Male Viera as a playable character! show your support

[Selova]

snip.

A statement made in a direct interview with the lead game developer is as official as it gets, them not releasing it in a text format doesnt make it non-official.


Also no, they are in no way, shape or form responsible everytime the community speculates something and then overhypes that speculation into oblivion, to assume that they are is ridiculous.


No game developer is going to announce a big feature for a new expansion like a new race and in this case genders of said race randomly out of the blue just to sate people's curiosity.


People will continue to give feedback in the consolidated threads and if they feel like dumping the time and resources into male viera and feel its going to be worth it then they will and at the time they decide something more concrete they will most likely make another statement on the forums. That's really the best people can hope for right now.

[SpiritMuse]

I would wish at the very least for a community rep replying with a "Hey, we've noted your wish for male Viera/female Hrothgar and will forward it to the developers" or something to that effect. Because then it would feel less like we're screaming uselessly into an empty void.

[BillyKaplan]

Also no, they are in no way, shape or form responsible everytime the community speculates something and then overhypes that speculation into oblivion, to assume that they are is ridiculous.

"Hey Yoshida what about male bunnies?"
"That's right we still have the Tokyo Fanfest left, don't we?"

While I'll concede he maintained plausible deniability, he still very much played coy and kept leading us on. He gave the one answer that wouldn't be a 'no' that would still keep people hoping, they fueled that hype. And with how male Hroths were barely done in time, people thinking that's why bunny boys weren't shown yet were not completely in the wrong either.
And then there's the timing with the pre-orders.

At this point I wonder if the Hroth leak in the French version wasn't some insider trying to warn us to not get our hopes up, more so than to build hype over Viera.

No game developer is going to announce a big feature for a new expansion like a new race and in this case genders of said race randomly out of the blue just to sate people's curiosity.

No but they'd do it if they see enough people cancelling pre-orders and reducing their subs, or otherwise are unpleased with the situation.

I think people also need to realize that just because the community wants something, it does not mean they are obligated to implement what the community wants.

You realize, of course, both Viera and Hroths were introduced in any capacity because players asked for them, right? If the devs didn't want to cater to fan requests at all we might've seen other races, if any new races introduced at all.

[Lihtleita]

They've already stated what their official response is on it. I highly doubt they are going to say anything more that's concrete anytime soon. I think people also need to realize that just because the community wants something, it does not mean they are obligated to implement what the community wants.

but lets be real so far weve gotten a lot of what we wanted

[Theodric]

I would wish at the very least for a community rep replying with a "Hey, we've noted your wish for male Viera/female Hrothgar and will forward it to the developers" or something to that effect. Because then it would feel less like we're screaming uselessly into an empty void.

Their hands are likely tied. I rarely see any of the community reps post about anything these days. I don't attribute it to malice so much as suspecting that the developers have told them to focus exclusively on marketing the game. They've stopped posting on the forum and seem to spend most of their time on the likes of Twitter, Instagram and occasionally promoting seasonal events on the lodestone.

Which, to me, reads as them having been told not to get involved with player concerns and complaints.

[Mutemutt]

"Hey Yoshida what about male bunnies?"
"That's right we still have the Tokyo Fanfest left, don't we?"

While I'll concede he maintained plausible deniability, he still very much played coy and kept leading us on. He gave the one answer that wouldn't be a 'no' that would still keep people hoping, they fueled that hype. And with how male Hroths were barely done in time, people thinking that's why bunny boys weren't shown yet were not completely in the wrong either.
And then there's the timing with the pre-orders.

I don't know. I feel like people are being dramatic about the whole thing. Yoshi dodges the question and gets people to look forward to the next fanfest. Sounds like a regular hype tactic. I just don't see why some feel like the dev team has to come out and kill fan speculation of an upcoming expansion. Fans speculating about the expansion is good thing for them.

[BillyKaplan]

Fans speculating about the expansion is good thing for them.

To a point. If the fans speculate something is coming, at which point that thing is not coming, and it's a thing that generates this much discourse and disappointment, it might have been better to nip it in the bud. At least then they'd have been honest with the fanbase and not dragged it on until people could no longer cancel their pre-orders - something people have done over this, or at least wished they were able to do.

[WhiteArchmage]

At this point I wonder if the Hroth leak in the French version wasn't some insider trying to warn us to not get our hopes up, more so than to build hype over Viera.

In fact, the French leak pointed out to BOTH genders of both races. Having both "le/la Hrothgar" and "le/la Viera", while even myself pointed that it can simply be the game checking character gender before race, it's ambiguous enough to think that there could and would be both genders of both races.

[Mutemutt]

To a point. If the fans speculate something is coming, at which point that thing is not coming, and it's a thing that generates this much discourse and disappointment, it might have been better to nip it in the bud. At least then they'd have been honest with the fanbase and not dragged it on until people could no longer cancel their pre-orders - something people have done over this, or at least wished they were able to do.

They did eventually, right? I mean, they knew people would be upset; there was no way around that. Instead they planned to drop that bomb later, when they were ready to drop more good news too. It makes sense to do that, at least in my mind.

Well pre-orders are just another sales tactic anyway -- and I think it's kind of a seperate issue here-- but from what I understand, you are warned that you can't cancel the pre-order if you redeem the bonuses? Nothing about that seems underhanded to me.

[Saywihee]

They did eventually, right? I mean, they knew people would be upset; there was no way around that. Instead they planned to drop that bomb later, when they were ready to drop more good news too. It makes sense to do that, at least in my mind.

Well pre-orders are just another sales tactic anyway -- and I think it's kind of a seperate issue here-- but from what I understand, you are warned that you can't cancel the pre-order if you redeem the bonuses? Nothing about that seems underhanded to me.

But it was done under the assumption that, like EVERY OTHER RACE IN THIS GAME (Which some were originally genderlocked before, but then were no longer because ARR), that Viera would not be genderlocked. And now there are people who are disappointed and can no longer cancel their preorders because of it.

I for one, will probably never pre-order another expansion again after this bait and switch tactic. It's underhanded. Now I'm stuck because I can't refund my preorder now. For the time being, I won't buy anything from Mogstation, and probably keep my sub bare-bones at best.