[REQUEST] Can we have a more original race next time?

[Alacran]

A question to those who think a new race should be popular enough to justify the development time. What percentage of players race swapping to a new race do you consider sufficient? Should the new race end up more popular than any other race or is it enough that it won't end up the least played race?

Here is a survey of people swapping to Au Ra:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...from-reddit%29
Right now we have a situation of roughly 50% of players going Au Ra, leaving Elezen the least played race (<5%). Obviously forum goers don't represent the player base accurately but the survey gives a rough estimate.


This made me think about what the purpose of adding a new race is. Is it to make the population more diverse, or to reinvent something that already exists and make people pay for change race? I believe that currently they aim for the latter and I find it unfortunate because it's actually making the races less diverse (since one race will be more popular than any other before it and others even less popular than before). Imagine how much the player base could grow if they added more variety. Reading the WoW forums I get the impression that some of the players who are currently quitting would play FFXIV if everything wasn't so cute and teenage looking. Race options are directly affecting their decision of buying the game. Would it really be that bad to see "ugly" characters running around, especially if it was only one of the clans of a hypothetical new race?

As subscribers i feel the decisions we make with our wallets and time are what affects the development teams direction, that by and far seems to me to show that what the current player base wants is cute rather than fierce, beautiful instead of ugly. If anyone were to read the forums and look at what the avatar of the individual requesting and "ugly"/ "fierce" option it could easily be thought " You know they say they want "x" but numbers show "y" to be what is often picked..." I play as a Highlander, i will never not play as a Highlander because it suits me best, i feel it is my representation in Erozea. I enjoy the fact I appear to be an adult male, I love the Ala Mhigan lore, I also think the female characters among the most attractive. However Highlanders are not very popular, there will be even less of them once Au Ra come on the scene. As a subscriber, as as avid role playing game enthusiast i can appreciate the want and need to play as something that best represents you. In no way, shape, or means am I disregarding this fact. I simply feel that the standard has been set, this game, this series is not one in which Amalj'aa, Ixali, Kobold, Sahagin, Sylph, or any other anthropomorphic hybrid would be seen as a viable player option.

The idea of a race solely designed to be "ugly" will simply not happen, it denotes a player would be in some way ostracized by virtue of physical appearance. Monstrous may fall in to that category but something more bestial is not out of the question, however one should really look at whom they are asking of this from...

Behold i give you the predecessors of the current five races of Van 'Diel







Now one can successfully argue that these fine folk are also the origin of the current races of Erozea... Imagine if everyone with a Miqo'te had their character changed to look like this more feral, bestial, savage race... Roe's, and lala alike, throw the elves in the mix for good measure. By all means say people would have been ok with it, i would simply have to call those people a liar. The outrage over characters needing a butt slider went on for twenty eight pages...