-Understanding the successful relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV-

[Zantetsuken]

Yoshi P discusses the relaunch of FFXIV into ARR.

Watch it HERE

For those interested, there are some great insights into why certain decisions were made in both XIV and ARR.


Some thoughts:

- One thing I found incredibly interesting was that when FFXIV 1.0 started to charge subs (after the F2P 'apology' era) the amount of subscribing players actually Tripled.

- I was shocked to learn that in 1.0, a single flower pot used almost the same amount of texture and shader resources that a player character did! Whoever was in charge of engine resource management for 1.0 wasn't doing their job.

I really do respect Yoshi's intentions with the game. The problems that I have with ARR's design (Linear Gear system, Theme-park approach, overly scripted content, lack of exploration, cheap fan-service, toxic culture, etc.) are largely the result of the development team having to chose the absolutely safest and shortest route to accomplish a successful relaunch.

I've been a long time fan of the FF series, a 7-year veteran of FFXI, a strong supporter of FFXIV from 1.0α-1.23 and a subscriber of ARR since β. But I recently canceled my auto-renewal due to the fact that ARR just doesn't provide the gaming experience that I am looking for. (specifically: discovery, exploration, danger, and a more authentic fantasy experience)

Although I don't play anymore and I plan on quitting the game for good when my sub has run out, after watching this video, I hope the future for ARR will be less constrained than its relaunch was -- and as MMOs are perpetually growing and changing games, ARR may evolve into something I'd want to play again some day.

At any rate, check out the video and share your thoughts on it when you get a chance.

[Zantetsuken]

Also, it looks like a F2P model was actually considered (but rejected) as a monetization plan -- although this may have been confirmed before.


The "Directing a MMO = Running a country" analogy was interesting as well.

[Donjo]

Also, it looks like a F2P model was actually considered (but rejected) as a monetization plan -- although this may have been confirmed before.

I think there was an interview somewhere where Yoshi-P explicitly said that FFXIV: ARR would never become Free to Play. He'd rather completely shut the game down than remove the subscription.

The reasoning was his own analysis of why MMOs tend to go Free to Play in the first place: MMOs are capable of making a lot of money, but they are very, very expensive games to make. Unless the developer is a large company with a lot of resources(ie. Square-Enix, Blizzard, etc.), they likely had to take loans in order to cover development costs. Well, now the game has launched and the subscriber base is lower than they hoped. Unfortunately, the loaned money is due right now and subscription income cannot cover it. The only solution at this point is to hastily convert to Free to Play and hope it creates a instant influx of massive income.

The point is that since Square-Enix developed FFXIV completely out of their own pocket, they don't have to answer to anybody but themselves when it comes to generated income, so there's theoretically no reason to ever have to go Free to Play.

[Zantetsuken]

I was actually surprised that F2P was even considered as it subtly devalues the game.

I've always thought of it like a gym membership. People can exercise on their own for free, running, biking etc... but once they spend money, the exercise experience gains some perceived worth.

Sure, F2P might be good for casting a wide net and hoping to pull in some players of other games, but since a majority of MMOs seem to be F2P, you don't even stand out that much.

Subscription is a much better model for AAA MMO games from where I stand.