Perparing AS A COMMUNITY for negative reviews

*Damn it. I just noticed the typo.

Hello! Its been a long time since I posted anything here. I've been around... lurking silently... for far too long - I'll tell you now. Its good to see a few names I recognise!... or is it? :rolleyes:


So lets begin;

As the old saying goes "You can't please all of the people all of the the time"

This thread is written specifically with that ideology at its heart. I - as many other internet savvy folk like yourself - am very much looking forward to see how the worlds first "mmo reboot" drops on these "self-titled critics" pages of this various and peculiar experiment we call the internet.

I've never been a belieber.
And anyway, that's not relevant.
I've never been a believer in the "gaming critique" community as a whole.

Like yourself. I can already imagine the semi-bias and poorly executed reviews now....
Done 1 week after re-launch. By some 'impartial' reviewer hailing from 'X' amount of years (read: 6) of combined in-depth experience with multiple mmos (Rift/WoW/GW2) commenting on 'how FFXIV ARR hasn't reinvented the wheel'.

As we all expect I'm sure..


For the time being though. AS a topic point. For humor, or for rallying a group of like-minded individuals; What do you think will be the most bashed part of ARR? What will be the most praised?

Will ARR end up the small unknown, largely uncovered gem in the corner of a terrible MMO market.. like XI did in its day?

Lets try not to break any NDAs or break out into spontaneous drama.

inb4 grass... :D

(please stop bashing that horse)

I think it will be compared strongly with TESO. I have a feeling review sites will be doing "vs" articles toward the end of the year, just after their releases. I think this will help FFXIV, as it will bring it back into the limelight... Here's to hoping it takes advantage of the opportunity and is the better game of the two.

I wonder which one will come out first? Presumably one will have the job of retaining subscribers through the other's launch month and will need to have a strong update out at that time to do so. I hope that the timing impact won't be ignored by either company; to do so would be an terrible oversight.

(sorry, not trying to provoke an FFXIV vs TESO conversation here; there's other threads for that. Just pointing out this timing issue)

You cross a bridge when you get there. Assuming that the game will be reviewed negatively by a relevant number of outlets is a big assumption.

We don't really need to prepare for it, anyway, it's out of our hands (besides those of us that are game writers and can actually impact it in a limited way), and it doesn't really matter.

I'll be honest - I hadn't considered TESO as a factor. Focusing more simply, on how ARR will impact a typical "inward facing genre and/or media" mindset. (Honestly I'm not sure which it is, or if its important at all.) ARRs not going to be revolutionary in a genre changing sense, which is what most MMO media seems** to expect for a positive review nowadays. FPS got over this debate years ago.

@Abriael. I don't simply expect negativity. I assume its going to be there. I asked this forum for a humorous or well educated expectancy on it :D


**I'm only one person. I can't read everything out there.

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Originally Posted by Kam

I'll be honest - I hadn't considered TESO as a factor. Focusing more simply, on how ARR will impact a typical "inward facing genre" mindset. Its not going to bring anything new. FPS got over this debate years ago.

@Abriael. I don't simply expect negativity. I assume its going to be there. I asked this forum for a humorous or well educated expectancy on it :D

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That kind of sounds like bandaging your head before it's broken, doesn't it?

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Originally Posted by Abriael

That kind of sounds like bandaging your head before it's broken, doesn't it?

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Yeah, except more like running a fire drill, or a terrorist attack exorcise.. I suppose??

I'm not simply being negative though. I also pondered what would be the most praised aspects. Something which I look forward to reading about much more so than the 'poorer' (according to the critics) sides of the game.

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Originally Posted by Kam

Yeah, except more like running a fire drill, or a terrorist attack exorcise.. I suppose??

I'm not simply being negative though. I also pondered what would be the most praised aspects. Something which I look forward to reading about much more so than the 'poorer' (according to the critics) sides of the game.

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Many critics, as much as some don't see it, are actually looking forward to have a chance to praise ARR. Not all journalists live and thrive on negativity and hate, and many would really like to have a "good story" to write.

