how did we at a place where diablo4 is more of an mmo that FF14?

[Jojoya]

If it's not an MMO then XIV isn't an MMO. Shit it even does a better job of being a Single/Multiplayer RPG too.

Blizzard is marketing it as a multiplayer ARPG, not as a massively multiplayer ARPG. So it is not a MMO. They definitely would be marketing as a MMO if it qualifies as one. Diablo fans have been asking for a Diablo MMO for a very long time.

Giving players an option to play solo does not stop a MMO from being a MMO. Massive doesn't mean everyone in the same location at the same time, just that they're online on the same server at the same time.

XIV is regressing in it's 'MMO' qualities, while other games are starting to outpace it this decade. Does that mean XIV is now just an MORPG?

It's not regressing as a MMO. It's giving players options on how to play. It's up to the individual player to decide whether they want to do content with other players or solo.

We can stretch this thing any which way we want, in and around loops of bullshit. But in this day and age, if we hadn't known Diablo 1-3 to be just an Online ARPG, and the game we know as D4 released today as Diablo 1 - It'd be considered an MMO-ARPG.

You say it yourself. It's easy for players to stretch things for either game any way they want. Yet the industry has standards to meet, and game developers are going to use those standards to market their games.

I'm going to trust Blizzard's judgment about what type of game they made is over yours. I can't argue with your feeling but you feeling that way doesn't make it fact.

But... with AAA game launches over the past few years the first few months are usually the most fun because of all the Lulz resulting from bugs and glitches they failed to find... :P

Beta testing is even better. I can still remember early on in the Mists of Pandaria beta when Holy Nova was not affected by the GCD.