Bad decision by SE

[RyuDragnier]

Imagine raging at a man crying because he felt he was letting his fans down due to being unable to have his game ready enough for launch. Imagine raging at him for only a 2 week delay. Imagine being that kind of horrible person, to just rage at somebody who already feels incredibly bad, at a guy who does everything to make the game good for his fans.

[Anya_Synia]

Imagine raging at a man crying because he felt he was letting his fans down due to being unable to have his game ready enough for launch. Imagine raging at him for only a 2 week delay. Imagine being that kind of horrible person, to just rage at somebody who already feels incredibly bad, at a guy who does everything to make the game good for his fans.

This is the thing, I get the disappointment, heck everyone is disappointed. The thing is though the clear communication between the team and the customer. I have never known such honesty from anyone else that delays a game. The most important thing is trust and the team are doing a damn good job at maintaining that by explaining why it is delayed. Everyone is entitled to be disappointed sure, but if people are gonna start ranting and raging about it that is not constructive. What is constructive is solutions.

[Breezelyn]

Stop crapping on people who express their frustration and disappointment with the current situation on hand. People are allowed to be disappointed, upset, but also understand that Yoshi-P had to do this delay. A lot of people have been screwed over with their vacation or PTO being wasted. Some can't reschedule their PTO or time off, due to how their company (or companies) work. Some require a month or two, or 2-3 week notice of wanting time off. Other businesses have certain weeks and months blocked off, due to how busy it gets. November~December is already a bad time to try and get time off. I WISH they could have done it either October or early November, then it would have been much easier for a lot of players globally.

I've seen the argument saying not to schedule around a video game/expansion release. It's no different people taking a day off or two to see a sports game? Watch the Superbowl from home? Go to a 2-day concert in a far away city? Video games are just another hobby. It's no different from the examples I've listed.

People are allowed to be upset, but also get it's an evil the team had to do. Stop debunking these people's feelings.

[Monkeywool]

Honestly, as someone who works in software development it's always a hard decision to delay something close to release date and for 2 weeks. Clearly there's a game breaking bug that's been found or some critical bit of polish that needs to be ironed out before launch. It happens, it sucks but it's nothing to get really irate about.

First few weeks are usually nonsense anyway and it's almost impossible to log in and have a good experience, so I never understand taking time off for it. But each to their own, people have different lives and work patterns after all.

[Anya_Synia]

Stop crapping on people who express their frustration and disappointment with the current situation on hand. People are allowed to be disappointed, upset, but also understand that Yoshi-P had to do this delay. A lot of people have been screwed over with their vacation or PTO being wasted. Some can't reschedule their PTO or time off, due to how their company (or companies) work. Some require a month or two, or 2-3 week notice of wanting time off. Other businesses have certain weeks and months blocked off, due to how busy it gets. November~December is already a bad time to try and get time off. I WISH they could have done it either October or early November, then it would have been much easier for a lot of players globally.

I've seen the argument saying not to schedule around a video game/expansion release. It's no different people taking a day off or two to see a sports game? Watch the Superbowl from home? Go to a 2-day concert in a far away city? Video games are just another hobby. It's no different from the examples I've listed.

People are allowed to be upset, but also get it's an evil the team had to do. Stop debunking these people's feelings.

No one is debunking anyone's feeling. Pretty sure I said "Everyone is entitled to be disappointed". However if that disappointment goes beyond that, it's an overreaction.

[Breezelyn]

No one is debunking anyone's feeling. Pretty sure I said "Everyone is entitled to be disappointed". However if that disappointment goes beyond that, it's an overreaction.

My reply is not directed at you, but the general attitude in this thread and stuff I've seen on twitter (don't go there, seriously). Some of the posts I've seen are belittling people saying it's 'not a big deal'. It could be a big deal for certain individuals. Please be kind to them, even when they do understand it was needed. That's all I'm saying. No hostility directed at you.

[Gemina]

I disagree it's not a big deal, it's two weeks. The company are prioritising quality over everything else. What would be more disappointing is if they delivered it on time but it had loads of bugs or the servers couldn't handle the massive influx of players on day 1. It is casual 2 weeks is not long, compared to other games that can be delayed for at least a month maybe more. 2 weeks is nothing. Being a long time FF fan what was not acceptable was the constant delays of FFXIII verses which then turned into FFXV. What about the way too early announcement of Kingdom Heart 3 and then that getting delayed over and over. All these owned by Square Enix. This is just 2 weeks, and announced by a director who is not afraid to show his vulnerability and be totally honest with the consumer. It is very rare to see a director who is that blunt and honest. So yes this isn't a big deal because I trust the director and I trust the team.

