FFXIV Needs Player Polls

[Dzian]

The people in forums consist of a very small minority of the playerbase. Should such a minority dictate the course of the game's development to the large majority? I say no.

Yeah It's true that the forum users do make up a very small minority of the playerbase, but that doesn't mean there issues and concerns are not shared by the larger majority of players. just because most players don'tuse the forums doesn't mean they don't share the seem feelings or trends in opinions as those that do. this has been proven countless times in recent years andcompanies spend literall billions researchin this stuff.

look at 1.0 very small number of players used the forums.. even brushed off by many as the vocal minority (a term which is no longer used these days because it has been proven to be wrong) but hey look what happened. everyone felt the same way as those few and the game tanked.. hence the total remake

another example would be ubisoft with the division.. a very small percentage of players used the forums andcomplained about issues and problems in the game. they went largely ignored and the game tanked so hard and so fast the developers issueda massive apology (no pun as game was developed by massive) started doingweekly broadcasts on the state of the game to prove they were listening to players and even paid for a load ofgamers to fly to sweden be put up in a hotel and have face to face discussions with the devs about the game.... all of which proves that small percentage of players represented pretty much the whole community..

or EA. people complaining about various issues in various games and various things and EA be like no worries it's cool the majority of gamers loves our stuff. what happened there? BAM worst company is america...

it only takes a few to represent the many....

I agree, they really need to do in game surveys, Korean developers do it even though they rarely listen and they also offer some kind of little item when you complete them.

I wouldn't be against a poll. but it would have to be somewhere where everyone can see it and use it. So the forums are a no go. It needs to be in game in your face. and it needs to be serious and up to date with issues that are new and recent. No things about 2.0 here. And most inportantly it needs to be READ. That's the only way I see a poll working.

In game surveys won't really help much. one of SE's biggest problems with this game is keep in players interested and retaining subs. If it has any interest in addressing that then what it needs to do is understand why players get bored and leave in such huge numbers and what it can do to improve retention. and as such an in game poll of any kind isn't going to answer those questions.

The best way they could poll people would be email all registered accounts active or not and invite players to participate in one big poll. if they asked players to login to there se account to participate (regardless of sub status) they could then tailor each persons poll based on there activities within the game. if said SE account hadn't activateds tormblood for example then that person simply wouldnt be asked many questions regarding that expansion. except maybe the generic do you plan to purchase at a later date and why/why not? the rest of there questions might be tailored around ARR/HW and general gameplay elements such as the combat system if they had no healers leveled they might not be asked many questions pertaining to healer gameplay elements other than a generic do you intend to level a healer why/why not?

encourage participation by having prizes. like complete this survey for a chance to win $500 of amazon vouchers or something.. offering free game time would do much if players arent happy with the game. but something like amazon vouchers might work very well. especially if they magically posted the survey today. chance to win the vouchers in time for christmas...

from a business perspective the feedback of players who left is more vlauable than those still playing. if you want to imporve yourgame and keep players happier and subbed for longer you needto understand why they leave and act on it.

[ko_]

In game surveys won't really help much. one of SE's biggest problems with this game is keep in players interested and retaining subs. If it has any interest in addressing that then what it needs to do is understand why players get bored and leave in such huge numbers and what it can do to improve retention. and as such an in game poll of any kind isn't going to answer those questions.

The best way they could poll people would be email all registered accounts active or not and invite players to participate in one big poll. if they asked players to login to there se account to participate (regardless of sub status) they could then tailor each persons poll based on there activities within the game. if said SE account hadn't activateds tormblood for example then that person simply wouldnt be asked many questions regarding that expansion. except maybe the generic do you plan to purchase at a later date and why/why not? the rest of there questions might be tailored around ARR/HW and general gameplay elements such as the combat system if they had no healers leveled they might not be asked many questions pertaining to healer gameplay elements other than a generic do you intend to level a healer why/why not?

encourage participation by having prizes. like complete this survey for a chance to win $500 of amazon vouchers or something.. offering free game time would do much if players arent happy with the game. but something like amazon vouchers might work very well. especially if they magically posted the survey today. chance to win the vouchers in time for christmas...

from a business perspective the feedback of players who left is more vlauable than those still playing. if you want to imporve yourgame and keep players happier and subbed for longer you needto understand why they leave and act on it.

Don't knock out ingame polls... I think they do the most effect. Have it in the players face and right on login AND have it once they log in. MNake it so you can't miss it and you're goign to get results. I don't think sending emails to people who left would do anything as they are gone, and no longer putting any money into the game. Focus on the playerbase STILL giving you the money, not on people who left. Asking people who left might give you some results but they left. There's not even a chance they would give you the time of day as they and more importantly their cash is GONE. Fix your foundation FIRST before you go out and try to recuit lost causes.