how long do you think 14 will last?

[Souyo]

I think this game NEEDS to have longevity. After the Debacle of 1.0 and the resurrection, the game needs to show that it can last as long if not longer than it's original format.

Sure the Devs might be afraid to take risks, and hopefully they will break out of that box sooner than later, however, I hold hope.

[DukeBurden]

FFXI hasn't ended yet, and that's been going for 13 years.

You don't have anything to worry about for a long time.

That's not a fair statement. FFXI is a good game with variety of content and endgame. FFXIV is a lolEZmode repeat of content patches over and over and over and over.... people will get bored of the pattern and lack of variety soon.

[Teuciont]

I see the game running into a serious dip in subscribers if they continue to emulate the same shallow progression they've been peddling since 2.0 launched. There are no difficult to obtain far reaching goals in this game outside of an inflated ilevel that adds nothing to the depth of your character. Beating Alex savage doesn't even yield the story behind it anymore, it's for nothing more than bigger numbers. I've been playing this game since 1.0 Alpha and have just grown tired of the sterile approach to this game that Yoshi has taken. It's become hard to even care at this point, as Yoshi clearly cares little for the people most loyal to the game he's now directing. I wonder how long the subscription padding with shallow 'accessible' content will last.

[Magistrella]

That's not a fair statement. FFXI is a good game with variety of content and endgame. FFXIV is a lolEZmode repeat of content patches over and over and over and over.... people will get bored of the pattern and lack of variety soon.

And yet XIV will have brought in more money then XI in all its years if it only goes on for two more years with the amount of active subscribers it got now. Not counting new game sales etc.

So - it paid off for SE already and as long as it keeps bringing in more then it costs to make this "lolEZmode" content its good to go.

Look at the lifetime those Korean games have that actually are inoovative but too hard, even grindier and shitty balanced in PvE - how long do they live? Well yeah, usually less then 2 years until going f2p

so - lolEZmode ftw as long as it keeps the game alive :P

[DukeBurden]

Another problem is that Yoshi P is trying to be unrealistically fair to EVERYONE. He wants the game to be accessible to everyone. Well, you know what that means? It's gonna be easy enough for a 8yr kid to pick up and faceroll their way through the game. All classes, be they healer, tank or DPS HAVE to be equal. No one is better than anyone.

[DukeBurden]

And yet XIV will have brought in more money then XI in all its years if it only goes on for two more years with the amount of active subscribers it got now. Not counting new game sales etc.

So - it paid off for SE already and as long as it keeps bringing in more then it costs to make this "lolEZmode" content its good to go.

Look at the lifetime those Korean games have that actually are inoovative but too hard, even grindier and shitty balanced in PvE - how long do they live? Well yeah, usually less then 2 years until going f2p

so - lolEZmode ftw as long as it keeps the game alive :P

That's what I'm saying though. The majority of players that pay the bills want this content so easy, they could do it in their sleep LITERALLY. What does that leave for people that actually care and try? Nothing. Go find a new game.

[Kaedan94]

That's not a fair statement. FFXI is a good game with variety of content and endgame. FFXIV is a lolEZmode repeat of content patches over and over and over and over.... people will get bored of the pattern and lack of variety soon.

Data and sales disagree with you.

FFXIV already has twice the number of sales that FFXI ever had. A "good game" is completely subjective. You may not like what they've done with FFXIV, but your opinion isn't representative of the playerbase. The only thing that can be used as an objective measure of success is sales and concurrent users.

Sales-wise, FFXIV has blown FFXI out of the water already. We have no reliable data on concurrent users, but estimates based on number of full servers put their concurrent users as higher than the peak FFXI had (500k).

From a business and operations standpoint, FFXI was an above average success and it has lasted 13 years. FFXIV has already surpassed FFXI in every way, so there's no reason to believe it wouldn't last at least as long.

[DarkStaoneDragon]

There are no difficult to obtain far reaching goals in this game outside of an inflated ilevel that adds nothing to the depth of your character. Beating Alex savage doesn't even yield the story behind it anymore, it's for nothing more than bigger numbers.

The reason for this, is because of all the people that complains and says "This (insert content) is too hard and it needs to be nerfed" or "(insert class/job) is too weak and needs to have a damage increase" I also think thats why in the interview Yoshi-P says the Japanese players are more skilled than others.

[Omskahn]

There's the door take your own advice. The attitude you have about 14 is not welcome here.

It's a weird weird way to say it, but I kind of agree. Not in hoping people leave, but just in SE deciding to mix it up a little, take risks, try to innovate somewhat. I understand why the game is how it is currently, Yoshi came in to save the game, and he did so by basically implementing a bunch of tried and true systems and adding FF flair.

But the game is the 2nd most popular subscription based MMO in the world right now. You'd think it would be about time they try to add a little more variety or uniqueness to things.

Like others have said here, The game does a lot right, and is very polished. It does very very few things that aren't seen in other places though.

[Dhex]

Content from a few months ago has 0 replay value.

So they will need to maintain the rapid patch rate their player-base has grown accustomed to or they'll see a heavy die off in subscriptions.
The alternative being the implementation of content with more depth and complexity designed to engage players for longer periods of time without falling into the trap of being excessively "grindy" - a hard balance to find.

As it is - much of the content available is in effect "disposable" which is unfortunate. This is painfully apparent from the relic grinds, pony incentives, and other rewards added later on to entice people to continue using content beyond its initial consumption.