Get the mics warmed up - 2.0: you're going to need voice acting

[Neptune]

I think we can all agree the opening of FFXIV is spellbinding. From the opening of the ship to Limsa Lominsa to Yda waking up in the forest, that great voice acting really captured the world's attention. How disappointing it was that playing through the next chapter in your story was met by dull text boxes.

The dialogue in this game is so cleverly translated into English (thanks fernehalwes & crew) that it is just a shame so much of it isn't acted out with the great voice talent procured for FFXIV.

As 2.0 approaches, Square Enix has an interesting decision to make. Do they make this the game it always should have been, or recoil even further from their great financial losses by going conservative in regards to putting even more resources into FFXIV? We all know what the noble thing would be do to, and one's thing's for sure: full voice acting would be one way to distinguish the new FFXIV from the old.

As we all know, Bioware invested over $100 million into their MMO, and truly, its great contribution to the MMO genre is the voice acting and its method of group storytelling. Next to it, FFXIV looks like the product of a bygone era, when gamers mashed the controller button to advance lengthy text dialogue boxes. Blizzard is also preparing to launch a major new MMO in the years to come. Is Square Enix ready to show the world that it is a major player in the MMO field?

Square Enix has invested many years into FFXIV, although to be fair it hedged its investment by using the same team that was constantly working on FFXI. It didn't see the financial results it needed to see that year that it posted over a $100 million loss, but let's not forget the $40 million in revenues FFXIV generated through retail sales. Let's be realistic. Expecting to sell another 600,000 copies on the PS3 is truly a longshot. FFXIV has a lot to prove to PS3 owners. FFXIV's only real chance at success is to recapture its PC market. The goal should be to get all 600,000 PC players back along with another 400,000. And if Square Enix truly wishes to command that kind of attention, it had better get with the times and start making the phone calls to the casting directors. Start warming those mics up. Because you're going to need a lot more voice acting if you want this game to really stand out. Even World of Warcraft has a lot of (bad) voice acting in its dungeons and cities.

Yoshi-P, I know I'm preaching to the choir, but I trust you know what needs to be done. It's time to make that phone call to Wada and tell him to suck it up and get out his wallet. I hope he has the balls to look the world in the face with 2.0 and be ready to challenge the major players with a strong offering.

[KiriA500]

I only approve of this if Nolan North does all the voices.

[Chardrizard]

Did you even play SWTOR? because most people skip over the voice actings just to get into the real gameplay, it's a cool feature when you first played it, but it gets old really fast to most of my friends that is playing it right now.

Not everyone is interested in storytelling wall o text/speech , im not sure what the number is but it is pretty low numbers from the community i am playing with.

[Nikita]

Yes please to more voice acted cutscenes like we basically expect at this point out of a member of the Final Fantasy series!

[Neptune]

I only approve of this if Nolan North does all the voices.

Who's Nolan North?

Did you even play SWTOR? because most people skip over the voice actings just to get into the real gameplay, it's a cool feature when you first played it, but it gets old really fast to most of my friends that is playing it right now.

I'm playing it right now and I listen to each and every line of dialogue. Overall it really adds to the experience and even if everyone doesn't appreciate it, it certainly helped Bioware in pitching the game to fans. Production quality is always valued by gamers even if they rush past it. Not everyone paused to take in the vistas or high-resolution textures of FFXIII, but it still sold 6 million copies.

[Gramul]

I dunno. There's certainly more to a videogame than voice acting.
It would be nice sure, but I don't think a great experience hinges on it.

[Kailea_Nagisa]

I like voice acting when it is done well (in the case of old games like Grandia bad ;p) but I don't think it is something that is needed. If they have time sure toss it in, but dont place any kind of focus on it.

[Chardrizard]

I'm playing it right now and I listen to each and every line of dialogue. Overall it really adds to the experience and even if everyone doesn't appreciate it, it certainly helped Bioware in pitching the game to fans. Production quality is always valued by gamers even if they rush past it. Not everyone paused to take in the vistas or high-resolution textures of FFXIII, but it still sold 6 million copies.

Good that you appreciates it, i am not saying it's a bad idea, i would love voice actings on important NPC/cutscenes but do people really join a game just because it is fully voiced? before they decide to pour money on this, is it really a good thing?

[HiPotion]

i want solid snake

[yukikaze_yanagi]

Just stick voice acting in important quest, every quest voiced it's boredom on the long distance (without thinking how much cost).
The coiling wrench of shadow linger still...