Covid-19 and FFXIV Fan Festival

[Theodric]

It remains to be seen when exactly the lock-down will end, though it's likely to play out differently in some countries compared to others. In addition, it's likely that a lot of people are going to be reluctant to travel in the weeks and months following the end of the lock-down. I wouldn't be surprised if there's announcement during the upcoming Live Letter that states that there will not be any physical events this time around and everything will instead be streamed/announced online.

[SinisterJoints]

I'm willing to bet that Fan Fest will be talked about at the live letter. We shall see

[technole]

Everything in July is falling apart in California. As of yesterday, LA Anime Expo and San Diego Comic Con are now cancelled.

Just a matter of time, and with the Governor saying anything large attendance wise in 2021 is likely not in the cards, the writing is on the wall.

[Parodine]

This will be very interesting in terms of how expansion information is disseminated. Usually the formula is opening movie at NA fanfest. I wonder if it may also delay the expansion release next year too. I'm sure at least by a little no doubt with even just the patch cycle likely being pushed back by a month.

[Hyperia]

I'm expecting it to be cancelled as the vaccines will not be widely available yet and there will be several hotspots still brewing at that point. As much as I would love to have it, we need to protect the Devs and ourselves more so. If they do a virtual one, they can actually have more content, such as dev talks, interviews, silly games and such if its shown from Tokyo. They could also take some of the proceeds from selling mounts or minions and send it to help charities.

[Katalyn]

Just because its fun to speculate and nice to think about being able to think of people being able to gather again, I'd like to put out another option they have. If San Diego is not viable because California is slower than other spots to allow gatherings and the devs and fan base are comfortable traveling then it could be hosted elsewhere perhaps back in Las Vegas. I imagine there might be good deals on convention space for a change of venue. Of course, they could also postpone and change locations as well. No real way to know at this point and we definitely need to see where things are closer to the event, but I could see a change of venue as a possibility if they go forward with hosting an in-person event as opposed to an online one.

[Gula]

I'm willing to bet that Fan Fest will be talked about at the live letter. We shall see

This.

I would rather it be postponed until 2021-2022 that way it still has a chance world wide instead of, say JP only in the event they get the clear from the government.

Speaking of, it's up to the State if it would happen in the US. And I don't think it'd be cool to be excluded.

[Floortank]

Yeah, but that's not being socially distant, it's being physically distant lol...

Germ hoarding doesn't have the same ring to it.

[Vidu]

Just because its fun to speculate and nice to think about being able to think of people being able to gather again, I'd like to put out another option they have. If San Diego is not viable because California is slower than other spots to allow gatherings and the devs and fan base are comfortable traveling then it could be hosted elsewhere perhaps back in Las Vegas. I imagine there might be good deals on convention space for a change of venue. Of course, they could also postpone and change locations as well. No real way to know at this point and we definitely need to see where things are closer to the event, but I could see a change of venue as a possibility if they go forward with hosting an in-person event as opposed to an online one.

Not that I dont disagree with your notion of speculating being fun (I can also understand that just thinking about being able to gather again might offer a certain level of "comfort" to people), but this seems highly unlikely and I would hope that they dont consider a change of venue under circumstances like this...
Looking for a part of a world thats stupid enough to allow for gatherings ahead of time isnt something they should do - unless they want end up being famous like this: "Remember those FFXIV people? We basically had California virus-free and then they were holding an event in LA, some people from San Diego went, brought the virus back with them and now half the stat is infected again..."

I could see certain areas of the world allow local gatherings again (like, lets say a local theater being allowed to open again and sell tickets to locals. Or a junior-soccer club being able to play again and invite friends and families to see the games.) - but certainly not events like this where people from all over the world come together. And I would hope that companies like SE are responsible (or PR-smart) enough not to contribute to spreading the virus by looking for a place that will allow them to hold their event while good chunks of the world might still be struggling.

[Hysterior]

It will probably be physically cancelled (once closer to the date) and replaced by some virtual events.