"If WOW ever goes completely free-to-play, maybe we will consider it." Naoki Yoshida

[Mishini_Dracoto]

Now this is the interesting part.

"PSLS: Have you taken, or are you going to take any steps to respond to some of the upcoming changes in the MMO market, such as with Elder Scrolls Online, which is now coming to consoles and moving to a free-to-play model?

NY: No, we do not feel that we are being influenced by that kind of model shift. Especially with an MMORPG, it is a kind of a game as a service, where we are kind of almost in the service industry."

Cont..

For Square-Enix, this dynamic was fully realized during the life of FFXI. The North American launch broguht us FFXI, and as far as I know, the whole launch of Rise of Zilart with it. In the subsequent expansions, content was released on a more gradual basis. I recall there being a survey of sorts being sent out to the player base, to determine whether we preferred out updates in big expansions, or continued over a period of time, and the resounding feedback was gradual over time. Less noticeable in Sea, but more so in Treasures of Aht Urghan, and especially in Wings of the Goddess, the patches rolled out in updates, the same way that FFXIV does now.

The part I have trouble with now, is justifying the cost of a new expansion, based on the above model. Ultimately, on day 1, content release, The Expansion needs to have enoug content already in place to justify the full cost of the expansion. Including complete story line. Our Subscription fees ten pay to support continued development as well as support/maintenance for the lifespan of the currect version of the game.

by the same token, I am interested in what Square-Enix's view is, on paying subscribers for the curent version that do not buy the expansion. Will there be development time on content that they will still be able to access, or will there money be used purely for maintenance costs only? Do they intend to budget with a reflection of the playerbase at all?

I pose these questions, knowing full well I am buying a CE of heavensward for the physical goodies. As long as the price isn't tooooooo much. (given that Yoshi said it'ls going to be expensive, I'm expecting around $200+. Prohibitively expensive compared to most CE's, but filled with tonnes more stuff, which is the kind of thing I've been looking for, from SE)

[SpiritMuse]

So it's basically the MMO equivalent of "when hell freezes over".

[Risvertasashi]

So it's basically the MMO equivalent of "when hell freezes over".

Pretty much XD

I mean... it seems a lot of people are hoping for Yoshi/other industry people to take an ideological stance ("F2P is bad!"), but the producer of this game actually seems like a very rational person. F2P is unlikely in XIV because the F2P business model doesn't suit the game as well as the subscription business model. And from that interview... Yeah, Yoshi doesn't talk in absolutes, but my take away was it would take a huge shift for XIV to go F2P.

[Lilyarel]

I dont think SE has much to worry about with ESO. Its still pretty bland and gets boring extremely quick even with the 1.6 update. That said, its still a good idea to stay one step ahead of them.

[Anesjka]

FFXIV doesnt have to compete with ESO...

FFXIV got 5x the membership of ESO....

ESO needs to get on FFXIV's level.

[Shadray]

So it's basically the MMO equivalent of "when hell freezes over".

More like when hell freezes over they might think about it.

[ErzaScarlet77]

You should work at buzzfeed with that talent of making clickbait title

[SgtPepperUK]

how Final fantasy will compete with The Elder Scrolls Online.

It doesn't need to.

I played ESO, alongside FFXIV, for a while at launch. ESO was extremely buggy, still does have quite a number of bugs too I gather. Very little real content has been added.

Zenimax Online have also proven to be a horrid company who pay no regard to its loyal players and have no idea of how to manage a sub model in the current market (hence they took the easy option of switching from that model).

[Risvertasashi]

It doesn't need to.

While XIV does have a very strong lead over many competitors, they would be fools to ignore what they're doing and not take tips from any that might be diamonds in the rough. Even a really cruddy game might have a good idea or two.

Which, from the interview, that sounds exactly like what they're doing: keeping tabs on the industry, but keeping their own identity too.

[Lilyarel]

It doesn't need to.

I played ESO, alongside FFXIV, for a while at launch. ESO was extremely buggy, still does have quite a number of bugs too I gather. Very little real content has been added.

Zenimax Online have also proven to be a horrid company who pay no regard to its loyal players and have no idea of how to manage a sub model in the current market (hence they took the easy option of switching from that model).

Bugs arnt even an issue. The game itself is such a snorefest. Its like junk food. Good for like 5 minutes and short intervals, but really bad if you go on any longer.