only 500k subscribers?

[MasamuneBranford]

That's a very poor way to back that assumption up. The 2.5m number is in no way proof that the 500k is ligit. That logic does not follow and is flawed assumption.

The fact is this. The numbers are 10 months out of date. Period. Anything else past that is an assumption. Even the reddit post I listed is just an assumption using a certain methodology, but still an assumption.

You clearly don't get how an annual report works. Most companies have calendar tax years 12/31, others have fiscal year tax years of their picking. SE picked 3/31. Once their fiscal year closes - they have to do all of the accounting to determine their assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, etc. on hand at the end of the FY. Then that information is audited. Then later an annual report is released. What any company wants to accomplish with an annual report is to reassure their investors. An annual report will typically have an opening letter to the investors prior to jumping into the 3/31/14 numbers. The open letter is a current letter that talks about the past (3/31/14), the present (now) and the future (3/31/15). The open letter to the investors mentions the 2.5M registered users and the 500k subscriber number. This opening letter is for a January report. We know for a fact that the 2.5M number is more current than 3/31/14. Why wouldn't the 500k be more current? An opening letter is where a company tries to save face; ie "our FY14 numbers were bad - but we now have 500k subscribers, etc.).

Neither of us can know for certain - but it's laughable that you call my logic flawed. It's more logical to say that 2.5M is a current number so 500k must not be?

[MasamuneBranford]

Basically you're just not realizing that the numbers are in the opening letter dated January 2015 and not in the report that covers FYE 3/31/14.

[Tiggy]

You clearly don't get how an annual report works.

No I do perfectly well understand what it means. You clearly don't understand that it means the data is old. They report was for there activities up to and ending with that fiscal year. Meaning it has zero data from even 1 day past that. Making it old data. Almost a year old at that.

Basically you're just not realizing that the numbers are in the opening letter dated January 2015 and not in the report that covers FYE 3/31/14.

I can only assume you mean the line "These MMO figures actually come from an original financial report that was filed on March 31st, 2014. Square Enix tells MCV that the actual number of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn paying subscribers sits at 500,000, with over 2.5m registered users" in which case that still has nothing to do with the previous fiscal report data that you somehow don't think I comprehend. I find it odd to me that the numbers would be released to MCV at all considering they are tightly held secrets for the most part. Considering also they are in the tens of thousands less than the player estimate I'd also have to say that number is clearly rounded down. To be fair I never said the 500k's is the wrong ballpark number having shared the reddit thread myself that shared a similar number. I simply argue that this is a poor source for valid or even updated info especially considering the only hard data available is actually from that fiscal report. Instead of a real article or an announcement from square we get a tiny blurb in an update on an old article. That doesn't sit well with me.

[LunaHoshino]

Most companies have calendar tax years 12/31, others have fiscal year tax years of their picking. SE picked 3/31.

Just to point out, SE did not "pick" 3/31. That's when the Japanese fiscal year ends-- theirs runs from April-March, unlike ours.