Predict the population 6 months after PS3 release

[Delsus]

This is assuming that there is a PS3 release. My guess would be the population would be the same as it is now. Only the bored and the die-hards would give it a go. The stigma associated with this game is massive amongst the mmo-going population.

It's been almost a year and progress on the rebuild seems painfully slow. I wouldn't be surprised if people just gave this game up for dead and are just waiting for Final Fantasy XV.

There will be a ps3 release, SE will not pull the plug because there is the the possibility that the ps3 release will save the game. All they need is re-reviews after all the rebuilds are complete, anyone that chooses to play a MMO by an old review bo be honest shouldnt be playing MMOs because they change that much.

Also you seem to be forgetting that it took them 5 years for the release version of the game, by that maths the no the rebuild isnt painfully slow as you put it, Also they have only been rebuilding the game since Jan/Feb when the new dev team came in so we have got alot in 5 months, they werent reduilding anything under Tanaka.

[Darkshade]

FINAL FANTASY XI never had near 2 million subscriptions. At best it had upwards of 650,000. You're delusional if you think otherwise, go ahead and do some research.

I believe XI only ever actually crossed the "1 million" characters made milestone and later "2 million" characters made milestone. But players created doesn't equal active subscriptions.

[Rinsui]

This is assuming that there is a PS3 release.

Well said. If they weren't basically forced to release a PS3 version for the chance for positive re-reviews, from the standpoint of longevity a PS3 port already makes no sense any more. Back in 2010, barely. Now, with a new generation of gaming consoles around the corner, it doesn't sound too smart to adjust your MMO to what is basically a legacy console.

I really hope they can pull off a player base that's at least solid enough to warrant further development. But TERA and Guild Wars, for all their horrible art style, look interesting and "new", and it's unnecessary to mention that the Star Wars Universe provides a pretty good setting for a mass-marketed MMO also (e.g., http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOvbv-LkK6w ).

[Delsus]

Well said. If they weren't basically forced to release a PS3 version for the chance for positive re-reviews, from the standpoint of longevity a PS3 port already makes no sense any more. Back in 2010, barely. Now, with a new generation of gaming consoles around the corner, it doesn't sound too smart to adjust your MMO to what is basically a legacy console.

The only next gen console that has been announced is the WiiU, PS4 and Xbox 720 will be debut at E3 2012, and after that they will probably be released in 2014 or 2015, The reason the WiiU is being released next year is because it is so far behind the 360 and PS3, the only thing the Wii had over them at release was a motion controller, it was far inferior in everything else, now the PS3 and 360 have motion controllers the Wii has nothing except classic nintendo games.

They therefore chose to release a new console that was closer in specifications to the 360 and PS3, at e3 they even said that 3rd party games were rarely on the Wii was because it wasnt powerful enough to port them to it, which Ninetendo knew was a mistake, the Wii is now loosing money because it has nothing over the compatition.

So they arent "round the corner" there is still a few years for the actual next gen consoles, I could see Nintendo releasing a new one around when the PS4 and 720 are released.

[Akira_Tenshi]

By the time they eventually release this game on PS3 nobody will care any more. Square think they have all the time in the world, they clearly don't understand the industry they are working in. People will not wait for this game forever when there are more exciting games that will be released. It's not even a 100% certainty the game will release on PS3 at all. I also expect the next generation of consoles to be announced before this game even has a release date. FF XIV is old news now and will be old news when it releases on PS3. Don't get me wrong I really want this game on PS3 I just think it will come to late for it to ever be very successful. They don't even talk about the games progress. We have seen no footage of it running on PS3 not even a single screenshot. It's hard to believe it really exists. For all we know they aren't even continuing to develop it at the moment.

[Delsus]

By the time they eventually release this game on PS3 nobody will care any more. Square think they have all the time in the world, they clearly don't understand the industry they are working in. People will not wait for this game forever when there are more exciting games that will be released. It's not even a 100% certainty the game will release on PS3 at all. I also expect the next generation of consoles to be announced before this game even has a release date. FF XIV is old news now and will be old news when it releases on PS3. Don't get me wrong I really want this game on PS3 I just think it will come to late for it to ever be very successful. They don't even talk about the games progress. We have seen no footage of it running on PS3 not even a single screenshot. It's hard to believe it really exists. For all we know they aren't even continuing to develop it at the moment.

Just because we havent seen anything does not mean they have pulled the plug, they will tell us if that happens also it would be stupid not to release it on ps3 because that is the only chance for the game to succed now, if they had pulled the plug on the ps3 release they will have taken the game offline by now, they NEED the ps3 release to make this game a success. I can gurentee that it will be out on ps3 next year at the latest

[Wolfie]

80-100k subs

[Darkshade]

Well the PC version sold 650K copies, I imagine the PS3 version well sell at least 500K copies, it could be a lot more or a lot less though. Of that only so many people will actually stay subscribed longer than the 30 days. I'd say 250-400K active subscriptions within PS3 release. We'll have to wait and see.

[AceofRains]

I often show my friends footage of the game and they are impressed. FFXIV is quite an impressive game. Once content is under wraps theres only a few things to "patch up"
So as far as subs go I'd say they can double by PS3 and even more 6 months in.
At ps3 more people will be willing to give it another try, as well as being able to run it in the first place.
Right now I cant even play since my computer is so crappy, so when ps3 comes I'll definitely be on top of this lol

[GabbaGabba]

i feel like when the PC was first released, the name "Final Fantasy" will sell the game. only until we found out that it wasn't such a good game, the subs dropped dramatically.

for the ps3 to be released, not only do they need a good product, but they need good reviews. unless they can rebuild their reputation before ps3 is released, no one is going to spend 60 bucks cause it has Final Fantasy in the title.

im optimistic that SE can turn this around and people will come back to ffxiv. im not calling for a server merge but 2k per server on a peak times can be very nice so hopefully subs will hit around 200k-300k. hopefully more than 500k.