Naoki Yoshida's Comment in Regard to Jump Potions/Boost Potions

[dragonseth07]

Way off mark. I was aiming for if you buy a new game, do you want to then spend $X amount go right to the end boss and finish the game, or do you want to play through the story, enjoy it and immerse yourself in the story and then get to the end boss? If i could get a game with 3/4 years of content for $50/60 I'd pay that to play it. Sure it's going to cost me a little a month, but it's nothing I wouldn't spend on a indie game, or something on sale on steam that would probably last a day or two, possibly a week, I get a month for that.

MMO's don't work that way and you know it. This argument makes perfect sense for a single-player RPG, but an MMO is almost meaningless until you get to the end-game.

[Callinon]

Now we both know that Blizzard already sell these type of boosts and they are still loosing subscribers hand over fist, sure they do get a spike in player base when new expansions are released, but as history has shown it dwindles away, faster in more recent expansions too. I believe that this is due to a lack of solid content that keeps people coming back and takes time to break and the ease in how you can just level in a day or two heavy play.

Blizzard isn't losing subscribers because they sell boosts. They're losing subscribers because their game is super old and a large playerbase like that is impossible to please. Even with that too, they're doing just fine.

If I'm a new player coming to the game, I would be excited for it all. Personally I'd want to go through the main story at least (Sure, I can skip side if i want to rush) and see the progression of the world, how my character evolves and what effects happen in the world with the decisions I make, I'm not desperate to get to the end and start trying to pug my way to the best equipment then sit around and wait for content updates once I've done that...

But you aren't everybody. Some people are like you and are interested in the whole game. Others want to play the cool thing they saw online or want to play with their friends who are already max level. The fact they can do that doesn't affect you.

The people that are excited are the ones playing the game now, the ones leveling or finding something within the game to do, Hunts, finding Easter eggs, completing alternate classes and so on. As I already stated, they could do it so many other ways from experience items (yes, WoW had them in their second expansion and it worked for them back then. I'm not saying that it was perfect but it helped a lot of people level alts).

Existing players are interested in boosts because they want to get an alt to max level without having to slog through the story, or because they want their friends to be able to join them without having 4 years of mandatory content to get through before they can get to the cool stuff.

WoW didn't introduce leveling boosts like this until Warlords of Draenor, their 5th expansion. That being said, there was also no requirement to do anything but level through 1.x - 6.x. In FFXIV that's not the case as there's a massive story that's REQUIRED in order to advance to the next expansion. That's a huge and multiplicative problem for FFXIV in attracting new players.

Way off mark. I was aiming for if you buy a new game, do you want to then spend $X amount go right to the end boss and finish the game, or do you want to play through the story, enjoy it and immerse yourself in the story and then get to the end boss? If i could get a game with 3/4 years of content for $50/60 I'd pay that to play it. Sure it's going to cost me a little a month, but it's nothing I wouldn't spend on a indie game, or something on sale on steam that would probably last a day or two, possibly a week, I get a month for that.

Again, you aren't everybody. Neither am I btw. We can only speak for ourselves when it comes to what we want out of a game. But looking beyond our own perspectives is important when trying to understand something like this.

Incidentally you can get around the 1000-character limit by editing your post.

[Lewtskie]

If I'm a new player coming to the game, I would be excited for it all. Personally I'd want to go through the main story at least (Sure, I can skip side if i want to rush) and see the progression of the world, how my character evolves and what effects happen in the world with the decisions I make, I'm not desperate to get to the end and start trying to pug my way to the best equipment then sit around and wait for content updates once I've done that...

Hey cool, that's you. Now let's try a "not you" perspective, cause those exist.

Back first playing FFXI leveling was an infuriating experience for me and the primary reason for it was because I had some awesome friends who were all at level cap. Day after day would pass and while they would level some side jobs to do stuff with me, they had endgame stuff they were doing and I was missing out on that. I gained very little from the leveling experience. Story was cool, but that could have been done while leveling or at cap, so that's a moot point. I didn't do crafting/gathering, I didn't care much about side shit other than chocobos. And once I got to cap I felt burned out because I tried so hard to get to where they were so quickly it jarred me a little.

Playing XIV I technically joined ARR following an old XI friend. I... didn't really care about the story, I had no deeper attachment to my character, and while going through dungeons for the first couple times was neat when not entirely dead, getting to endgame and being able to do shit with him and his FC was much more fun and I have no regrets.

[Zaiaku]

MMO's don't work that way and you know it. This argument makes perfect sense for a single-player RPG, but an MMO is almost meaningless until you get to the end-game.

And why don't they work that way? Because people need to rush to the end? Because people want to be better than others for the sake of a few pixels? Surely in this MMORPG, the story is important? It's telling a story with you as the center of it. Giving you a pass to skip most of the story and content is like saying don't bother with what made this game great, instead focus on this tiny percentage of what everyone else is doing. I suppose it's an easy way for them to heard the sheep though.

[Callinon]

And why don't they work that way? Because people need to rush to the end? Because people want to be better than others for the sake of a few pixels? Surely in this MMORPG, the story is important? It's telling a story with you as the center of it. Giving you a pass to skip most of the story and content is like saying don't bother with what made this game great, instead focus on this tiny percentage of what everyone else is doing. I suppose it's an easy way for them to heard the sheep though.

Broaden your perspective to include people who may not think like you. It's really hard, I know, but understanding this requires it.

[dragonseth07]

And why don't they work that way? Because people need to rush to the end? Because people want to be better than others for the sake of a few pixels? Surely in this MMORPG, the story is important? It's telling a story with you as the center of it. Giving you a pass to skip most of the story and content is like saying don't bother with what made this game great, instead focus on this tiny percentage of what everyone else is doing. I suppose it's an easy way for them to heard the sheep though.

Ah, yes. People more concerned with competitive raiding than leveling story are sheep. Of course.

[Zaiaku]

Ah, yes. People more concerned with competitive raiding than leveling story are sheep. Of course.

I just feel sorry for them that their entire goal is to go raid and skip as much of a game as possible to do so.

[ErryK]

snip

So what exactly is your argument supposed to entail? "I went through the story, everyone else has to. I appreciate the story, everyone else has to."?

So far it's an echo chamber of what you think, with no broader sense of what others may want. If one wants to skip to play with friends, why are you judging them when they have friends that can help them? Why are you judging them because they used their own money, and not yours? It's just very ignorant and close-minded to assume and push a viewpoint that you have, but not see it from the eyes of another.

[dragonseth07]

I just feel sorry for them that their entire goal is to go raid and skip as much of a game as possible to do so.

Raiding IS the game, at least for many. The whole leveling process is just a wall keeping them locked away from it. Again, this is an MMO. It's certainly very story-driven (as it is an FF game), but the genre is generally about multiplayer cooperative adventures.

[Zaiaku]

snip.

I believe the whole point of this thread was to get peoples opinions, I have voiced and shared mine and so have others. I am happy to converse and argue the points for and against. You can disagree with me all you want. I even offered what I would have considered alternatives to quicken the process yet still allow people to enjoy aspects of the game.