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Originally Posted by Abriael

Many critics, as much as some don't see it, are actually looking forward to have a chance to praise ARR. Not all journalists live and thrive on negativity and hate, and many would really like to have a "good story" to write.

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Think the same as you do, I'm hoping for example (blindly as I haven't had any beta access) that the battle system is as nuanced as FFXI's was - and that critiques get it - It wasn't overly complex but it had lots of depth.

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Originally Posted by Abriael

Many critics, as much as some don't see it, are actually looking forward to have a chance to praise ARR. Not all journalists live and thrive on negativity and hate, and many would really like to have a "good story" to write.

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TDDR; Community! Place your bets! Where will this game land on the metacritic score?! closer to 5.0 or 8.0?!?

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Originally Posted by Kam

TDDR; Community! Place your bets! Where will this game land on the metacritic score?! closer to 5.0 or 8.0?!?

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This just sounds like meaningless stirring of the pot.

i don't care a shit about reviews since, like, 8 years. Nothing to worry about for me.

when the NDA goes down i can speak.

Well, there's always going to be negative reviews as well as positive. But I couldn't care less either way. I'll be too busy playing to read them. lol

Oh. From the title I thought this would be about reminding all us forum posters "be nice: no death threats." IMHO even one idiot going personal against a reviewer is too much.


I don't quite "get" the topic. Nobody, really, has seen ARR yet, so I don't think we'll hear what anyone likes best or worst about it.

But, yeah, what Abriel said: Elder Scrolls Online. Its trailer is all Hollywood (as tired and silly as I think that is) and they were all over PAX-E. I think they could be the media sweethearts this year, at least in the PC/MMO press. Even if ARR were new, it might still be portrayed as "that other MMO".

In the console gamer press, I think ARR could earn very favorable reviews. If not, then maybe the western press really does have some petty grudge against SE.

As for actual subscribers, it's not at all bleak for ARR. I kind of get a SWTOR vibe from Elder Scrolls. Plus TESO is effectively abandoning the consoles that accounted for well over half their Skyrim sales. TESO does support Mac (+10% of PC?), but ARR supports PS3 (+100% of PC?).

I don't particularly care what the reviews are like for ARR (as long as SquareEnix isn't determining its success or failure based on metacritic scores).

A lot of people will love it and a lot of people will hate it for everything that is in the game (and everything that isn't)

We'll just have to wait and see how things turn out.

The general reviews after the media event a while back were mostly positive. They don't look at the game like a fan would of what it was or what it should be. They critique it for what it is. I'm sure you'll see comparisons of mechanics to other games, but I highly doubt you'll see a reviewer say "Unless ARR's combat is like TERA or GW2, it will fail."

If the reviews are negative then the game probably deserves it. If the reviews are positive then the game probably deserves it.

Why are we assuming reviews are going to be negative?

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Originally Posted by Abriael

Many critics, as much as some don't see it, are actually looking forward to have a chance to praise ARR. Not all journalists live and thrive on negativity and hate, and many would really like to have a "good story" to write.

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I think there's some truth in that. Take Gary Gannon of Gamebreaker.TV, for example. He didn't sugarcoat the fact that he wasn't only disappointed with the game, but chucked his Collector's Edition box across the room during two episodes of TWIMMO. However, he could have wiped his hands clean and moved on. But he's continued to cover ARR's progress, and said how extraordinary it would be if SE managed to resurrect a failed MMO. An industry first. And Mike-B's copy-pasta montage, he claims he did it for the fans. To bring to SE's attention to a major problem than needed to be fixed.

I don't think all reviewers are just scoffing and waiting to hook their claws into this game. They were critical and objective when 1.0 was released because that is their job. But I think some of them would be happy if they could report that this was the first game to rise from the ashes. Let's hope ARR delivers.

