New Yoshi-P interview revives hope for an Xbox port

After reading a new interview with Yohsi-P it seems the Xbox port may still be on the tables in the future. Link to the interview:https://www.vg247.com/2021/02/18/fin...naoki-yoshida/

Based on what he said I predict that once End Walker and the PS5 port are completed and the team has a little breathing room they may begin work on the Xbox port. It's possible it could maybe even come out within the mi-late 2022 timeframe. (My guess. Yoshi-P didn't mention those dates)

Edit: For those who don't want to read the full article here is the section about Xbox:
VG247: Forgive me for asking this – as I know you’ve spoken about it at length before, even to me. But what’s the deal with Xbox? In 2019 and 2020, statements by yourself and Phil Spencer seemed to suggest that you were edging closer to a solution to bring FF14 to those platforms. So it was a surprise to see the PS5 announcement without any further news on other platforms. Switch has been mentioned in the past, too, but Xbox in particular. Can you give us an update, and possibly explain what obstacles remain?

Naoki Yoshida: There are no obstacles for developing the Xbox version. We were able to undertake development and provide our service thanks to the immense efforts that Phil has invested. For that we are truly grateful!

The sole factors are the workload and the order of steps. Now when it comes to the Xbox version, there’s unfortunately not much I can say presently but just that we cannot work on all the steps simultaneously and need to follow the order for proceeding with these things. Since we’re currently involved in the development of Endwalker and preparing the PS5 version to follow on from the title’s service on PS4, it’d be appreciated if we can return to touch upon the Xbox version once things have settled!

The problem with an xbox port isn't a technical one, but one of Microsoft's policies.

Which... the article doesn't address at all. They basically say there are no real technical obstacles, it's just a matter of doing the dev work. We've known this...

It doesn't say at all if Microsoft's policies have loosened enough to allow FFXIV on the platform, or if Microsoft decided to grant Square a special exemption, or so on. Yeah, they say they'll touch on it again after the PS5 port, but that might just be "Microsoft still says no."

I'd be very careful about getting your hopes up.

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Originally Posted by Risvertasashi

The problem with an xbox port isn't a technical one, but one of Microsoft's policies.

Which... the article doesn't address at all. They basically say there are no real technical obstacles, it's just a matter of doing the dev work. We've known this...

It doesn't say at all if Microsoft's policies have loosened enough to allow FFXIV on the platform, or if Microsoft decided to grant Square a special exemption, or so on. Yeah, they say they'll touch on it again after the PS5 port, but that might just be "Microsoft still says no."

I'd be very careful about getting your hopes up.

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Yoshi-P's comment makes it sound like there isn't any obstacles with Xbox's policy based on this: "There are no obstacles for developing the Xbox version. We were able to undertake development and provide our service thanks to the immense efforts that Phil has invested. For that we are truly grateful"

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Originally Posted by PMSJordan

Yoshi-P's comment makes it sound like there isn't any obstacles with Xbox's policy based on this: "There are no obstacles for developing the Xbox version. We were able to undertake development and provide our service thanks to the immense efforts that Phil has invested. For that we are truly grateful"

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While I'm reading it the way you are, I'll still believe it when I see it. Microsoft's policies have always been the issue and I haven't seen anything specifically stated in any interview from Yoshi or Microsoft that Microsoft has given up on their policies in regards to FFXIV.

Seems, from reading that, it's a likely concept in the future, but of course caution is nice to prevent disappointment and avoid a sense things were promised when they weren't lol.

There are no limits now. But remember that F2P games will no longer require xbox live which was one of the things holding it back. I wouldnt be surprised if they announced the xbox version at fanfest.

And Sony's policy is NO CROSSPLAY yet here we are. Exceptions can be made

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Originally Posted by Shougun

Seems, from reading that, it's a likely concept in the future, but of course caution is nice to prevent disappointment and avoid a sense things were promised when they weren't lol.

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Well, SE has been saying this for years and years. Of course we can hope, but... yes, wait until a promise is actually a promise

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Originally Posted by Jin-

And Sony's policy is NO CROSSPLAY yet here we are. Exceptions can be made

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Yes, but Sony made that exception for close to a decade now, and Microsoft has been resisting Square's negotiations for not much shorter than that.

