This game is on a terrible state right now.

[Zeastria]

1) You can't satisfy everyone. there will always be people who dislike something no matter what...
2) People seem to forget that a very small % of the playerbase use and read the forums!..
3) Opinions are subjective not facts!
4) Those who do use forums tend to be of the same kind..
Funny when you look at them -> their opinions are all the same
and they're fueling one another and mob around those who disagree..

[Rolder50]

It seems like Yoshi-P has forgotten the lessons that he himself was giving so long ago when 2.0 launched.

https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020179/Behind-the-Realm




Heck knows they sure aren't following 2,3, OR 4.

[Padudu]

With how everything has been slowly declining in content. Instead of doing 7.0 maybe just end FFXIV story all together let them take a break for a few years and then come up with a new FF MMO that they can take what they have learned and take real feedback on what is lacking and make the new MMO better

That's a horrible idea, you only need to look at PSO2:NGS to see how that turned out for Sega lol

[Reinha]

Why would my content revolve around that? I do all kinds of content except for Ultimates and all of it on Balmung without having to DC travel to find active PvE player base.

It's amusing how much it bothers some people that there are those of us who have fun playing the game and who have things to do in game.

[Gemina]

It seems like Yoshi-P has forgotten the lessons that he himself was giving so long ago when 2.0 launched.

https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020179/Behind-the-Realm




Heck knows they sure aren't following 2,3, OR 4.

Pull up things you wrote or stated 10 years ago and check and see if you still feel the same way about them.

In contrast to this, I would say running an mmo, particularly FFXIV isn't like running a country at all. And it is more akin to running a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. Let's start with from the top:

#1. Players are not citizens, they are customers. Plus, why single out Canada? I'm not defending that country, but rather why not just state that unsatisfied players will leave? Which is not the case anyway as most of the people on these forums who represent the game's playerbase who have issues with it still have active subscriptions. In terms of a country, citizens will stay despite not agreeing with the policies of its leaders for a multitude of reasons. Many of which are not political at all.

#2 The dev team are a dictatorship, whether they choose to see it that way or not. They are not a democracy where an electoral process takes place and they are voted in and out by its citizens. They are not a monarchy wherein selection is determined by birthright, or otherwise usurped. That said much of what we see in the game is due to what they feel the players want. They cannot appease everyone, nor do they have the manpower or technological prowess to provide even if they wanted to try. Therefore they have to make choices which ultimately they dictate. They decide what comes into the game, and what doesn't.

#3 They have done this for the most part. Again, they cannot grant every wish to every player. The game has changed and adapted much over the years, and its sales is more than a testament that they have done so successfully. Those who feel otherwise really just means it has not changed in a way they approve of. I have no idea what, "The silent leaves first" even means considering that the silent represent the majority of the playerbase. And complaints =/= constructive criticism, the latter of which is what will really improve the game. Complaining does not mean you care. Like, at all. A player's subscription is not a relationship or a marriage. It is a business transaction, and what dissatisfied customers typically do is take their business elsewhere.

#4. So what are we? Citizens, or subjects? What are they? Leaders, or dictators? I have to wonder if some of this is lost in translation, as what I believe Yoshi would say in regards to this is that developers must do their best to understand their customers, and one of the best ways to do this is through immersion. It would be nice to know if some members of the development team had anonymous accounts that they use to group with their subscribers. If they did though, I don't think that is something they could or should disclose to the playerbase. What I can say is that it would be extremely difficult to relate to the playerbase from strictly the development side of things.

[VelKallor]

It would be nice to know if some members of the development team had anonymous accounts that they use to group with their subscribers

They do. All of them. Yoshi said as much in an Asmon interview. They play alongside us all the time.

[Ath192]

Pull up things you wrote or stated 10 years ago and check and see if you still feel the same way about them.

