Gender locked race?

[Lauront]

So you think the reason we don't get five new races every single expansion is because they sit back twiddling their thumbs for most of the time?

Of course dev resources are finite. Time spent on making races is time not spent on something else.

It's been 4 years since they added one. Their resources, as Novak mentioned, are considerable - it's more a matter of how much the company allows the MMO to retain for reinvestment, but we know SE has been pouring money back into the game (although exact amounts are unknown), as the game is a major source of revenue regardless and needs to keep up with the market to remain competitive. They certainly have the resources to add two full new races, even, and if they really wanted to cut costs in the way Ahrijlaken mentioned, they could just deliver no new races at all.

Besides, the amount they've poured down dead end avenues in the game, like Diadem, may render some rather deaf to excuses citing a "lack of resources" as an issue.

[TaiyoShikasu]

Most of the races literally have the same propotions. The only difference is the head and unique animations.

[TroySoFab]

So you think the reason we don't get five new races every single expansion is because they sit back twiddling their thumbs for most of the time?

Of course dev resources are finite. Time spent on making races is time not spent on something else.

We don’t get 5 new races because it’s overkill and no one seriously wants that. lol

[Noitems]

We don’t get 5 new races because it’s overkill and no one seriously wants that. lol

Yeah, I'd much rather have them focus on a smaller amount to make sure they're refined then have 5 disasters all at once.

[Fland]

No matter what excuse they come up with to gender-lock Viera, it's gonna sound forced from story standpoint (or at least the direction it's moving).
How exactly are they gonna make the WoL and their friends heading to the woods where Viera resides but never encounter any male Viera NPC?

And if they actually made male viera NPC in game but not playable by the players (while the female is) then it's even more ridiculous IMO.

[Theodric]

No matter what excuse they come up with to gender-lock Viera, it's gonna sound forced from story standpoint (or at least the direction it's moving).
How exactly are they gonna make the WoL and their friends heading to the woods where Viera resides but never encounter any male Viera NPC?

And if they actually made male viera NPC in game but not playable by the players (while the female is) then it's even more ridiculous IMO.

It likely wouldn't be any different than how it played out in FFXII. Furthermore, the Warrior of Light only explores a small portion of each in-game region. The men could simply reside in the depths of the forest - far beyond where the WoL dares to tread.

[BillyKaplan]

Furthermore, the Warrior of Light only explores a small portion of each in-game region.

As an omnigatherer I resent that :P Plus it is canon that we're well traveled, oftentime on MSQ duties. So if anyone will have reason to go where male Viera will be, it's us. We already did it when we hit Orbonne with Fran confirming we're being watched.

The men could simply reside in the depths of the forest - far beyond where the WoL dares to tread.

To add to my earlier point, they'd be pretty crummy guardians of the forest if they holed up in a certain area deep inside. No, they're probably all over, just excellent at hiding themselves and blending into the environment.
But we're still the WoL - which means we're either the best ally they'll ever have, or the biggest threat the forest ever faced. Either way, plenty of reasons for them to hang out around us... and we're Echo users. If we'll go through ShB onwards without a single Echo vision containing male Viera that'd be such awkward, lazy writing.

[Fland]

It likely wouldn't be any different than how it played out in FFXII. Furthermore, the Warrior of Light only explores a small portion of each in-game region. The men could simply reside in the depths of the forest - far beyond where the WoL dares to tread.

Well the forest is burning in the trailer. If it is indeed the forest where Viera is, then how SE's gonna keep the male hidden in this case is still beyond me.

[linay]

Well the forest is burning in the trailer. If it is indeed the forest where Viera is, then how SE's gonna keep the male hidden in this case is still beyond me.

Maybe all the males were burnt in the fire.

[InkstainedGwyn]

Well the forest is burning in the trailer. If it is indeed the forest where Viera is, then how SE's gonna keep the male hidden in this case is still beyond me.

With BLM Y'shtola and AST Urianger, there's even a potential case for this being "another shard", especially as we don't know how they're going to resolve what's currently going on in the MSQ right now. Maybe our Greatwood isn't burning.

Point is, we don't know what excuses they'd use, so we'll have to see what they say in a few hours.