Gamespot ARR article. HOW DARE YOU DOUBT OUR YOSHI-P!!

[valetarkus]

Pretty much every game is a ripoff of another game on how it's played, unless it's a unique puzzle game, but those are never amazingly crazy awesome. FPS games are all pretty much the same. Really the only huge difference in them is the story and setting. MMO's are all pretty much the same. RPG's have been pretty much the same since forever. So as far as anything unique ARR has to offer? How about, it looks great, the job system, great story and we'll see the rest in Beta. A new Idea is very rare these days. And sometimes new does not mean better.

[HiirNoivl]

the kind of content ends up being largely irrelevant as long as it's high quality and exists in a large enough quantity to keep players busy..

2014 is my tenth year anniversary with a certain F2P Flash game... and this is why.

[Daniolaut]

Out of all the arguments here I am amazed that people cannot seem to remember that FFXIV 1.0 was considered too different but had systems that needed fixing.

Now that FFXIV:ARR is underway, its basically the same game but the old problems are fixed, and a vast range of new things have been implemented.

So...

The initial cause of the failing of FFXIV 1.0:
-The game didnt hold enough Final Fantasy Lore
-The game had playability issues, such as UI and server lag

So let me remind everyone that FFXIV:ARR is a "reborn" version of FFXIV. How is it now "stale"?


1. By no means is FFXIV:ARR "a shadow of WoW" in regards to innovation
2. It is a far cry from being the mess it was originally.

Just a recap of things FFXIV:ARR has to offer.

FATE
Armoury System
Job System
Gold Saucer
Grand Companies
Free Companies
Innovative Crafting System
Gathering System
Retainers
Companions (Baby Chocobo, Behemoth, Mini Bomb)
Battle Companion Chocobos
Raising Chocobos
.. Do I really need to keep going?

TLDR
FFXIV:ARR is FFXIV 1.0 "Reborn" so umm was FFXIV 1.0 anything like WoW? That is the real question. (FFXIV:ARR is FFXIV 1.0 .. fixed.)

[Keres]

The most surreal part about this thread is that that entire article was 99% glowing, aside from that one sentence. And still, everyone screams "bias."

[Almalexia]

which game is that?

I know there's a console grafix joke in there somewhere. You know what I mean!

[Orophin]

The initial cause of the failing of FFXIV 1.0:
-The game didnt hold enough Final Fantasy Lore

I wouldn't say the lack of Final Fantasy lore, but the lack of a cohesive (or finished even) story for that matter. It's taken a lot of discussion over in Anonymoose's thread to actually piece together the puzzle that's still missing pieces from the box in terms of the original story. It wasn't until Yoshi-P took over and introduced the 7th Umbral Era and Grand Company storylines that the game actually seemed to start moving towards some direction.

To get back to your earlier point about the game being "too different", it's funny how reviewers are looking for some big breakthrough in MMO mechanics, yet when FFXIV seemed to discard almost everything that worked in FFXI it got butchered by reviewers. Even if the server structure and UI responsiveness were top notch, I still don't see how anyone but FFXI diehards would have kept playing FFXIV in its original state.

[Gramul]

you're still hung up on it all being the same and can't see the forest for the trees.

I hate repeated phasing like that. If you think I didn't get it, try rewording it.

The celebrity idea for the marketing team stemmed from various celebrities already talking about the game. Blizzard encouraged it and their community to grow and communicate. The reason why "all the games which tout themselves as being 'different' end up with a fraction of that number before fizzling out and fading away completely" is because they aren't different. Really all they do is add one or two minor features and glorify it like the second coming. In the end, you get the same core structure. The same uninspired quest goals, the same mad dash to endgame, the same instanced dungeon runs, the same holy trinity. We get tens of MMO's a year claiming to radically reshape the genre, but they only tackle the unimportant side features leaving the truly stagnated components to rot.

Let's look back at the FPS genre. I mentioned Portal earlier. It's a popular FPS that radically different. Genres don't need to cater to the expected to survive or even thrive, and that's something I feel most MMO developers are afraid of because of the mass amount of cost it takes to make them (even though almost all of them have sputtered into the forgotten void.)

