ffxi has server stats built in. By taking them out of this game they created the perception that the game is failing.
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and this dev team has made the game way better and attracted lots of people back, haven't they?
Nah, now you overdid it. Not even the whitest of whiteknights at this point actually argue that a lot of players already have come back. The discussion is about whether they will come back in the future, so if anything, releasing player numbers half a year down the road would make sense.

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You *are* joking, right? I mean, you do not really believe a lot of people are playing this game right now?

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Somebody please tell me he's joking?!