It probably will decrease the player base in the short run. But I think a lot of people who temporarily switch will come back to see the new changes, or when they finish their new games.

But, I think it's kind of a moot point, since I don't think SE really had a choice. The alternative would have been to leave the servers up and disregard the warnings from the power company and the needs of many Japanese people who needed power for more vital reasons than our addictions. I know that I, for one, would be hesitant to support a company that had gone that route and I think that there are others that would feel the same way. I think they made the right decision and I'll go enjoy some old console games for the next week or two while I'm waiting for XIV to come back up.