So SE has officially stated their MMO profits have tanked.

[Wyssahtyn]

Endwalker really is the gift that keeps on giving.

4.x/shadowbringers was what locked us into this mess

[Big-Isaac]

There are 2 universes.
In one, the falling earnings make the exacs pull their heads out of their asses and realize that they need to give this game a proper budget so it can get back on track.
In the other, the falling earnings make the exacs slash the game's already inadequate budget even further, with predictable results.

Let's see which universe we end up in...

[BlisteringFrost]

But how long until that new blood runs into the things that veterans are having problems with? If anything they'll hit the wall sooner because they don't have to wait months/years before the sinking creeps up on them.

I encounter new people frequently on Dynamis, but a lot of them end up with a much different view of the game when they're having to rely on some level 100 (or several in the case of Crystal Tower) to one-shot escort them through mandatory MSQ content. At best they think the game is actually a single-player RPG and the MMO part is "optional" and at worst they think the whole game is dead and people like me are just very helpful survivors. I also can't count the number of "new friends" I've made in the last nearly 3 years that either:

A. Transfer to a data center that isn't Dynamis.
B. Never get seen again.

That said, Square-Enix is reaping what they sowed with regards to their apathy and blunders, and I don't really have enough trust or faith in them to fix things, especially when they have a convenient "exit plan" right there in the form of Final Fantasy 11's Mass Trust.

"Not enough people playing? That's fine, we'll just retoll EVERYTHING to be doable with NPCs." And that's assuming they don't just shutter the whole thing and bank exclusively on the mobile version instead.

God forbid you tell them to swap servers real quick to get a faster queue instead to experience the content as intended.

Especially in Maduins Novice Network...

[RedLolly]

I had a sprout in my FC finish base Shadowbringers last night and showed genuine excitement for Dawntrail and it took a lot of self-control to not yuk their yum in a high moment for them. There are and will be players that adore Dawntrail, and there already are. I replayed ARR several times in its heyday and will defend Stormblood tooth and nail, so eh.

Actually I look back now and the MSQ really did totally abandon Tural in its entirety the instant we crossed into Heritage Found. Four whole areas of Dawntrail weren't utilized in about 2/3's ish of Dawntrail's storyline.

FFXIV going hard cyberpunk for DT instead of the South American culture, rife with underutilized mythos to be inspired by.... Amd instead we got Cyberpunk FFIX.

How did we get here?

[RedLolly]

But how long until that new blood runs into the things that veterans are having problems with? If anything they'll hit the wall sooner because they don't have to wait months/years before the sinking creeps up on them.

I encounter new people frequently on Dynamis, but a lot of them end up with a much different view of the game when they're having to rely on some level 100 (or several in the case of Crystal Tower) to one-shot escort them through mandatory MSQ content. At best they think the game is actually a single-player RPG and the MMO part is "optional" and at worst they think the whole game is dead and people like me are just very helpful survivors. I also can't count the number of "new friends" I've made in the last nearly 3 years that either:

A. Transfer to a data center that isn't Dynamis.
B. Never get seen again.

That said, Square-Enix is reaping what they sowed with regards to their apathy and blunders, and I don't really have enough trust or faith in them to fix things, especially when they have a convenient "exit plan" right there in the form of Final Fantasy 11's Mass Trust.

"Not enough people playing? That's fine, we'll just retoll EVERYTHING to be doable with NPCs." And that's assuming they don't just shutter the whole thing and bank exclusively on the mobile version instead.

I think most will hit the wall just in time for 8.0 ads to start, which is going to be very interesting to watch. The 8.0 hype cycle is already carrying a strange mood. We want to see it, we want it to be great, but calling it cautiously optimistic feels a bit too kind for some of us.




I'm actually really wondering if the plan may be to start another FF MMO if one isn't already in the pipeline. The Japanese fanbase has consistently shared identical complaints as us English speaking players according to everyone who can translate, and if 8.0 isn't HW or ShB levels of story, THEN I think we might be screwed.

[Daralii]

There are 2 universes.
In one, the falling earnings make the exacs pull their heads out of their asses and realize that they need to give this game a proper budget so it can get back on track.
In the other, the falling earnings make the exacs slash the game's already inadequate budget even further, with predictable results.

Let's see which universe we end up in...

Funding can only do so much when we know from XVI that the decision makers are also a problem. They were given a blank slate and effectively a blank check, and the end result was an offline XIV where they say fuck.

[DiaDeem]

It's as if trying to make your team develop 7 (or whatever) many games at the same time you're supporting your one successful live MMO service led to the deterioration of said MMO.

I'll never understand why Yoshida chose to do this, and I can only hope they don't do this ever again.

[Bitmoar]

The lack of 'classic MMO grinds' is the exact reason I play this game and remain subscribed to it continually while anytime I try to play WoW it is a flash in the pan for me.

And Dynamis and Materia aren't going anywhere because the game's housing system pretty much precludes the concept of server merges.

Content is optional. Not a server merge, moving Dynamis worlds to the other NA DCs and moving Materia worlds to JP DCs.

Just to expand on this quickly, XIV has some of the most soul crushing achievement grinds in the genre, I'll just assume you don't interact with them. But besides that, the grinds in field content specifically aren't all or nothing. It's a choose your own adventure. The point is, they need to begin whatever their long form optional grind content is (relics/field zone) to keep people engaged. You waste all the hype around an expansion when people finish the story, stick around for raiding if they raid, and then wait 3 months for the x.1 for a day's worth of content and another 4 week wait just for a new society quest or something.

[TeresaFortell]

New players aren't staying. Everyone I've introduced hasn't remained, & the fact that people need to wait to play with their friends, blocked by an MSQ a majority of people do not like (in terms of DT) is abysmal. To even get to the point of Dawntrail, one has to go through the entire MSQ and that's a huge investment. No one is going to just buy a skip and waste that money for a game they're not invested in yet. Which gets rid of a set of newer folks brought in by older folks entirely.

They really should just provide a story skip for the latest expansion at this point. In doing so, they can grant raiders the option to immediately jump into the raids they want instead of needing to progress through the story just to do that content. You see there are story skips for previous expansions, so I don't see why there shouldn't be one for the latest one.

[RedLolly]

I'm not really enthused by the idea of them making a "new" Final Fantasy MMO when they can't even get this one right. At least when it came from the jump to Final Fantasy 11 to Final Fantasy 14, that FF11 was "complete" and a job well done, while a jump from FF14 to Final Fantasy "17" would be abandoning a dumpster fire for a life boat. (Please note that the dumpster fire was not located in the ocean when visualizing the rubber dinghy trying to row away as fast as possible.)

I don't disagree, but I do wonder if starting anew without 15 years of legacy code is too appealing to resist, especially after the attempts to continue post Endwalker haven't been hits and ESPECIALLY if the mobile remake takes off as it's been reviewing very well in the beta tests.

(That thing's not a port at all with how many fundamental changes Lightspeed's made.)