Please consider dropping PS3 sooner rather than later.

[Colorful]

If you really think they will improve the graphics just by dropping a console then you should really stop holding your breath else you'll faint. People had been demanding this with XI for literal years and Square never did and probably never will. WoW is doing a graphical upgrade but that's more to catch up with games like XIV and it's only on PC. Sure, PS3 players had a chance (it ended in May) to upgrade but you talk like everyone has a PS4 now, a pretty gross assumption there.

WoW's improved its engine significantly over the years (includings the visuals of course) to compete with MMOs as they came and died out. Do you honestly believe the game would have survived if it still looked like what it did back in Vanilla, and things like animations and model quality didn't improve quite a bit? The reason they couldn't improve FFXI significantly was due to the PS2, but back when FFXI was released the PS2 was still in its prime, this isn't, and was never the case with the PS3.

As Yoshida stated, they want to compete with things like Everquest Next and all future MMOs, I don't know if you've ever seen that but the physics and visuals are very nice, and that was back in 2013. WoW is no longer the competitor it used to be, and I can see it dying down if Legion is flop like WoD. The PS3 was dead on the release of FFXIV (or rather, very outdated). The parts it's holding the game is quite clear, raids like CT and ST have to be separated with loading screens, areas are separated and isn't just one seamless world, and as the interview stated earlier, they can't have incredibly large scale FATEs (this would also limit their boss design in raids, dungeons and trials).

Yoshida has said he wants the game to last 10 years, and keeping PS3 around isn't the way to achieve that. By the time 4.0 rolls around it'll probably be 2017, and the PS3 will be 10 years old. No one should expect 10 year old hardware to keep being supported then, nor should they demand stifling the game because they can't move past decade old technology.

[Gralna]

I keep laughing when I see people assuming that every facet of the game will get a drastic improvement when PS3 is finally dropped, notably that graphics will go back to 1.0 quality.

Yoshi himself has stated that 1.0 graphics were just too over the top and has no intention of ever going back to them, he prefers performance over visual quality, and rightly so.

All we're likely to see improve when PS3 support is dropped, are more UI options, larger scale encounters, and maybe some more character options, such as saving glamours to client side.

Most MMOs on the market don't do a complete overhaul on graphics, unless their game is severely out dated, of which, FFXIV is not.

[Kosmos992k]

DX11 support was released simultaneously with Heavensward. SE clearly has an interest in advancing the tech behind their game--as well they should, being one of the few, successful subscription-based MMOs on the market--and the PS3 is a significant hurdle in that pursuit.

Didn't stop DX11 though, did it?

[UltimateAoe2]

As much as I want PS3 support to be dropped, it would be unethical for them to stop support for an expansion that's still ongoing that they sold for PS3. I just hope they drop it with 4.0 at the latest.

They already considered dropping PS3 for 4.0, i'm pretty sure Yoshida has said that somewhere in a live letter.

[Airikay]

The game can be improved graphically and its gameplay mechanics if they drop PS3. PS3 really holds it back. PS3 users had a huge free upgrade campaign which got extended too. They will be able to focus on improving the overall game away from the PS3 limitations and also further improve the PC client, PS4 version and the mac version.

Not really unless they started redoing everything. This game was created with PS3 in mind. Alot of people blame PS3 for the shortcomings, but honestly this game falls short because of the structure. They have hard times even dealing with simple things like cool down resets and this isn't because of PS3 limitations. When they drop PS3 that won't change how badly structured the game is. Short of a complete restructuring it's not going to change much. DX11 is your graphic increase. Don't expect anything more when they drop support for PS3.

[RocheKat]

The game can be improved graphically and its gameplay mechanics if they drop PS3. PS3 really holds it back. PS3 users had a huge free upgrade campaign which got extended too. They will be able to focus on improving the overall game away from the PS3 limitations and also further improve the PC client, PS4 version and the mac version.

The graphics of PS4 and PC have nothing to do with PS3. What is with the FFXI/FFXIV community and thinking graphics on one system have anything to do with graphics on another? If they chose to every character on ps3 could be changed to big cubes and it would have no effect on the other systems.

The only limits the ps3 has on the other systems is things like UI changes that would offer an advantage to people not on ps3.. thats it.

[Malzian]

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we got a response to this like, "We are sorry, but we are currently unable to drop support for the PS3 due to PS3 limitations." Actually, I'd probably laugh my butt off...

[RocheKat]

WoW's improved its engine significantly over the years (includings the visuals of course) to compete with MMOs as they came and died out. Do you honestly believe the game would have survived if it still looked like what it did back in Vanilla, and things like animations and model quality didn't improve quite a bit? The reason they couldn't improve FFXI significantly was due to the PS2, but back when FFXI was released the PS2 was still in its prime, this isn't, and was never the case with the PS3.

It was almost 10 years before WoWs races got graphic and animation updates. All of the old wow content looks exactly the way it did before... they have added things like new lighting effects and water/lava effects.

FFXIV can't be around for 10 years but FFXI managed to do exactly that with the PS2.

[Almalexia]

Didn't stop DX11 though, did it?

Let's not stop at a new coat of paint. I could give a cat's ass if things return to 1.0 visual fidelity; there is so much more the development team could do if they didn't have to maneuver around with a decade-old ball and chain strapped to their junk.

[Colorful]

It was almost 10 years before WoWs races got graphic and animation updates. All of the old wow content looks exactly the way it did before... they have added things like new lighting effects and water/lava effects.

FFXIV can't be around for 10 years but FFXI managed to do exactly that with the PS2.

WoW's visuals improved with every expansion starting from Cataclysm (well before then, but that was when the most major graphic improvements were made, if you compare WoD's visuals to something from Vanilla to WoD you'll notice a major difference. I'm not just talking about their races, but monsters, environments, raids, dungeons, the entire picture. Races are but a small part in that overall. There's a hugely apparent difference in graphics when traveling from old content to new content, which can be slightly jarring but it works due to its cartoony visuals.

FFXI lasted 10 years sure (losing a lot of its player base as it aged as things go) but by the time the PS3 was released and actually sold a decent amount (it had a very rough start if you can't remember) FFXI was 5-6 years old. This isn't the case with FFXIV as I stated in my posted, but you seemed to ignore that so I expect you to do the same again here.