2.0 success or failure

[Zaaku]

I'm also in line with OP's fears. I loved FF and grew up playing many of their games. A lot of good memories. I was enthralled by their stories, even if I didn't understand them all the time because of my age. I was just excited to play FINAL FANTASY! It was alright if I was kind of confused, I knew it will get better in the end. Lately though... pretty much everything after FFXI has been a let down. Not a complete blunder but when I finished those latest few titles I just kind of sit there and think, '
Wait that was it?'

FFXIII was a perfect example of this. The real fun never even began until 30 hours in. So I muddled and limped along hardly caring about what was going on but I did it because I knew it would just suddenly pick up and I would be in the zone. Got the end and just shrugged in disappointment. Nothing. Not a shred of pride or elation. The victory felt hallow and I didn't even have that post-completion pang of depression now that the journey was over.

That is also the dread I am beginning to feel in FFXIV. I've kept with it for now. I log on and try to appreciate what is there and soak it all in, just waiting for that FF VTEC to kick in. As I play more and more though I am beginning to see the boundaries they've set up for themselves. The shortcomings of the Primal system. The way they've set up the raids. The uninteresting and uninvolved story. The complete disregard for emphasizing party play. All these bad omens that have been put in place by the people who are supposedly bringing me a Final Fantasy game.

2.0 will really need to be all they promised and a bag of chips. I mean REALLY good. They will have to do better in a re-launch then they would normally do with just a standard release. Not only do they have to impress people enough to buy it but also overcome the stigma of FFXIV's failed launch. It is a big challenge and without any Final Fantasy magic to hook people I see no reason why this game should be successful. It is just so.... meh. If the Races were different and there were no Chocobos there would be no way to indicate this is a FF title. Which is what has brought most of us here. I hope it does well but I wouldn't be surprised to see a lack luster reception once more. Even if they do bring all the fireworks out. Just so much time and damage in this game's history. Plus the degrading quality of FF in general. We might not pull the numbers they want. If that happens and we're stuck with a small player pool it will not be long before they community just up and vanishes.

FFXI may have had a smaller population compared to most Giant MMO's but because of its difficulty and the direction SE took those who were in all became Sam Flynn. It was a solid subscriber pool to draw from. If FFXIV has the same number of people they will not last nearly as long. Since a sizable portion will be of the casual crowd who are much more fickle and proned to leave when things get boring or they feel the game is a 'failure'. Without the numbers to sustain the casual crowd and the lack of depth and difficulty to hook the hardcore the only ones left will be the die hards. Not nearly enough to keep the game afloat.

[Riffy]

I'm also in line with OP's fears. I loved FF and grew up playing many of their games. A lot of good memories. I was enthralled by their stories, even if I didn't understand them all the time because of my age. I was just excited to play FINAL FANTASY! It was alright if I was kind of confused, I knew it will get better in the end. Lately though... pretty much everything after FFXI has been a let down. Not a complete blunder but when I finished those latest few titles I just kind of sit there and think, '
Wait that was it?'

FFXIII was a perfect example of this. The real fun never even began until 30 hours in. So I muddled and limped along hardly caring about what was going on but I did it because I knew it would just suddenly pick up and I would be in the zone. Got the end and just shrugged in disappointment. Nothing. Not a shred of pride or elation. The victory felt hallow and I didn't even have that post-completion pang of depression now that the journey was over.

That is also the dread I am beginning to feel in FFXIV. I've kept with it for now. I log on and try to appreciate what is there and soak it all in, just waiting for that FF VTEC to kick in. As I play more and more though I am beginning to see the boundaries they've set up for themselves. The shortcomings of the Primal system. The way they've set up the raids. The uninteresting and uninvolved story. The complete disregard for emphasizing party play. All these bad omens that have been put in place by the people who are supposedly bringing me a Final Fantasy game.

2.0 will really need to be all they promised and a bag of chips. I mean REALLY good. They will have to do better in a re-launch then they would normally do with just a standard release. Not only do they have to impress people enough to buy it but also overcome the stigma of FFXIV's failed launch. It is a big challenge and without any Final Fantasy magic to hook people I see no reason why this game should be successful. It is just so.... meh. If the Races were different and there were no Chocobos there would be no way to indicate this is a FF title. Which is what has brought most of us here. I hope it does well but I wouldn't be surprised to see a lack luster reception once more. Even if they do bring all the fireworks out. Just so much time and damage in this game's history. Plus the degrading quality of FF in general. We might not pull the numbers they want. If that happens and we're stuck with a small player pool it will not be long before they community just up and vanishes.

FFXI may have had a smaller population compared to most Giant MMO's but because of its difficulty and the direction SE took those who were in all became Sam Flynn. It was a solid subscriber pool to draw from. If FFXIV has the same number of people they will not last nearly as long. Since a sizable portion will be of the casual crowd who are much more fickle and proned to leave when things get boring or they feel the game is a 'failure'. Without the numbers to sustain the casual crowd and the lack of depth and difficulty to hook the hardcore the only ones left will be the die hards. Not nearly enough to keep the game afloat.

Thanks for bringing a bit of life and randomness into Ul'dah