Square Enix, it's time to come clean about your plans for the future

[CStrife912]

I mean they have been clear on what they’re making for the most part I’m not sure why you think they’re hiding something. FF17 is unlikely to be anytime soon and if anything at a minimum 2027 onwards (going by how long 7 remake or 16 took) pc port requires only a small team to optimise and dlc depends honestly wouldn’t be that much of a team hog. If you go on their website for recruitment they are still hiring for monster design, game designer and UI designers for the MMO department side still like they are still working on 14 easily. Another expansion with the Xbox port as well plus one of their biggest money makers too.

If they openly came out with an excel sheet of their resource limit and where it’s allocated to you’d still believe they have something to hide because you are adamant they’re against you for some reason.

[Koros]

I mean they have been clear on what they’re making for the most part I’m not sure why you think they’re hiding something

no? they literally only announced ff16 halfway into development even though it was clearly draining resources already.

[CStrife912]

Well yeah you don’t announce stuff during pre-production really square had the issue of announcing stuff well too soon. Also how did it affect things? It was in dev during stormblood yet the game kept growing and had all the content types you lot have been parroting about wanting in Endwalker and going through Covid yet it was fine. Come on now

"You're not happy because the devs aren't giving you anything, and you're asking for the devs to give you a little, which means you wouldn't be happy if the devs gave you even more than you asked for."

Backwards logic

It’s more seeing how some people have a bee under their bonnet and it wouldn’t matter how transparent a company was and honest they would still believe they’re being done over. Can’t comment on this scenario we are in but it’s how it really comes across it’s so black and white rather then people thinking more openly how development and design work and finite resources is all

[AwesomeJr44]

If they openly came out with an excel sheet of their resource limit and where it’s allocated to you’d still believe they have something to hide because you are adamant they’re against you for some reason.

"You're not happy because the devs aren't giving you anything, and you're asking for the devs to give you a little, which means you wouldn't be happy if the devs gave you even more than you asked for."

Backwards logic.

given the forums and the doom patrol which you are part of...

the logic is fairly sound.

The 'doom patrol' is never seems to be given what they ask for. Thus it's not logically sound to assume that they'd be unhappy if they got it for once. Cool name though. The Doom Patrol. Sounds like an anti-hero team. Sign me up!

[Kes13a]

"You're not happy because the devs aren't giving you anything, and you're asking for the devs to give you a little, which means you wouldn't be happy if the devs gave you even more than you asked for."

Backwards logic.

given the forums and the doom patrol which you are part of...

the logic is fairly sound.

the reality is, anything in development they are unlikely to talk about until its in a fit state to talk about. nor are they under any obligation to us to talk about other future projects.

complying with unrealistic demands on the english forums is unlikely to be part of the overall business strategy, not matter how much kicking and screaming and threatening to hold your breath there is. (I doubt they would do it even on the Japanese forums but you are always welcome to try there too)

[TheMightyMollusk]

Cool name though. The Doom Patrol. Sounds like an anti-hero team. Sign me up!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_Patrol

[raelgun]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_Patrol

https://www.mmorpg.com/news/square-e...les-2000128641

The game is no longer growing and more then likely we will see a shrink or just less going forward.

We won't see another end Walker busy release unless blizz messes up but they are doing very well with dragon flight

[Renathras]

https://www.mmorpg.com/news/square-e...les-2000128641
...
We won't see another end Walker busy release unless blizz messes up but they are doing very well with dragon flight

Notably, the company’s MMO segment saw a 22% drop in revenue year over year.

Uh...I don't think this is the argument you think it is.

"Hot MMO 18 months after an expansion has fewer subs than same MMO did 6 months after an expansion!"

...and? That's literally how every expansion works in every MMO ever. Other than Burning Crusade, WoW had the same thing happen. Even at its height of 13 million players in Wrath, the end of Wrath had fewer than the start. And that was the MMO that had uncontested control of the market. All games work this way that have live service. New releases spike numbers which then drift down until the next major release spike.

You have to compare the same point in different expansions, and the game seems to be higher up than it was this same point in ShB and this same point in SB. That suggests the game is, in fact, still growing and not "a shrink or just less".

.

Oh, I'm sorry. My apologies for having the sun shine on your rainy parade.

[raelgun]

Uh...I don't think this is the argument you think it is.

"Hot MMO 18 months after an expansion has fewer subs than same MMO did 6 months after an expansion!"

...and? That's literally how every expansion works in every MMO ever. Other than Burning Crusade, WoW had the same thing happen. Even at its height of 13 million players in Wrath, the end of Wrath had fewer than the start. And that was the MMO that had uncontested control of the market. All games work this way that have live service. New releases spike numbers which then drift down until the next major release spike.

You have to compare the same point in different expansions, and the game seems to be higher up than it was this same point in ShB and this same point in SB. That suggests the game is, in fact, still growing and not "a shrink or just less".

.

Oh, I'm sorry. My apologies for having the sun shine on your rainy parade.

Revenue is down by quite a margin, this is how you measure.

They are still projecting it to go down further.

Now the relevance to the thread is why the sharp decline as it is sharp.

No content in this expansion to keep people engaged, as such people are done fast and stopped playing.

[Renathras]

Revenue is down by quite a margin, this is how you measure.

They are still projecting it to go down further.

Now the relevance to the thread is why the sharp decline as it is sharp.

No content in this expansion to keep people engaged, as such people are done fast and stopped playing.

Again, from your website:

Sales of Final Fantasy XIV were down year over year, which isn't surprising since this marked the post-Endwalker period, and also a greater return to something closer to pre-pandemic life across the world. Sales in 2020 and 2021 were buoyed both by other industry events, but also the pandemic affecting so many around the world.

They even outright acknowledge it. Part of that sales decline is people not buying the game - not subs. Which makes sense. You only buy the expansion once. In June 2022, people were still buying the expansion. In June 2023 people who were going to buy the expansion have already bought the expansion. That's a "decline in revenue", which doesn't even require a decline in subs.

For the game to have "stopped growing", there'd have to be no new sales AND more sub cancellations than additions. This data doesn't support that.

Revenue is down comparing a MMO 6 months after its new expansion to 18 months. That's what's relevant. I get you REALLY want this to be true, but all you're doing is showing an ignorance of statistics, sales, and MMO lifecycles.

They straight up say in the article sales are down because we're further from the pandemic so people that gamed more during it are gaming less, and post-Endwalker, meaning people aren't buying the expansion because they already own it. They straight up addressed the numbers. It wasn't "no content".

.

EDIT:

To put it another way, will you come here a year from now, August 2024, during the height of Dawntrail sales, and tell us all about how FFXIV must be seeing fantastic growth and massive content that is engaging to literally everyone because sales are up year over year?

Because sales WILL be up in Aug 2024 over Aug 2023 due to people buying the expansion and all the people resubbing for the story, new raid fights, and so on. I think we can reasonably predict that their sales will be higher a year from now. Does that mean the game will be marching forward with massive growth that will never end and presages the dawn of a new golden age of gaming?

Of course it won't.

It'll just be the logical consequence of a year with an expansion vs a year without one.