BETA TEST ROADMAP IS UP!

[Xenor]

SE needs to market this game. A lot. This needs to happen at a worldwide event like E3. E3 is all about new games rather than those already released. Logic tells me the chance of this game releasing before E3 is 0.

Even if all beta testing is completed by the middle of May they will hold off the launch until after E3. They may even artificially extend the latter phases for this reason. Alpha was originally meant to end mid-December but they let it run a bit longer to let more people in.

This game will launch mid to late June if there are no delays. Don't expect it any earlier but do expect it later as delays always happen on big projects.

[Elexia]

SE needs to market this game. A lot. This needs to happen at a worldwide event like E3. E3 is all about new games rather than those already released. Logic tells me the chance of this game releasing before E3 is 0.

Even if all beta testing is completed by the middle of May they will hold off the launch until after E3. They may even artificially extend the latter phases for this reason. Alpha was originally meant to end mid-December but they let it run a bit longer to let more people in.

This game will launch mid to late June if there are no delays. Don't expect it any earlier but do expect it later as delays always happen on big projects.

Alpha as in testing did end on time actually. It was left up as a playground after though.

[Xenor]

Alpha as in testing did end on time actually. It was left up as a playground after though.

Well that's pretty much what I meant. They'll do the same with the beta if they want the release to be a bit later than their test plans dictate it needs to run for. Releasing before E3 would be a huge mistake.

[Abriael]

SE needs to market this game. A lot. This needs to happen at a worldwide event like E3. E3 is all about new games rather than those already released. Logic tells me the chance of this game releasing before E3 is 0.

What logic exactly? With all due respect it doesn't seem much logic, as much lack of knowledge on how marketing and the industry work.

Even if all beta testing is completed by the middle of May they will hold off the launch until after E3. They may even artificially extend the latter phases for this reason. Alpha was originally meant to end mid-December but they let it run a bit longer to let more people in.

This game will launch mid to late June if there are no delays. Don't expect it any earlier but do expect it later as delays always happen on big projects.

E3 is a press/industry event. It's not a consumer event. The marketing effect of having a game at E3 towards customers is very, very limited, especially if a game has been already announced and shown a lot.

What works as E3 is New announcements. IE: Showing games that have never been shown before. This doesn't apply at all to FFXIV: ARR.

By your logic they should wait for october and launch after Tokyo Game Show and Gamescom, that are partly consumer events and more in line with their target. And even then, the marketing effect would be very, very limited.

"logic" (the real one, based on actual marketing, not on "OMG E3!") would actually dictate to release as soon as the game is ready. Due to the alpha and the roadmap the hype is already building. Hype works like a bell curve, and launching later rather than earlier means doing so when the curve is already going down.

I really cannot stifle a chuckle at those that are already here preaching that Square Enix will undoubtedly (and intentionally according to some, LOL) miss their worst case scenario completely after they just published it today.

[Xenor]

What logic exactly? With all due respect it doesn't seem much logic, as much lack of knowledge on how marketing and the industry work.



E3 is a press/industry event. It's not a consumer event. The marketing effect of having a game at E3 towards customers is very, very limited, especially if a game has been already announced and shown a lot.

What works as E3 is New announcements. IE: Showing games that have never been shown before. This doesn't apply at all to FFXIV: ARR.

By your logic they should wait for october and launch after Tokyo Game Show and Gamescom, that are partly consumer events and more in line with their target. And even then, the marketing effect would be very, very limited.

"logic" (the real one, based on actual marketing, not on "OMG E3!") would actually dictate to release as soon as the game is ready. Due to the alpha and the roadmap the hype is already building. Hype works like a bell curve, and launching later rather than earlier means doing so when the curve is already going down.

I really cannot stifle a chuckle at those that are already here preaching that Square Enix will undoubtedly (and intentionally according to some, LOL) miss their worst case scenario completely after they just published it today.

The event itself yes. But you're completely ignoring the fact E3 is the biggest event in the gaming year for consumers and most people interested in games will either be glued to the streams or desperate for information from videogame websites.

There's simply no denying that this is the best time to let the world know that FFXIV doesn't suck any more and has been completely redeveloped from the ground up. Not everyone follows the Lodestone daily like you and I.

As for your last comment, I work in software development so I know all about the difficulty of keeping to schedules. Keeping to a plan no matter what leads to rushed products and buggy releases. ARR doesn't have these kind of deadlines, hence why every page in the PDF states that the phase lengths are subject to change.

The problem with software development is you do not know what bugs are going to pop up, you do not know when they will pop up and you do not know how long they will take to fix. Not to mention the level of feedback, number of changes and difficulty of implementing changes all adds further variables. This all makes it incredibly difficult to write a schedule even remotely accurate. The road map is how SE wants to play it in an ideal world. Most developers will underestimate rather than over-estimate and this is evident by the fact every patch in V1 was delayed as well as the alpha and beta of ARR.