In contrast to this, I would say running an mmo, particularly FFXIV isn't like running a country at all. And it is more akin to running a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. Let's start with from the top:

#1. Players are not citizens, they are customers. Plus, why single out Canada? I'm not defending that country, but rather why not just state that unsatisfied players will leave? Which is not the case anyway as most of the people on these forums who represent the game's playerbase who have issues with it still have active subscriptions. In terms of a country, citizens will stay despite not agreeing with the policies of its leaders for a multitude of reasons. Many of which are not political at all.

...

#4. So what are we? Citizens, or subjects? What are they? Leaders, or dictators? I have to wonder if some of this is lost in translation, as what I believe Yoshi would say in regards to this is that developers must do their best to understand their customers, and one of the best ways to do this is through immersion. It would be nice to know if some members of the development team had anonymous accounts that they use to group with their subscribers. If they did though, I don't think that is something they could or should disclose to the playerbase. What I can say is that it would be extremely difficult to relate to the playerbase from strictly the development side of things.

Regardless of how they feel now, they had a point back then.

1. Citizens don't stay, just watch the immigrant crisis happening in multiple places
2. They are just employees, and feedback and paying customers do govern their decisions more often than not.
3. The game largely has the same framework from 10 years ago. Their updates have been iterative the whole way. nothing huge nor revolutionary.
4. We're just gamers who pay for a product, and they're the ones that deliver it. Yoshi P has admitted to having anonymous alts. But I doubt he plays this game with the same passion and hope the players who stayed for 1.0 did.

I honestly think this game's past content will sink its future. 7.0 will definitely bring back big crowds on graphics alone, but what happens beyond that doesn't sound promising if the framework isn't changed. We could use another calamity. Hopefully the next MMO FF goes into development soon.

[VelKallor]

A friendly reminder to not engage with those who choose to engage in a debate over semantics

Says the guy who refuses to answer questions and refuses to discuss with people who dont follow his train of thought. You dont listen to anyone.

Full stop.

At no other point in this game's history bar 1.0 have this many people been talking openly about their dissatisfaction with its systems, content, and story.

This forum is a tiny microcosm of maybe a couple of hundred players, for you to assume that this little echo chamber is representative of ANYTHING is utterly ludicrous.

[caffe_macchiato]

1. There's no competition anymore LOL, there's nowhere we're allowed to move to because FFXIV is the best MMO, better than WoW, etc.
2. The people spoke, they love AFKing while doing nothing, so naturally the devs should continue what they're doing
3. Nope! Forum posters don't count. Naysayers don't count either. According to this personal anecdote, I have a ton to do (I just started playing yesterday), dev team is busy with FF16, etc.
4. Uh...he's a busy man, we all can't wait for FF16, I'm sure he still plays despite not having time for anything but 16, etc.

blah blah

So you disagree with Yoshi-P then? You know, the GREAT YOSHI-P? The guy who rescued Square Enix and is basically the best developer of our time? You dare question HIM??

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

#3 They have done this for the most part. Again, they cannot grant every wish to every player. The game has changed and adapted much over the years, and its sales is more than a testament that they have done so successfully. Those who feel otherwise really just means it has not changed in a way they approve of. I have no idea what, "The silent leaves first" even means considering that the silent represent the majority of the playerbase. And complaints =/= constructive criticism, the latter of which is what will really improve the game. Complaining does not mean you care. Like, at all. A player's subscription is not a relationship or a marriage. It is a business transaction, and what dissatisfied customers typically do is take their business elsewhere.

All of this and a Bag of Chips.
To say they arnt following this (#3) is to completely erase and ignore the fact they have been doing this for years, and are even still practicing it today in Endwalker.
Like, they are aware of the Feedback for both Sanctuaries and Criterion, and will work to improve them. Both of these being Experimental in the 1st place, proving they listened and worked to make the content in the 1st place for people looking for more 'different' side content, and also this weird Obsession with M+.
They wont always get it right, they wont please everybody.
Just because -YOU- or whomever doesn't get what they want, doesn't mean they arnt listening, or trying. There are ALOT of people that play this game and offer feedback to it. we are just a drop in the bucket to the overall playerbase. Imagine how much information they have to read and go through. And Ill bet there is a much bigger variety of voices then just ours giving feedback.