LuckyBancho Census 11/3

[Marxam]

It's interesting how the two biggest MMO companies have missed out lately.

When ff14's Eureka was a flop just before WoW launched an entire fresh expansion, Blizzard had a huge oppertunity to hook a good chunk of FF players. I freely admit I went over to WoW for BFA launch.

BFA however was subsequently a massive flop and Enix in turn had a big oppertunity to pull in a large chunk of WoW's players. They've done nothing to take advantage of this and sit on Pagos, stubbornly refusing to change it.

I feel there are a lot of MMO players out there floating around looking for an enjoyable game and both companies are just twiddling their thumbs and churning out the same old.

partly due to how game companies love to cater to their share holders instead of the players, you know the people actually buying their games. Seems like 99% of game companies today only know how to treat their players as recurring monetized incomes then actual human being who desire entertainment.

Case and point: The shift to heavy RNG and glamour focused end-game. While rewarding and engaging to those who simply want to stand out or casual play, disappointing and monotonous to those of us who use skill as a measure of identity. I'm sure we all had our spots in Mor Dhona,Idyllshire and Rhalgar's Reach where we afk with our raid weapons while we wait for the next content, which continues to be further stretched out with every expansion. We went from 3 month patches to 4-4.5 month patches, while still keeping the same amount of content as the former but with the same resources going into "new content" that constantly falls short of its mark.

As someone who has been with this game since 2.0 launch its really sad to see the state of where it is and un-subbing for longer periods of time has become a far more easier decision as of late until the inevitable. It also doesn't help that the dev team is out of touch and lack any sense of foresight. I'm still annoyed that they added a favorite mount list but failed to add a favorite mount roulette button. Also seeing all the whales in-game just makes me think that SE is so blatant about their "whales" and their "whale" demographic that they can tout it and people will still defend them.

This census doesn't surprise me and I predict the next expansion will have far more "fan service" to get those people back only to lose them again when they realize that the grind is for naught, and only meant to keep them addicted in stead of entertained. As someone who is addicted, Im just glad there are other games like monster hunter world which broke SE's grip they had on me for a few months when it released.

TLDR: census doesn't surprise me and I'm disappointed in what FFXIV has become but can't do anything to change it.

[Deceptus]

partly due to how game companies love to cater to their share holders instead of the players, you know the people actually buying their games. Seems like 99% of game companies today only know how to treat their players as recurring monetized incomes then actual human being who desire entertainment.

Case and point: The shift to heavy RNG and glamour focused end-game. While rewarding and engaging to those who simply want to stand out or casual play, disappointing and monotonous to those of us who use skill as a measure of identity. I'm sure we all had our spots in Mor Dhona,Idyllshire and Rhalgar's Reach where we afk with our raid weapons while we wait for the next content, which continues to be further stretched out with every expansion. We went from 3 month patches to 4-4.5 month patches, while still keeping the same amount of content as the former but with the same resources going into "new content" that constantly falls short of its mark.

Aka what happens when the sales and marketing people get promoted over the product design people.

[Marxam]

Aka what happens when the sales and marketing people get promoted over the product design people.

ikr? I also love how they keep pushing for a glamour based end-game and then put glamour locked behind the mogstation. If your game is promoting looking unique and different from others and you put content that makes you unique and different from others you are effectively creating a mentality of pay2win. It's why you always see threads of people getting salty when another item is put up at the mogstation. Here's an analogy that I'm sure all of us can relate to and it explains the mogstation perfectly:

It's a hot summer day and you and the other neighbourhood kids hear the ice-cream truck (mogstation) come around the corner. You all quickly run to your parents to give you some money to buy ice-cream (playing FFXIV). They only give you enough for a plain vanilla cone (monthly sub) but you don't care because you get to enjoy ice-cream today. You go out and buy your plain vanilla cone and you are enjoying it. Then one of the neighbourhood kids buys a double chocolate dipped, chocolate and vanilla swirl, waffle cone with crushed nuts, caramel drizzle and a cherry on top (monthly sub, retainers, exclusive mounts, exclusive glamours). You both get to enjoy ice-cream (playing FFXIV) but one clearly has a better experience simply by comparison. The other kid with the plain cone can either deal with it and just be happy they get ice-cream or more commonly, get jealous, cry to their parents for one just like their other kids and now the parents have to buy it for them (coerced sales).

The example might hit close to home for some people but that's really what's happening in this game. There is no reason, outside of monetary greed, to put such and egregious amount of content on the mogstation while subsequently reducing the amount gained in-game via RNG. I think this is the crux of why people seem to leave in-between patches. It's a subconscious level of feeling that not everyone can relate to but does affect the ease and decision making of un-subbing.

Plainly speaking, if there is nothing I can do to gain something equal to or greater than my contemporaries then there is no reason for me to participate in such actions. This is a basic human function and only addiction can override it.