gamrTV Weekly - The Imminent Death of Final Fantasy XIV

[Zenaku]

Yeah, this guy really doesn't know what he's talking about, for FFXIV or SWTOR.

Though he does bring up a valid point about people not wanting to pay for a product they've gotten for free for the last year, and about F2P MMOs changing up the face of the online gaming world.

Personally I think a better decision on SE's part would have been to implement a F2P model (with a cash shop to buy services/vanity item/etc) until 2.0 is released, at which point they would switch to the P2P model. This way people who want to support the project financially can do so, while still keeping interest among the players waiting for the game to be worth paying for high. Instead they're telling all the potential customers waiting for the game that should have been released last year to screw off until next year, or pay now for a game they don't feel is worth the monthly fee as it is.

ya then when p2p does come people who pay for item would be overpower and that what SE never like when it came to final fantasy xi or even final fantasy xiv. I think it smart to go p2p it would fish out the troll and the forums would be fill with ppl who really want to make this game work.

[Akira_Tenshi]

There will always be an audience for FF XIV. It will never be as successful as other MMOs like WoW and probably Star Wars. Japan alone will keep this game alive though and Square will continue to support it.

[Preypacer]

I couldn't stand listening to the douche talk for more than a minute, so Ill respond to what I assume he said:



These would be valid pretend points if there were actually that many people playing to begin with The reality is that what little revenue that is generated by the re-institution of subscriptions won't be enough to cover development costs for the next year(let alone the previous). FFXIV will most likely continue being what it has been for a while now: premium beta.

If it was my decision, I would have held off on the subscriptions until the UI overhaul. Regardless of how much content they add or how cool all those animations that lock you in place look, until the UI/lag fix man-douche will have a point: badgame.

The reality is... you don't know and aren't prepared to back that assertion. Unless you possess insider info that no one else has?

I see a lot of people making this assertion; that SE won't get enough subs to sustain development because people are going to leave.

1) Does anyone here honestly think that SE doesn't realize they're going to lose players due to charging subs? The obvious answer should be 'no, of course SE realizes they're going to lose players when subs start". Yoshi even concedes as much when he suggests that players who feel it's not worth it now perhaps follow the game's progress and come back and check it out again after 1.21, 1.22, etc. Why else would he make that statement unless he already realizes there are people who won't subscribe yet?

I think it's more than a tad arrogant, not to mention ignorant, for people to assume that such a thing as "people will quit when subs start" could only be conceived by people posting on a message forum.. but that it wouldn't have occurred to SE themselves. FFS.. it happens with every single MMORPG to launch, ever, after the first 30 days, once the subs kick in.

Folks, you don't get to the size or status of a company like SE, and stay there, by being naive or not considering or preparing for all the possibilities.

2) They've maintained the game up 'til now, over 12 months, without charging a sub. They've clearly - per their own say-so - re-structured things within the company to make sure XIV gets the man-power and the money it needs to keep going. They've been saying time and again that they are absolutely committed to doing what they have to in order to turn the game around, because both their reputation and, of course, that of the FF franchise depend on it. They've already said at least a couple times that they see 2.0/PS3 release as their "last chance" to turn things around.

They are implementing subs because they have reached the point where it is felt that FFXIV would be sufficient as a launching sub-based MMORPG, just as they said they would do almost a year ago. This isn't some act of desperation... They're doing precisely what Yoshi and Wada stated they would do months ago.

Any revenue they get from subs going forward will be 100% more than they've been getting for the past 12+ months. That can only be an improvement for them.

It's just amazing to me, in light of the past year and all that SE has done to turn the game around, that people so quickly forget all of that, and revert to the "Internet Armchair Expert" mode of declaring "what SE needs to survive", and that "the sub money won't be enough to continue development".

3. The guy in the video is simply using the same regurgitated, baseless and false dichotomy ridden "logic" as so many others... "Oh.. ToR is coming out... People are gonna wanna play that! Dur hur".

It makes the assumption that somehow the launch of ToR is something everyone's waiting on. There are plenty of people playing FFXIV who have no interest in ToR. There are people playing FFXIV who are going to also be playing ToR simultaneously; keeping both subs active. They are interested in ToR, but they also enjoy FFXIV and want to stick around to be part of where it's going. Almost every member of one of my LS's alone is in that category.

