Did Yoshida went a bit too far by cloning WoW?

[FoxyAreku]

Calling an MMO a WoW clone is like calling an FPS a Halo clone.

All games of the same genre will have similarities to the title that defined the genre because those similarities are what makes a game of that genre successful in this day and age. 1.0 was trash and had a moon crashed into it and burned because of it. If he took inspiration from WoW, the defining game of the entire genre, then it clearly worked out for him.

Though really this game is still completely different from WoW, he only really took the defining features that make a modern day MMO an MMO. .-.

[Akiza]

The age of the hardcore mmo is over and Final Fantasy XIV will be the last game that cleary defined as an mmo. Anyone can see with the always online philosophy that console developers have taken that the next generation of MMORPG's will be single player games with heavy MMO elements. The MMO genere is combining with otherv single player experiences .

[Xatsh]

14 has a ton of stuff. The problem is most the stuff in the game is not connected to character progression at all and the game is extremely anti-guild in its design at endgame. Almost purely focused on pugs and lowman statics.

XIV is a WoW clone, honestly the whole core of the game is a WoW copy. They have some unique stuff and all that but at its core this is World of Final Fantasy

XIV is a polar opposite of XI for sure. 1.0 was well... I mean crap is the best way to describe it, was fixed to a large degree towards the end with the battle reforms and more content.

The problem with XIV is 3 fold. there is 0 long term content in this game, there is no endgame guild content at all, it is over focused on small man statics. Typical themepark mmo (wow clone) another words.

[Kallera]

As someone who has at least tried every single AAA MMO and many other ones as well I can say there IS a lot of innovation. FATEs, Sightseeing Log, Hunting Logs, logs in general, Grand Companies, Link Shells, the class/job system as a whole, the telegraph moves, the boss fights in general are better than all other games I've played, the mix of GCD abilities and Off CD abilities that make a unique combat system, the fact that Healers can effortlessly DPS and not feel weak as hell, and more....

Now I will admit that I MAINLY played WoW but all of those things do NOT exist in WoW or most (if not all) other MMOs. This is a really unique game if people would just actually think about it and stop LOOKING for only the things that are the same.

I think you are stretching it with some of those, but its not neecessary to agree with everything. Indeed some of the systems actually have arbitrary limitations placed on them, or haven't seen an expansion in years.

[Akiza]

The real problem with Final Fantasy XIV is single player games using MMO elements and blurring the line between them. I can get the same experience playing Mortal Kombat X as I do with any MMO since both have online componets and communication. The only innovation in my opinion is to have a single payer Final Fantasy experience with heavy MMO elements ie create a character and character progression. Also they would need to have episodic content to justify the subscription.

[elemental10]

Breaking news! Every MMO after WoW is a clone of WoW!

Next up, the company that gave you WoW is now trying to copyright it's contents and core concepts! Is this the end of all MMOs??? Find out after this brief commercial.

[MsCroc]

Wow, those are some straw comparisons at best.
Yes, WoW cloning has been a thing for some time.
Yes, WoW has also stolen from several MMOs, both before its time and from other, more modern MMOs.
The important thing to remember is that certain ideas and concepts become popularized over time as the community evolves. It's important to keep in mind these evolutions since MMOs are perhaps even more dependent on playerbase wishes due to it being community dependent and new update dependent identity.

The important thing to consider is whether or not a MMO has forged its own identity and remains successful enough to where it continue to support the game. Has FFXIV accomplished this?

Yes.

[Alexander_Dragonfang]

Bad comparison, but damn, 1.0 graphics were lightyears better than what we have today. We need to at least bring back those high quality textures... This game textures are so lowres Parallax just makes everything look weird.

[Bishop81]

Nothing is truly original.

FFXIV is very similar to WoW, in that they both follow a similar structure.

Level to cap relatively quickly.
Grind gear (via dungeon drops, raid drops, and currency) while at cap with periodic extension of content.
WoW has apexis crystals/valor points/heroic points. FFXIV has tomestones. Both serve as currency to buy gear.
WoW has LFR. FFXIV has Duty Finder raids.

That said, there are differences.

In WoW, dungeons and even entire zones are abandoned once you out level them. In FFXIV, you frequently revisit zones and dungeons (with level sync) for all sort of reasons - quests, crafting mats, Hunts ... etc. It feels more like a real world where people live and less like a theme park with "disposable" rides.

Crafting in WoW is pretty much collect mats and press a button. FFXIV's crafting is a whole mini-game on its own.

WoW's story lines ... let's just say they really need to hire writers that can actually write worth a damn. Metzen's wish fulfilment fanfiction is getting very tired. Character development is non-existence. Heck, even character consistent isn't there - the characters all act like they have schizophrenia; flip-flopping as the plot direction demands. In general, internal consistency just doesn't exist be it for characters or lore. The quest text really isn't worth reading as Blizzard will contradict themselves whenever it's convenient at the drop of a hat.

FFXIV thus far has the writing typical of the FF franchise with a decent amount of detail fleshing out the world.

The "world" in "World of Warcraft" is a lie. There is no world. It's literally more of a theme park (of raids) than a virtual world.

My biggest worry is SE getting tunnel vision like Blizzard - who for most part only care about raids. Nothing is sacred at the altar of raiding - literally everything can be sacrificed for the sake of raiding; lore, the "simulation" of an internally consistent, living, breathing world, ... etc. you name it.

[DCILuther]

It's very similar to WoW because Yoshi-P said he based 2.0 on WoW (Trinity, Raids, etc). If only I can find the article/quote.