Again, if this was the first or second time, I would be more understanding. When you look at it as, "It's just two weeks.", then you are not seeing the issue entirely, and that is what I am trying to enlighten people to. If Yoshida was anyone other than Yoshi-P, this may very well have costed him his job. This isn't a mid-expansion patch, or an Ultimate tier. This is an entire expansion. You might have also just noticed that I mentioned previous delays, and if you're really perceptive, you will have noticed how there seems to be a pattern that has developed. It might not concern you, but it most certainly does me.

Your trust and confidence in the team is very commendable, but it isn't about them and their work ethic. This is about you, and the rest of us, the consumer. This is about SE's continuous inability to deliver on time. You might remember that EW was already previously pushed back in 2020 when the bug dropped on us, and we knew we would not get it in summer of 2021. Again, we have already been patient; we have already been understanding. When you keep seeing the goalposts being moved and a carrot over your head, you eventually have to wise up and say, "I am not doing this anymore."

[lezard21]

Imagine raging at a man crying because he felt he was letting his fans down due to being unable to have his game ready enough for launch. Imagine raging at him for only a 2 week delay. Imagine being that kind of horrible person, to just rage at somebody who already feels incredibly bad, at a guy who does everything to make the game good for his fans.

Can I borrow your strawman to protect my cornfields once Island Sanctuary comes out?

[IDontPetLalas]

You misunderstand. I am not saying that SE treats this as a casual occurrence. I am saying that the occurrence of delays has become casual, or commonplace. We as the customers have become complacent and just go along with it. There is no accountability. There is no consequence. Will there is, but guess who pays them? It's not the people who should be. It's people like you. People like me. And definitely people like Yoshida. This is not an opinion. This is a fact.

We are the consumers. We are the customers. They are the providers, and this is a business. I am not saying the news doesn't come with a heavy heart, but the news comes regardless. They failed to deliver what was promised on time. Again, not an opinion. This is a fact. In your last statement you say that your expectation are that delays are communicated asap. With the amount of time and money you put into this game, why is the word "delays" anywhere in the clause? When expectation is created around such concepts, what do you think is going to happen?

I feel bad for everyone if I am to be blunt. As I said before, this is not something casual, or a small matter; nor do I think it should be treated as such. This IS a big deal, and it affects everyone both on the customer and provider ends.

I don't think I misunderstood you at all, however I was, and am, trying to respect your point of view while remaining polite.

To be more direct, your statement about there being "no accountability" . What exactly do you expect,? You will still have a functioning product . You are free at any time to cancel your subscription and inform the company that you see this delay as unacceptable. SE is also aware of this - there is one very obvious consequence. The LL was a public and permanent statement of the delay. That delay was immediately broadcast and distribute on who knows how many forms of social media, with possible consequences to any SE shares.

Someone internally at SE had to argue for the delay, then has to explain any related subscription losses, development costs, impacts to later patches, etc. Do you really think that no one is held accountable?

I have no issue whatsoever with this announcement, waiting two more weeks is inconsequential. I DO have *some* sympathy for those who arranged for PTO.
Aside from that - this is a remarkably high quality game, it is available every day, which is what I pay for, and waiting two more weeks is not an issue. I prefer that, rather than receiving a game release when it isn't ready.
Finaally while two weeks is not so surprising when (from what I understand) the largest expansion in FFXIV"s history is being discussed, perfectly understandable that people will feel anything from disappointed, to mad, to resigned, etc.

[Rae88]

I was on some WoW streamers when this happened and they were pretty understanding. Because one of the criticisms of World of Warcraft over the past couple of years (other than their own content drought) is content being rushed out when not ready. Like placeholder text in patch 9.1 and the huge amount of bugs. They want that Blizzard polish back where Blizzard would delay their game continuously until it met certain production standards. That's what Blizz polish meant, they may be slow but they used to release quality products. Not so much anymore, their reputation of Blizz polish is going and it's damaging their brand.

So when some people heard that FFXIV was taking this huge decision to delay the expansion by two weeks for QA it reminds people of the sort of polish and care that makes people fall in love with game studios. People don't love studios who are quick or on time, every studio that becomes beloved to fans have a reputation of quality and care.

At the end of the day first impressions count and are lasting and have impact. This is a very important expansion for Yoshida and the team, this will be the first time a lot of players experience a new FF expansion. The first impression and the release has to be great.

Take all the time you need Yoshida-san <3