Expect the unexpected and you will not be disappointed.

[Wyyote]

The problem with software development is you do not know what bugs are going to pop up, you do not know when they will pop up and you do not know how long they will take to fix. Not to mention the level of feedback, number of changes and difficulty of implementing changes all adds further variables. This all makes it incredibly difficult to write a schedule even remotely accurate. The road map is how SE wants to play it in an ideal world. Most developers will underestimate rather than over-estimate and this is evident by the fact every patch in V1 was delayed as well as the alpha and beta of ARR.

Expect the unexpected and you will not be disappointed.

I mean for real... what's the worst that can happen?

[Abriael]

The event itself yes. But you're completely ignoring the fact E3 is the biggest event in the gaming year for consumers and most people interested in games will either be glued to the streams or desperate for information from videogame websites.

Those people are glued to the streams to hear about new and unannounced games, not about games of which they have already seen a crapton of stuff. The general response to just another trailer of a game that has been shown over and over is "meh!"

Waiting past E3 over an unspecified marketing benefit that would be basically inconsequential as the game does NOT fit E3's main target would be downright foolish and damaging. They have already started the hype train. Now they have to avoid missing it.

As for your last comment, I work in software development so I know all about the difficulty of keeping to schedules.

Which is why they wrote the schedule considering a best case scenario and a worst case scenario.

[Xenor]

Those people are glued to the streams to hear about new and unannounced games, not about games of which they have already seen a crapton of stuff. The general response to just another trailer of a game that has been shown over and over is "meh!"

Waiting past E3 over an unspecified marketing benefit that would be basically inconsequential as the game does NOT fit E3's main target would be downright foolish and damaging. They have already started the hype train. Now they have to avoid missing it.

Rarely is anything new at E3. Most of what's going to be shown is leaked ahead of the show or expected, like the PS4 and XBox 720 announcements people are expecting. Are you suggesting they won't show the new PS4 because everyone is aware of it?

This isn't really going anywhere. If you fail to see the marketing potential of E3 then I am wasting my time.

Which is why they wrote the schedule considering a best case scenario and a worst case scenario.

Worst case scenario is the project gets cancelled. While that isn't going to happen here you can never, ever predict the worst case scenario.

This year's E3 will be more about the PS4 and Xbox 720 announcement then anything else I would suspect.

Didn't people say that last year too?

I don't think it will be in phase 1 and 2 because you are starting a new character which means you have to get to level 10 before you start the class quest (switch class quest) in the guild or how ever you unlock them and if Ul'dah and Limsa has no questlines until beta stage 3 (I am assuming just nameless npcs if you can access them at all) you can't get the class unlocked to proceed down the story to get to the job.

Speculation though no proof for or against

That doesn't mean much. Betas can be tailored to what suits the test, IE they could start everyone out with BLM already unlocked if they wanted.

[Abriael]

Rarely is anything new at E3. Most of what's going to be shown is leaked ahead of the show or expected, like the PS4 and XBox 720 announcements people are expecting. Are you suggesting they won't show the new PS4 because everyone is aware of it?

Everyone is "aware" of it. But people haven't *seen* it. There's quite a difference, you know?

This isn't really going anywhere. If you fail to see the marketing potential of E3 then I am wasting my time.

"if you don't agree with me, I'm wasting my time".

Dude. I'm a game writer. I go to E3 rather regularly. I know its "potential" probably quite a bit better than you do. And for a game like FFXIV, that has been shown over, and over and over, and that will have been in beta for quite a while, probably with its NDA already down and beta testers free to post whatever they want of it, that potential is negligible, if not zero.

It's not even nearly worth delaying a release of a game over, in fact no one does. But according to your logic all those game devs and publishers "fail to see the marketing potential". Lol.

[Starlord]

Everyone is "aware" of it. But people haven't *seen* it. There's quite a difference, you know?



"if you don't agree with me, I'm wasting my time".

Dude. I'm a game writer. I go to E3 rather regularly. I know its "potential" probably quite a bit better than you do. And for a game like FFXIV, that has been shown over, and over and over, and that will have been in beta for quite a while, probably with its NDA already down and beta testers free to post whatever they want of it, that potential is negligible, if not zero.

It's not even nearly worth delaying a release of a game over, in fact no one does. But according to your logic all those game devs and publishers "fail to see the marketing potential". Lol.

Well, if it's going to Launch between June~ Whenever, I would want them to make a Big Announcement on E3, Otherwise If it's May and Below I wouldn't.