Brian from Work 2 Game is leaving FFXIV

[Jojoya]

I wish him well. He seems like a nice guy but I stopped watching Work to Game content because it usually came across as alarmist and dramatic with some content titles more click bait than accurate about what they were discussing. I think part of his problem is he's simply been playing the game a very long time and is in need of a change.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions. You're not going to get everyone to agree on what's wrong with the game and what's right with it.

As for risk, genuine risk is best left for new titles where players haven't had a chance to form expectations. WoW took some risks beginning in Warlords of Draenor and look where that got the game. Players that had enjoyed the old systems didn't care for the new ones and left. Now WoW is trying to revive some of those old systems but they have no guarantee those players they lost will come back. Will they now lose the players who had liked the changes and stuck around without former players returning to replace their numbers?

The FFXIV team is engaging in some risk but handling it in a more conservative way. They're adding new content types instead of altering existing content. They can't predict how the player base will ultimately react to that content. Negative reaction ends up a failed risk as the development resources spent are wasted.

The original Diadem was a risk that failed. They moved to Eureka, which had mixed reaction, then refined that into Bozja, which was generally well received.

Ishgard Restoration was a risk. The leveling content was well received. The leaderboard end game wasn't.

Island Sanctuary was a risk. It's gotten a mixed reaction though SE seems to be pleased with overall participation, at least for now.

Variant/Criterion was a risk. It's getting mixed reaction but more over the reward structure than the content itself.

The risk is there but it may not be the risk that some are hoping to see.

We need to start gauging just how much the community wants, needs and how much the devs can work on (sometimes it's not even up to them whether they work X hours on this product). And we need to make it clear.

The player community is not a single hive mind. Some players want one thing. Other players want something different. The developers have their own vision in mind.

It's easy enough for the individual player to make clear what they want. All they need to do is leave constructive feedback.

But they shouldn't expect to get exactly what they want, especially if it's not what the developers have in mind. No game is going to end up good if the developers spend their time trying to placate player demands instead of focusing on what they're personally passionate about.

If ultimately you're unhappy with a product, stop buying it. Buy the products that you're happy with. That's how companies learn. As long as enough consumers are buying their product so they're making a profit, they have little reason to change.

It's when consumers stop buying their product and start buying a competitor's product that they start taking a closer look. What makes that product more desirable to the customer? How can we change our product to draw the consumer back?