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Originally Posted by Rowyne

I think there's some truth in that. Take Gary Gannon of Gamebreaker.TV, for example. He didn't sugarcoat the fact that he wasn't only disappointed with the game, but chucked his Collector's Edition box across the room during two episodes of TWIMMO. However, he could have wiped his hands clean and moved on. But he's continued to cover ARR's progress, and said how extraordinary it would be if SE managed to resurrect a failed MMO. An industry first. And Mike-B's copy-pasta montage, he claims he did it for the fans. To bring to SE's attention to a major problem than needed to be fixed.

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Eh, I better not comment on the two individuals mentioned (especially one of them as his penchant for drama queening and sensationalism is absolutely disgusting), but while the examples aren't exactly the most fitting i could think of, I do think many are honestly hoping for a good story to tell with ARR.

I know I am. Doesn't mean I won't be professional when the review copy will be under my paws, but I'm entitled to my personal hopes :D

hmm...i thought lots players are already well-prepared though...
http://i.imgur.com/DHMLUDt.jpg

it's like lv50 Negative Slayer.
so, I guess I owe these _________ posters a big "Thank You"?

Personally, I'm anticipating more positive than negative reviews; let's just hope the positive voices are a little bit louder.

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Originally Posted by Deli

hmm...i thought lots players are already well-prepared though...

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I think if you played through the original version of Final Fantasy XIV, you're more than ready for this. :o

A part of me thinks that 1.0 was so bad that anything better than that in comparison would be praised greatly lol

But if I get realistic here.. SE could be walking on eggshells with gamer's and reviewers, but from what I've seen with companies closely watching they're just as excited as us. Hell, some of the people on this very forum and others could be those same people who are playing beta and writing the hype articles for IGN, Kotaku, and 1up.

Another thing that SE is doing is something no company has ever had the opportunity to do or has done (well as far as I can remember). They're not only rebooting this game because they believe they can achieve that goal, they get a second chance at a launch for a whole different demographic of people. PS3 users.

I don't know where SE went wrong when they first began to develop FFXIV. Hell.. Maybe this whole debacle was just some massive publicity ploy to demonstrate their ability to bounce back much like they did when the Final Fantasy franchise was born> xD I mean.. It is the 25th anniversary of their company so maybe all this "restructuring" and "losses" were all apart of the plan? lmao

I think this time around they'll succeed.
http://celebquote.com/wp-content/upl...Sqe1qegw8v.gif

If a certain forum is any indication, this game will be well received by people wanting an FF MMO that's not FFXI.

Other than that~ who knows? I can't say I care. I'm a lifetime legacy subscriber, baby~ I've put almost 3 years of myself into following/advocating/participating with this game. I can't turn back now!

inb4 f2p in 3 months

All you have to do is do a Google search on FFXIV:ARR. Almost nothing as been released by SE about the game. They did one media tour, and most of the news is 'cautiously positive'. The reviewers are basically waiting to see more, especially closer to the release date. Trailers will start happening. Excitement will start brewing. I doubt it'll be like 1.0. Will there be Negative Nellies? Yeah as there always are, but most people, based on what you can Google so far, will probably give it at least modestly warm reviews if not solid good reviews.

Also TESO vs. FFXIV-ARR...Elder Scrolls can potentially pull more subs in the beginning...but I can promise 2 years down the road, FFXIV-ARR will be far healthier than that game will ever be. Not here to debate why though. Just saying that while TESO might pull in more subs quickly, that doesn't not always mean it will be more successful in the long term.

well atleast Defiance mmo was a fail launch. worst then ffxiv 1.0

I will eat the negative reviews and poop rainbows.
Yarn rainbows, for all the Kitties.

I've got a bottle of preparation right here

http://fabandfru.com/new/wp-content/...vo-tequila.jpg

My body (not withstanding my liver and kidneys) is ready

All I know is that FFXIV: ARR is the fifth most hyped MMO this year.

This is either very good, or very bad.

GCD = the huge hinder for the game

http://i.imgur.com/4y1v2.jpg?1

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Originally Posted by Platinumstorm

If the reviews are negative then the game probably deserves it. If the reviews are positive then the game probably deserves it.

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nothing but truth.