Why won't SE merge the servers due to few people playing the game?

[weeble]

i'm not complaining cause i don't do those things, i'm in a few very pop ls's and i shout all the time. i've started now to just go to camp sites where i think people might be but that is taking away the few anima i got and is pissing me off more then anything cause usually no one there. i made a mule just to hope around now and shout camp to camp.

but ontop of it all it's just irelevent, it's just not enough simply put. if u played ffxi at launch then u'd understand how way off this games population is. (least on some servers) every inch of every zone was full and had people to meet up with. i ran from wow back to ffxi cause of this reason cause lowbie zones were empty. and i quit warhammer cause real pvp battles almost never happened, u had to wait for 9-5'ers to log in and hope they log on to u'r server that day cause everyone by the end picked whatever server they had a toon that was winning. where as at start it was packed all day and nite.

i'll hold on, and course i'ma keep trotting down the SE road but it's frustrating to be stuck on a low pop server, it's frustrating to have to spend hours shouting for people to grind with. it easier to just solo and on top that is still very good to solo in this game, and i refuse to solo. so lol.

[Alexandrious]

With 19 XIV servers running (i.e. when they have electricity) and, what, 35k people playing, why are we not seeing servers merging?

Here are a few reasons for it that I can think of off the top of my head:

1) Once XIV goes PS3, there will be a large gap between PS3 and PC players - by merging you can have the PS3 users start fresh with their own peers while we continue on with our own peers

2) Keep current XIV players happy - we'd be playing in well populated worlds
As a result of (2), we'd be able to:
A) Find groups
B) Establish [friendly] rivalries between guilds for NMs, items, etc
C) Find a LS that fits us well (social vs core vs German vs Japanese, etc)
D) Feel like we're playing an MMO and not a single person RPG
E) RP, for those who are into that

3) RL gil - it'd be cheaper to run fewer servers

Mostly though, it's point no. 3 that I feel is the most important (to SE). Frankly, I'm surprised why it hasn't happened already.

I also think that the fact that all these servers are running is a sign of SE's misplaced optimism. It's like they're waiting for the servers to fill up, even though it might take a while (if ever?).

Finally, I realize that there are many inactive accounts, but 19 servers still seem like too many.

No thanks, with the way NMs are right now, if SE continues doing NMs this way, id have more then two JP ls's to have to outclaim kills on with a server merge on my ls's NM/Event nights.

[Zenaku]

No thanks, with the way NMs are right now, if SE continues doing NMs this way, id have more then two JP ls's to have to outclaim kills on with a server merge on my ls's NM/Event nights.

Does it matter? The NM are joke in FFXIV there pointless items and noting hard about them you can easy kill them also. Top of that the repop timer on them is not bad how it was in ffxi 24-> 3+days. So having 6-10 linkshell killing the same NM is better in FFXIV then in FFXI when you only have one shot for that day.

[MBlaster]

I think the best solution is like what happened with the first online FF(World Pass?). I never used it because all my friends were already in my server but it's something to consider!!

[Enrei]

The world pass simply allowed your friends to start on your server, but when the option of choosing which server you started on was added, they became useless.

[Edyn]

With 19 XIV servers running (i.e. when they have electricity) and, what, 35k people playing, why are we not seeing servers merging?

Here are a few reasons for it that I can think of off the top of my head:

1) Once XIV goes PS3, there will be a large gap between PS3 and PC players - by merging you can have the PS3 users start fresh with their own peers while we continue on with our own peers

I'm guessing you mean seperating PC and PS3 players on different servers? If so, it's a bad idea. While some PS3 users may prefer this, a lot of people who are waiting for the PS3 release have already signed themselves up to existing linkshells or are waiting to be with friends who are already playing. It would be unfair to force them onto a new server.

2) Keep current XIV players happy - we'd be playing in well populated worlds
As a result of (2), we'd be able to:
A) Find groups
B) Establish [friendly] rivalries between guilds for NMs, items, etc
C) Find a LS that fits us well (social vs core vs German vs Japanese, etc)
D) Feel like we're playing an MMO and not a single person RPG
E) RP, for those who are into that

3) RL gil - it'd be cheaper to run fewer servers

Mostly though, it's point no. 3 that I feel is the most important (to SE). Frankly, I'm surprised why it hasn't happened already.

I also think that the fact that all these servers are running is a sign of SE's misplaced optimism. It's like they're waiting for the servers to fill up, even though it might take a while (if ever?).

Finally, I realize that there are many inactive accounts, but 19 servers still seem like too many.

As for the rest of these points, because the PS3 version is still definite and because SE are working hard to improve the game and create new content, old and new players will return. Most of them will probably come when PS3 is released. It would be rather pointless to merge the servers now, only to have to create new ones later when they're flooded with PS3 players.

Server merges are no easy thing to do and it has the potential to ruin economies for the servers merged. It's definitely a very last resort option to take.

[Vackashken]

Segregating PS3 and PC users is a flat out stupid idea.