In FFXI, you created bonds with the people you played with. Your character represented you, and theirs represented them. After years of play, you were YOU, the story was experienced by you, not your character, because you were your character. The game allowed for that level of immersion. Hours camping, fighting, exploring, and so on. Not hours, years. That's why you saw posts nearing the start of FFXIV saying "I'd pay for a figuring of my character in my af gear" or "i'd even settle for a poster". Because the character was not a character, it was who you were, when you were exploring vanadiel. It's why FFXI spawned videos like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARghlVjBab0

And FFXIV has the same potential. I've surely started in the year I've been playing. The quests, story, experience points, shopping for gear, talking to people. I finished my npc quest a few days ago, and it felt like I made a new friend. It's immersive. And sure, some people will never view games that way, and that's fine. But I, and a lot of other people, view it that way. And ffxiv will be the same way.