All that video goes to show is that even someone who's putting their face out on the Internet can be just as incapable of using basic logic and thinking through obvious logical fallacies as any person posting on a message forum.

[Kiroh]

ya then when p2p does come people who pay for item would be overpower and that what SE never like when it came to final fantasy xi or even final fantasy xiv. I think it smart to go p2p it would fish out the troll and the forums would be fill with ppl who really want to make this game work.

I'm sorry, where in my post did you see "Sell +3 5 materia slot gear and instant level 50 classes"?

I don't know what your idea of a vanity item is, but it's not what I suggested.

And I seriously doubt SE needs a bunch of people sucking up and defending every bad decision they have ever made to get FFXIV to 'work'.

[Zenaku]

I'm sorry, where in my post did you see "Sell +3 5 materia slot gear and instant level 50 classes"?

I don't know what your idea of a vanity item is, but it's not what I suggested.

And I seriously doubt SE needs a bunch of people sucking up and defending every bad decision they have ever made to get FFXIV to 'work'.

What are you talking about? When it come to items it have to be item you can use or people wont buy it if it pointless item who the hell would buy it?

and where in my post did you see me saying ""Sell +3 5 materia slot gear and instant level 50 classes"?

[Kiroh]

What are you talking about? When it come to items it have to be item you can use or people wont buy it if it pointless item who the hell would buy it?

and where in my post did you see me saying ""Sell +3 5 materia slot gear and instant level 50 classes"?

Have you ever played a F2P MMO? 99% of the stuff people buy in the cash shops are VANITY items. Costumes, weapon covers, stuff that has zero impact on the character's strength whatsoever and is mostly (if not entirely) just to show their characters off.

And considering people have been playing for a year with multiple 50s, I don't see what other way they could possibly be OP except selling ridiculous weapons/armor. What, did you mean more people will be OP?

[Zenaku]

Have you ever played a F2P MMO? 99% of the stuff people buy in the cash shops are VANITY items. Costumes, weapon covers, stuff that has zero impact on the character's strength whatsoever and is mostly (if not entirely) just to show their characters off.

And considering people have been playing for a year with multiple 50s, I don't see what other way they could possibly be OP except selling ridiculous weapons/armor. What, did you mean more people will be OP?

No one really going to buy it anyways there better off going p2p and getting a income then a maybe people would buy this item for 5$ this month. Even if they lost 50% of players 50% players can fund for 2.0 without issue they need some cash income and how i'm seeing it a lot of willing to pay for this game.

I by all means not saying your idea bad just p2p best way for them and if it's not they would go back to f2p too they fix it let's just see what happen from here and dec./

[Kiroh]

No one really going to buy it anyways there better off going p2p and getting a income then a maybe people would buy this item for 5$ this month. Even if they lost 50% of players 50% players can fund for 2.0 without issue they need some cash income and how i'm seeing it a lot of willing to pay for this game.

I by all means not saying your idea bad just p2p best way for them and if it's not they would go back to f2p too they fix it let's just see what happen from here and dec./

That's pretty much what I'm doing anyways, I'm just worried that a lot of the people that have spent the last year building the community of this game will be gone. I'm particularly worried about the effect on the in-game market if even 25% of the playerbase quit. It's gonna be a rough few first months after they return to the P2P model...

[Zenaku]

That's pretty much what I'm doing anyways, I'm just worried that a lot of the people that have spent the last year building the community of this game will be gone. I'm particularly worried about the effect on the in-game market if even 25% of the playerbase quit. It's gonna be a rough few first months after they return to the P2P model...

Market? everyone have 50 craft most people have 3 to max of the craft level to 50 and overprice on the ward so i don't think that be a issue. Community i can see a lot of my friend leaving by then again the one that i'm playing with are staying so i don't mind much but i can see world like yours and other being very small due to the p2p unlike selbina which is full and lot's of players even from besaid reroll over to my world.

I think they should cut down world to 2.0 so people be more together or something.

[AdvancedWind]

Protip: 5-10k subs (you're crazy if you think it's gonna be any higher than this, sorry) won't "fund" the game, but will help cut some losses. That's all they want, anyways; SE does know that the game will not be slightly profitable till 2.0.