But you're right, it can happen. It just comes back to - will Microsoft finally let Square do it?

We don't have a firm yes, just the usual "we hope so, check back later."

I can never see ffxiv on Xbox. Im not against it, I just have no hope it'll ever make it on that platform.

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Originally Posted by Bsrking5

I can never see ffxiv on Xbox. Im not against it, I just have no hope it'll ever make it on that platform.

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I have faith that it could happen. Not 100% confident, but I have a good feeling. Plus FF11 came out on the Xbox 360 years after it was originally released.

People are out of date. Xbox doesn't require a subscription anymore for free to play games. That was the "policy" that was holding it back, It's gone now so there's nothing preventing the port to come, from the microsoft side. The FFXIV team just has to get a breathing room after endwalker and the PS5 version to start working on the Xbox port.

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Originally Posted by Risvertasashi

It just comes back to - will Microsoft finally let Square do it?

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If it still comes back to that, then Yoshida would say it, as he has said in the past. There is no reason for him to take the blame on his own development schedule and even thanking head of Xbox for their help.

"We were able to undertake development and provide our service thanks to the immense efforts that Phil has invested. For that we are truly grateful!"

That is a weird statement to make if Xbox's policy would prevent them from "providing service" to Xbox users.

"There are no obstacles for developing the Xbox version."

I don't see the word "technical" in that statement, so please don't interpret it with that word inserted.

"The sole factors are the workload and the order of steps."

Instead, I see the word "sole" in that statement. So if it's not mentioned, it's not included in the "sole" factors as obstacles.

ON THE OTHER HAND:

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Originally Posted by Derio

There are no limits now. But remember that F2P games will no longer require xbox live which was one of the things holding it back. I wouldnt be surprised if they announced the xbox version at fanfest.

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Originally Posted by Starshower

People are out of date. Xbox doesn't require a subscription anymore for free to play games. That was the "policy" that was holding it back, It's gone now so there's nothing preventing the port to come, from the microsoft side. The FFXIV team just has to get a breathing room after endwalker and the PS5 version to start working on the Xbox port.

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FFXIV is NOT a free-to-play game. Having a free trial does not make a game free-to-play. It doesn't mean FFXIV cannot be released on the Xbox, but it won't be because of this free-to-play change as FFXIV is not free-to-play.

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Originally Posted by linayar

If it still comes back to that, then Yoshida would say it, as he has said in the past. There is no reason for him to take the blame on his own development schedule and even thanking head of Xbox for their help.

"We were able to undertake development and provide our service thanks to the immense efforts that Phil has invested. For that we are truly grateful!"

That is a weird statement to make if Xbox's policy would prevent them from "providing service" to Xbox users.

"There are no obstacles for developing the Xbox version."

I don't see the word "technical" in that statement, so please don't interpret it with that word inserted.

"The sole factors are the workload and the order of steps."

Instead, I see the word "sole" in that statement. So if it's not mentioned, it's not included in the "sole" factors as obstacles.

ON THE OTHER HAND:



FFXIV is NOT a free-to-play game. Having a free trial does not make a game free-to-play. It doesn't mean FFXIV cannot be released on the Xbox, but it won't be because of this free-to-play change as FFXIV is not free-to-play.

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Microsoft's policy that was recently removed applied to both free-to-play and sub based games.

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Originally Posted by MidhoiHidmoi

Microsoft's policy that was recently removed applied to both free-to-play and sub based games.

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Ok, nice. The posts I responded to did not make that clear. Regardless, this was expected as FFXI was on Xbox 360.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Starshower

People are out of date. Xbox doesn't require a subscription anymore for free to play games. That was the "policy" that was holding it back, It's gone now so there's nothing preventing the port to come, from the microsoft side. The FFXIV team just has to get a breathing room after endwalker and the PS5 version to start working on the Xbox port.

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I know right? Seems like a lot of people here still believe Xbox has the same policies such as being against cross play as they did in 2014.A lot has changed since then and under the leadership of Phil Spencer.