Yoshi P's Ominous Statement About the Future of XIV

[TeresaFortell]

More of an emphasis on customisation and self-expression (I'd expect to see animation packages start to show up on the Mog Station during 8.0), more of an emphasis on "playing the game how you want to" (so gearing outside of Savage being less of a tedious time commitment), and moving away from the trappings that define old-school MMO's as a whole.

To add to this, the mmo culture has dramatically changed from even a decade past. It’s less about the community and more about the self. As the individual takes centre stage, you see a lot of adjustments being made to the game surrounding that mentality. As such, there came the addition of trust and duty support in shb and the ability for dc travel in ew. It is, in a way, central to why they are pivoting the game towards more of a live service and less of an MMO, not only due to the competition, but also a change in the culture.

[Veritas-Ancora]

To add to this, the mmo culture has dramatically changed from even a decade past. It’s less about the community and more about the self. As the individual takes centre stage, you see a lot of adjustments being made to the game surrounding that mentality. As such, there came the addition of trust and duty support in shb and the ability for dc travel in ew. It is, in a way, central to why they are pivoting the game towards more of a live service and less of an MMO, not only due to the competition, but also a change in the culture.

I don't understand. Are you saying that MMOs are now about the single-player experience?

I play an MMO to play with others. I'm not interested in content like Blue Mage unless it's farming Moogle tomestones with others.

Has the industry really fallen so far back that a Massive Multiplayer Online game is just fodder for single-player experiences?

[Commander_Justitia]

Has the industry really fallen so far back that a Massive Multiplayer Online game is just fodder for single-player experiences?

MMORPGs are expensive. Mobile gaming is easier. Just single player with fake multiplayer aspect I guess

[TeresaFortell]

I don't understand. Are you saying that MMOs are now about the single-player experience?

Yes. The heavy focus on being solo-friendly in many MMOs has caused these games to foster a single-player experience. This focus originated from the mmo culture I described in my other post.

Has the industry really fallen so far back that a Massive Multiplayer Online game is just fodder for single-player experiences?

It has to adapt. Nowadays, people play games for short-term gratification, and they will not turn to MMOs because they don't want games that require parties or even socialising with others to achieve anything. As such, these games deliberately create a solo-friendly experience to reduce the barrier of entry, so that anyone can play them without these constraints.

[RedLolly]

I don't understand. Are you saying that MMOs are now about the single-player experience?

I play an MMO to play with others. I'm not interested in content like Blue Mage unless it's farming Moogle tomestones with others.

Has the industry really fallen so far back that a Massive Multiplayer Online game is just fodder for single-player experiences?

MMOs have become of safe outlet for almost any form of self-expression that a player wants, and it's more enticing to do that in an environment with others in the same mindset.

FFXIV's character creator is jarringly simple compared to its peers and other games that allow customized characters because it needed to be is 2012. It's 2025.

[NegativeS]

To add to this, the mmo culture has dramatically changed from even a decade past. It’s less about the community and more about the self. As the individual takes centre stage, you see a lot of adjustments being made to the game surrounding that mentality. As such, there came the addition of trust and duty support in shb and the ability for dc travel in ew. It is, in a way, central to why they are pivoting the game towards more of a live service and less of an MMO, not only due to the competition, but also a change in the culture.

MMOs have become of safe outlet for almost any form of self-expression that a player wants, and it's more enticing to do that in an environment with others in the same mindset.

FFXIV's character creator is jarringly simple compared to its peers and other games that allow customized characters because it needed to be is 2012. It's 2025.

And people wonder why the genre is dying... With players like these, who needs critics?

If any other genre of game had such a dramatic upheaval in focus, there would be mass riots. What makes MMOs so special that they are so susceptible to being boiled down like frogs?

[Zelda206]

"Whatever jargon we feed you, please look forward to it." -- Square Enix

It's pretty obvious Square Enix is tripling-down on mobile. Whether or not the statement Yoshida said on Square's behalf reflects that, I'm not sure. But I do know the company is in a very rough spot if it has shareholders preparing powerpoint presentations, detailing their misgivings about the management and why they're voluntarily capsizing. At the end of the day, we get what we get, and if we don't like it, we simply pack up and leave. I'm not going to hang on the words of a company that is abusing the nostalgia factor of its IP while listening to the skeletons it has in its closet and apologizing to the individuals that happily brought the plague into their domicile and left kicking and screaming.

[RedLolly]

And people wonder why the genre is dying... With players like these, who needs critics?

If any other genre of game had such a dramatic upheaval in focus, there would be mass riots. What makes MMOs so special that they are so susceptible to being boiled down like frogs?

I theorize it's the same appeal as to why it seems like every shooter game sells skins and the rise of "cozy" games that are hyperfixated on personalization in a low stakes environment.

It's genuinely industry wide, but MMOs are for adults that want to hang out and play together.

[TeresaFortell]

And people wonder why the genre is dying... With players like these, who needs critics?

Yet you have not provided a counterargument to what I said. If you actually think trust and duty support systems actually provide an MMO experience in the game, you would be very much wrong in that regard.

[Gaddes]

It's so bizarre to me that SE keeps straddling the line between the game being an MMO and being a single-player experience, like they can't figure out how to choose a side. I personally think it was a mistake to start converting everything to single-player modes; dungeon quality has definitely suffered thanks to both current and past dungeons needing to be dumbed down so their terrible NPC AI can manage mechanics for the single-player experience...
I mean financially it's obvious they want to tap into a previously under-tapped market in MMOs since players that are single-player rarely go for them, but you basically taint the MMO well in the process, so I feel in the long run it was a massive mistake. But it's one they're not backpedaling from any time soon.