This game has a few things going for it:
1. Better graphics (doesn't seem to sway consumers based on the last few releases.)
2. A story (Won't keep people around long. Story has been done in MMOs before. Once it's done, they're out.)
3. FF Fanservice (could be a big draw for FF fans not crazy about MMOs)
4. The revival. ("It's better now, so it must be good". This might actually be the biggest draw.)

WoW was a one time thing. No one's going to repeat it, or even come close just by rehearsing the same song and dance, no matter how well they do it. They don't flourish, they just live. And I see very little reason why this game, as great as it's looking, will break that trend.

And seriously. Caps help me read. Don't tell me you can't. I see those question marks.

[Velhart]

Let's look back at the FPS genre. I mentioned Portal earlier. It's a popular FPS that radically different. Genres don't need to cater to the expected to survive or even thrive, and that's something I feel most MMO developers are afraid of because of the mass amount of cost it takes to make them (even though almost all of them have sputtered into the forgotten void.)

Problem with this is that Portal is not an FPS per se, it is a puzzle game with first person elements. It would be better to compare a game that has gone a unique approach to an FPS in comparison with games like Halo and Call of Duty. Look at CoD and Halo, what are their biggest difference? Just story, setting, and what your weapons do. I look at MMO's the same way, and I am glad Yoshida is also.

(Now to kind of something else, this part not targeted at you.)
I would actually agree to an extent if Yoshida was trying to convince you that FFXIV was a complete unique experience that redefines the genre. He has already expressed several times that he doesn't believe being too unique is a successful approach to this game and creating a sense of familiarity with proper FF elements will make it a success. I completely agree with him, and he knows how we think.

I am willing to bet Gamespot twisted the story a bit, with how much confidence Yoshida speaks in all his interviews, I am sure he wasn't just sitting there, scratching his head going, "Uhh graphics?". I am sure he was asked this a million times and knew the question was coming up and would be a popular one. I am sure he said "Graphics" because he isn't going out of his way to make you think this is a genre breaker like other failed MMO's have tried to convince you. People will disagree with me, but I love how he approaches this. The only thing he wants to convince you is that this is a great "Final Fantasy" and "MMO" experience, that is it.

If you don't like what is coming because it lacks originality, then that is your opinion and that is fine, but originality doesn't always make a game good.

To myself personally, I 100% welcome a great online Final Fantasy experience with familiar concepts. I guess you can just call me bland and a sucker if you want.

[ArkhamNative]

Hey, I thought this article was very good. Sure, he seemed to miss or downplay Yoshi-P's response, but he targeted a lot of gamers who had written off FF14. And paragraph 4 is loaded with stuff MMORPG gamers will take notice of. He didn't finish with some nonsense they would tune out, like "this is teh WoW killer for realz!", but instead with a very believable "hey, you might want to put this back on your radar." 4 stars out of 5.

[Psion]

Out of all the arguments here I am amazed that people cannot seem to remember that FFXIV 1.0 was considered too different but had systems that needed fixing.

Now that FFXIV:ARR is underway, its basically the same game but the old problems are fixed, and a vast range of new things have been implemented.

So...

The initial cause of the failing of FFXIV 1.0:
-The game didnt hold enough Final Fantasy Lore
-The game had playability issues, such as UI and server lag

So let me remind everyone that FFXIV:ARR is a "reborn" version of FFXIV. How is it now "stale"?


1. By no means is FFXIV:ARR "a shadow of WoW" in regards to innovation
2. It is a far cry from being the mess it was originally.

Just a recap of things FFXIV:ARR has to offer.

FATE
Armoury System
Job System
Gold Saucer
Grand Companies
Free Companies
Innovative Crafting System
Gathering System
Retainers
Companions (Baby Chocobo, Behemoth, Mini Bomb)
Battle Companion Chocobos
Raising Chocobos
.. Do I really need to keep going?

TLDR
FFXIV:ARR is FFXIV 1.0 "Reborn" so umm was FFXIV 1.0 anything like WoW? That is the real question. (FFXIV:ARR is FFXIV 1.0 .. fixed.)

WTH, HOW COULD YOU FORGET TO LIST COMPANY AND PRIVATE HOUSING!?!?

You shall pay for your sins.

(Seriously, i want my private mansion in a luxurious neighborhood.)