Why is Yoshi P turning his back on the playerbase that loves this game the most?

[Balipu]

The difference between me and the OP is that I understand and accept WHY we got the shaft. We're not profitable. Bottom line.
I don't like it, but it's not about me. It's about the future of Square Enix and Final Fantasy.

That's exactly the problem, kupo. All but the most blind of us agree that the game needs changes. Problem is, most critics go on hyperbolic rants about Yoshida being some malevolent being who ruins the childhood of every special snowflake who is more imprtant than the other players, or just bash features that aren't even out yet.

So understandably a lot of people say: "F*ck haters, the game is fine as it is." And the game is fine. Sometimes it's pretty awesome. I still consider it the best MMO out there. But it could be better. There are only two problems.
1) Yoshie-P has a boss to answer to and money to make.
2) The rest of the playerbase might not agree with my subjective oppinion on what needs to be done to make the game "better".

[FizzleofHyperion]

I'm capable enough to understand business, and I'm fully aware of everything that fits in that folder.
What I'm trying to say is, is the game really worth just going straight profit at the expence of killing the heart of the game to reach out to a customer group that are only here because this game is trending?
That is why I feel let down and that Yoshi P is turning his back ont he community that beleived in his plea and how he went 360 on everyone by delivering something I think 1.0 players never really wanted?
This is excluding everything else that I still consider is wrong with this game, mindless hamsterwheel grinding on repeat, big world maps that are pretty much empty, unpersonal envoirment where you don't feel like you belong in your server and spend more time afk at your house waiting for DF to pop than doing things etc etc

[UnaLihzeh]

If the game doesn't appeal to new players, then you don't get new players. If you don't get new players, you don't make enough money to keep servers on, especially when adding more of the features the community as a whole want. If the servers don't stay on, no one gets to play anymore, including 1.0 people. This is why every game in existence appeals to new players, because it's not as if original players don't leave games. You have to replace the ones who leave, or the game closes.



And I'm sure this has been said because I didn't read all 35 pages of this thing, but I'm pretty sure you are projecting your personal tastes onto 1.0 players, cause I know quite a lot of 1.0 players and they don't have this "abandoned" feeling you have. And LOL at 1.0 players being "the ones that love this game the most".

[ADVSS]

[QUOTE=FizzleofHyperion;3891852]I'm capable enough to understand business, and I'm fully aware of everything that fits in that folder.
What I'm trying to say is, is the game really worth just going straight profit at the expence of killing the heart of the game to reach out to a customer group that are only here because this game is trending?
/QUOTE]
just sticking around till ff7 remake is done, lets be real here, stripped down, play it safe repeat what happened 3 years in a row, im just sticking around to support the big projects, at this point either 6 mil subs is a lie or theyre making 10x that in profits, outside of cash shop expenses(yeah fantasia every day guise! \o/) You understand business, so do the rest of...well most of us i hope .

[Reynhart]

He built an entirely new combat system for 1.0 which he then ... threw away (?) to build what ARR has.

Technically, he built the new system upon the ancient one. He brought jobs, auto-attack, fused shield and sword in a single skill set, removed the physical level so that your stats are only determined by your job, etc...The evolution between 1.19 through 1.23 was a big hint for where the game would go, even before the poll.

If the game doesn't appeal to new players, then you don't get new players.

But new players aren't concerned by our problems. When you start the game, you have everything to discover, a lot of leveling to do, a lot of content to explore. By the time you're lvl 60 in several job and log in just to do your daily routine, you're hardly a "new player" anymore.
That's the same as the famous "PLD is supposed to be an entry tank". Ok, you can say that when people are below or at lvl 30 and slowly learning their role...by the time they get to level 60, they shouldn't be "entry players". And if you treat them like that, they'll continue playing like that, and never evolve.

How can you explain that 3.4 dungeons are more easy that dungeons like Dzemael, Cutter's Cry or Aurum Vale ?

This remind me of the flame war about HW being gated behind 2.55, and new players complaining that they can't access new content. If you're a new players, everything is new content to you.

[Talraen]

I don't remember much about the discussion in the legacy days, but even if 80% of the playerbase voted to "fix" the game and they decided to mess with the poll and make a new one anyway, I'm glad they did (not that I think that's what actually happened). I liked 1.0, but let's be honest, the game was a punchline. It was considered one of the biggest high-profile flops that had ever happened. I thought they were insane to try to save it. And yes, I give Yoshi P and Square Enix a lot of credit for somehow doing so, and I will forgive them quite a bit as a result.

