What are your thoughts about the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXIX?

[Theodric]

-snip-

My guess is that they're not getting as much funding as they should to develop FFXIV and so they're getting a decent sum for teaming up with other development studios to do mutual collaborations.

I do share your concerns, though. I'm very interested in FFXIV's ongoing story and world building but as more and more stuff starts to become like 'Hildibrand' rather than contained within a very specific set of quests I find myself looking back at how I gradually fell out of love with WoW for precisely the same reasons.

It's not the end of the world but...I just hope the storytelling becomes incredible as we move forward. If they reduce Garlemald to being a generic evil empire, for example, I'll probably just take my leave of the game altogether. If they make it morally grey and with redeeming elements that we align ourselves with, though? I'll be very happy.

[Glasya]

My guess is that they're not getting as much funding as they should to develop FFXIV and so they're getting a decent sum for teaming up with other development studios to do mutual collaborations.

I mostly concur with everything you've said but I suspect they actually have ample funds.

We know that ARR alone assured the game's profitability, even after the failed original launch, but Heavensward's profoundly lackluster endgame has made it all too-clear they have no intention of supporting it properly. The days of 2.1 are now long-gone, as they've exhausted their reservoir of 1.0 content to recycle, and either Square Enix has the XIV development team on such a short rope it's systematically impossible to maintain a proper content release schedule from tie-ups with concurrent development and general understaffing (doubtful, given the aforementioned profitability); that they're grossly mismanaging their funds by dumping it into superfluous fluff like that Eorzea Cafe, FATEs in _____ and the various FanFests (possible, given in-game boondoggles like Diadem and Lord of Vermin); and/or that Yoshi is actually a totally inept moron promoted beyond his ability who has no idea how to hire, direct and delegate to staff (likely, given XIV has 5 battle content programming teams consisting of 1 staff member each- a number which has remained static and unchanged since 2.0 despite the game printing money and I doubt even SE are so niggardly as to refuse allotting more milkers to their cash cow).