act" like this game is bad, this game is badly done, a confusing mess to say the least.
It has potential? Yes it has a great potential but unfortunately it was developed by people who have no idea how to make an mmo and it shows.
The other square enix mmo abomination called ffxl was successful only because the console players didnt know anything better at that time, unfortunately SE thought it was successful because they did a good job...big mistake that they are paying for now.
So here we are years later with a sequel that was totally botched by the lack of experience (and common sense) of a company that is too arrogant to learn from others and from its own mistakes.
Dont get me wrong, i think FFxiv is a game that has many great qualities and could be a lot of fun, but the way all the game elements are put together is just plain dumb, worse than any other mmo on the market today (including free ones).
Last but not least, SE showed that aside from being incompetent at creating an mmo, they are also greedy as always, pay a monthly fee for each character slot? are you serious? lol

Despite their very bad mistakes, i have to say i respect the way SE handled this epic fail. They admitted the problem and are taking serious money loss while working to correct the problems, other companies wouldnt have done that.

I just hope they will make the right changes to bring new players ( and keep them).

I wish them all the best.

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Originally Posted by Meridian

I'm going to say that FFXIV is not at risk. There are multiple reasons for this:

The majority of the cost has already been undertaken. The server architecture, the development for getting the game this far, and the various systems and tools they developed to make the game have been completed.

Ditching the game now would be like building a house, and then knocking it down because the interior was painted the wrong colour.

Yes, there are issues. No, these issues are not a major cause of money loss for SE at the current point in time. SE are well aware that once they are able to charge for the game, they will begin to get return on their investment over time. That is how MMOs work, massive upfront costs (which have already been outlayed) - followed by comparatively small costs.

The fact of the matter is, a lot of causes were involved for SE to lose money, and they made the decision to drop low profit/high risk projects which were in early development. That was the correct decision.

Hopefully that clears it up for people who don't really understand what is going on.

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Though Server Architecture is not a large one I believe you are correct. In my experience the majority of the expense in game developing outside of the core programming is generally the artistic elements. Character models, landscape, animations etc. It takes tremendous amounts of time to build up these assets. Class balancing and game mechanics can often be altered en masse. Issachar Also stated it very well, if it were to be axed it would have been done when they put the new team in place.

I'm not the slightest bit worried in it's development to come. For anyone who played XI you should realize how incredibly complex that game is/was. Still today the competitors cannot compare in complexity of actual mechanics. All other companies create difficulty by 1. Adding more/stronger "Elite" mobs or 2. Increasing the length of an instance.
(Having experience from WoW, LotRO & Aion). This and the depth of the story line are what make FF series compelling. If they echo only a little bit of that strategy things will be fine.

YoshiP himself said that that is the goal with the revised battle system in his latest letter.

"Think of the satisfaction you get when taking out an enemy solo by a stroke of brilliance. Or the supreme exhilaration you feel when pwning entire hoards of foes by playing out your party role to perfection. Now, in contrast, imagine a person who, with only half his heart in the battle, struggles to dispatch the enemy. This kind of range in experience is what we’re aiming for with the reformed battle system—a system that rewards effort and innovation."

FFXIV will see that future, the question is, when? Keep in mind XI launched in Japan a whole year and a half ahead of the US and did not include any of the advanced jobs. There were balance issues galore as well.

We can only hold their hands for so long, and sooner or later we need to let go and hope they can walk on their own.

I suspect that by the time the 1-year mark hits (late Sept 2011), either we'll have a game that is unique, well-structured, and has a reasonable player-base.... Or FFXIV will be devoured by games like GW2 that have that flashy "I'm new and EXCITING!!" feel to them.

That is assuming there is a competitor. GW2 is still staying true to their "When it's Ready" answer for a release date. Some are speculating Holiday 2011 but it's not even in Closed Beta yet although should be soon. Beta schedules are usually 4-8 weeks for each phase so that is minimum of 2 months from closed beta launch and possibly as much as 4 months.

I can think of Tera, GW2 and maybe, just maybe The Secret World other than that there doesn't seem to be much on the horizon. I'm personally a little leery of GW2 with such a bad taste left in my mouth after Aion. Despite them only being the publisher, NC Soft has a way of really screwing with western customers.

That's the thing FFXI's japanese launch was sort of a failure also, which leaves less room for me to make excuses for this launch. I bought the CE, even after playing beta, and I would of gladly waited a year for this game if it meant it would of been 20% more successful.