As for why Yoshi P changed everything in 1.x and then changed it again for 2.0, I think it's just the matter of the game engine. They communicated repeatedly that the 1.0 game engine had to be completely revamped for a variety of reasons. I think it's less that they changed things to what they wanted and then changed their minds for 2.0, than that they made 1.0 as much like their vision for 2.0 as they could, and then completed that vision once they were able to build the engine from scratch.

just sticking around till ff7 remake is done, lets be real here, stripped down, play it safe repeat what happened 3 years in a row, im just sticking around to support the big projects, at this point either 6 mil subs is a lie or theyre making 10x that in profits, outside of cash shop expenses(yeah fantasia every day guise! \o/) You understand business, so do the rest of...well most of us i hope .

So... you don't like when they play it safe, but you're waiting for a remake of an old, popular game? OK then.

[Reynhart]

I don't remember much about the discussion in the legacy days, but even if 80% of the playerbase voted to "fix" the game and they decided to mess with the poll and make a new one anyway, I'm glad they did (not that I think that's what actually happened). I liked 1.0, but let's be honest, the game was a punchline. It was considered one of the biggest high-profile flops that had ever happened.

Yes, it was. But people tend to consider 1.0 and 1.23 as the exact same game. Frankly, there are almost as much disparities between 1.0 and 1.23 than between 1.23 and 2.0.
And certainly more between 1.0 and 1.23 than between 2.0 and 3.0

[ADVSS]

So... you don't like when they play it safe, but you're waiting for a remake of an old, popular game? OK then.

Some of it was sarcasm, but honestly i dont mind, i love the franchise, and i know this game can do better. It isnt the worst mmorpg out there by far, and there are tons of things i love about this game, but there can most definitely be improvements, easilly seen by those who have seen much of the same old, or, even better had a priviledge of experiencing the game when it was half of this and half of that(which built up the foundation of this, but seemingly less restrictive) So yes im against playing it safe for so long, and yes i am fine with this funding future projects but in no way would i ludicrously buy a 130$ statue for an emote(please refrain arguments i read the thread and yes im not a collector so the emote doesnt matter at all to me). So in short, yes.

[Blackbird1]

just dont play the game everyday and you'll be fine yoshi said as much this game isnt designed to cater only to the hard core elitists if you dont play it every hour of the everyday you'll be fine. if you got issues with the dungeons get a job at SE and start designing new ones for them to use instead of the so called dungeon repeats. It's not easy making this stuff to begin with so learn to be happy with what you get sure MSQ fillers are a pain in the ass but it's like the build up to the next fun thing so

[Istaru]

I have mixed and conflicting emotions and feelings about the state of the game.

I do not want another 3 years of the tomestone grind and knowing what is happening and when. I'm tired of it and it makes me want to cry if that is all we will ever get is nothing more than mostly faceroll weekly lockout gear unless it is about a month until it is to be replaced. I no longer have any elation or joy at getting new gear. I don't care anymore and I used to, but I understand why they have them.

I understand that an MMO needs new players. The lack of new player retention is a problem that FFXI and 1.x both had and something they wanted to correct with this game. I understand that a new player that sees a long progression path to get "current" is more likely to toss up their arms and walk away.

They have created the opposite problem now. I feel they have a veteran retention problem.

I do not feel the same bonds to my character that I did before, and especially to the people around me. I have become too used to spending time with other people on a regular basis and consider them to be something of a friend and then watch them leave and never return.

I know the unofficial census is just that, unofficial.

However, it does concern me that we maintain a constant 30-35% new payer population but outside of an expansion our total seems to stay the same or goes down. If it is going down, then veterans are quitting faster than we can get new people to try the game. MMO population ebb and flow and such. I get that.

This is my concern, eventually that 100,000-150,000 new players every few months dries up. If you continue to bleed veterans and cannot infuse your game with enough new players to balance that, your game dies at a certain point. I am not stating that we are there or close to there.

I do not see another 3 years of the same pattern doing anything to increase veteran retention. In his comments when asked about returning unique stats s to the game, I think he did say that he would a long time ago, he looked at it from the new player perspective. His concern is about making it required for new people to slog their way to be current. Without reasons to stay, and making it so easy to catch up, there really isn't much reason to stay subscribed. So people take breaks from the game on a personal basis. Problem is that not every one that decides to take a break from the game comes back. Even if they originally intended to.

I don't really see Yoshida's actions and focus as him turning his back on us. I see it more that he has a bit of tunnel vision for getting more people to play the game and trying to include everyone in everything. I think they are very lofty goals, but unfortunately, I do not feel that they are sustainable forever.

I used to love this game. I still like it but all the lockouts and gates and the constant moving of the goalposts has sucked a lot of that excitement from me.

What I have heard regarding the future direction of the game makes me feel like why bother daring to dream that we can have neat things in this game again.

I want to love this game and feel the fiery passion that I used to. It's just that everything he says is like a torrential downpour on that fire trying to put it out.

I have gone on too long and will end by saying that I still have no plans to leave the game, but I am not very satisfied or excited for where it is at right now and appears to be going.