Google Stadia, and Xbox Support? - Any Update?

[Delmontyb]

According to some translated interviews with Yoshi-P from around August, Yoshi-P said that he hoped to have some good news to share regarding Xbox, and thus I was wondering if there was any update on that front, as well as to see if Google Stadia would be a platform that would be supported?

Thanks!

Edit/Update:
I see a lot of people bringing up the Switch on this Thread, and I fully support this game coming to the Nintendo Switch, but in Cloud Form. In fact, the Cloud and Cloud Gaming will change MMORPGs for the better in the next decade, as there will be no "hardware limitations" because everything will run off the server.

Being that I've moved all my gaming to the cloud, including FFXIV and have been playing it there since Shadowbringers, I can say that it's mind-blowing how awesome cloud gaming is.
It's not fully ready for NA mind you, but here in Texas, it works perfectly.

[Billythepancake]

If anything, I want the game on the switch, if that'd be possible. Would actually, genuinely, consider getting a copy of the game for console.

[Lastelli]

If anything, I want the game on the switch, if that'd be possible. Would actually, genuinely, consider getting a copy of the game for console.

Let's not ask for more things that may become a "x limitations" kind of excuse in the future, ok?

[MikkoAkure]

There’s no news on Xbox or Stadia right now. The reason it’s not on Xbox is Microsoft’s stance on cross-play since chat is not supported.

But considering all the trouble they went through to make the game fit on PS3 to fulfill Tanaka’s promise and then quitting that support so they could make the game bigger, I doubt that we will see this game ported to the Switch.

[Vonleo]

Please for the love of god stop asking for the game to be ported to a such weak console(Nintendo Switch) I am all for the game being brought to the new Xbox and PS5 because they are going to be heads and shoulders more powerful then the PS4 and Xbox one. The game was soo limited on what the devs could do because of the PS3 and people were complaining none stop about it. Now after the PS3 version was shut down people want to go through the pain all over again? The Nintendo switch can barely play at freaking 720p for gods sake...

[Lauront]

Please for the love of god stop asking for the game to be ported to a such weak console(Nintendo Switch) I am all for the game being brought to the new Xbox and PS5 because they are going to be heads and shoulders more powerful then the PS4 and Xbox one. The game was soo limited on what the devs could do because of the PS3 and people were complaining none stop about it. Now after the PS3 version was shut down people want to go through the pain all over again? The Nintendo switch can barely play at freaking 720p for gods sake...

This. The last thing we need is it being stuck on some weak console like the Switch. Its measly 4GB of ram is not exactly reassuring and that's just one facet of it.

I don't even want it ported to the current Xbox and I can't wait for them to remove PS4 support, but with the PS5 out in late 2020, that is a long way off (especially since it will not occur some years after that), and may even get to the point where the game's profitable lifespan is over... at the least, though, the Xbox isn't as hampered as the Switch.

Right now we're stuck with PS3 limitations insofar as the graphics are concerned, by their own admission. Not in the sense that they're still designing around the console but based on legacy decisions that are costly to fix... pretty interesting interview they did on it here.

Unless the move generated so much extra profit that they could then use to pour back into the game and segment its capabilities based on each platform (which they apparently don't want to do), I am against it being added to more consoles. Why don't they look at why they can't expand their userbase on the PC or PS4 instead, given that they're only tapping into a sliver of their total userbases, instead of just hopping to another console?

The game looks antiquated with respect to character models, but unfortunately, the approach they took to it means it is very expensive to now rectify the issue. I'd rather they wasted less money on porting it to another console and just invested more in making the game look and play better. Or else present us with the evidence that moving it to another console would generate significant amounts of profit that would be reinvested into it, including its graphics engine and model textures... hard to believe they will accomplish this given the level of market penetration they have achieved with existing consoles. Not like many Switch or Xbox owners don't own PCs as it is. I'd take any promises that the game's quality will not falter as a result of moving it to another console with a grain of salt, until proven wrong.

[Saefinn]

Let's not ask for more things that may become a "x limitations" kind of excuse in the future, ok?

What limitations would they include? Graphical? Don't update the Switch graphics, I doubt we'd be getting texture updates or model updates. These can also be compressed, which is what Doom 2016 did.

UI? How advanced does the UI have to be to not work properly on the Switch?

Size? SD cards can have a massive capacity, which the Switch supports.

Zone sizes? They'd have to make it so the existing ones work and we already have massive ones already. It wouldn't be bad if they didn't make any bigger ones.

PS2 limitations were a thing in FFXI because the entire engine was built around the PS2's hardware and the code ended up a mess. PC and Xbox 360 versions were bad ports. The PS2's external HDD was limited in capacity.

So hypothetically, if they were capable of integrating the Switch with the current content, I don't think there would be really any issues for console limitations, unless we are talking about overhauls to things like graphics.

To add, the reason PS3 limitations were a thing is that the PS3 has 512mb ram, whereas the Switch has 4gb.

[Lastelli]

What limitations would they include? Graphical? Don't update the Switch graphics, I doubt we'd be getting texture updates or model updates. These can also be compressed, which is what Doom 2016 did.

UI? How advanced does the UI have to be to not work properly on the Switch?

A switch port would come with many technical issues. For example, ffxiv is pretty CPU intensive, especially for content such as Eureka with a lot of players in the same area, and the Switch has a very weak CPU. This is a already a problem on the PS4, by the way, despite being several times more powerful than the switch. Also, lack of means of communications (=no M&K support on the Switch) is not ideal on a MMO.

Again, another important issue is given by data storage, patches/updates and nintendo's antiquated online infrastructure and, more importantly, ffxiv game engine (that is extremely inefficient).

The 4GB ram limit is also an issue for a 2020+ port and may pose severe limitations for future content. One of my biggest gripes with the game right now is that despite having huge areas, everything feels so empty and half-finished. I want the dev team to take advantage of the new technical possibilities to make this a better game, make it feel more alive, fill the world with people and events. I most certainly do NOT want them to go backwards by trying to support a handheld console that at best might be able to run the game with extremely low resolutions and frame rates and will constantly remind them that they can't do this or that because everything will have to run on it.

[Saefinn]

A switch port would come with many technical issues. For example, ffxiv is pretty CPU intensive, especially for content such as Eureka with a lot of players in the same area, and the Switch has a very weak CPU. This is a already a problem on the PS4, by the way, despite being several times more powerful than the switch. Also, lack of means of communications (=no M&K support on the Switch) is not ideal on a MMO.
-snip-

I agree that porting it would come with its own issues, which is why I'm basing it on a hypothetical situation where they got it to work in a way that's perfectly playable with the current state of the game. I think there would need to be a certain amount of work involved thus would prefer them to direction their resources elsewhere.

Thinking about how I got SW:TOR to work on my old laptop (I got it lower than the lowest settings availabe), which is not supposed to run it, there's a lot that can be done to tweak it before you look at lowering texture resolutions. Heck in the case of texture resolution, it wouldn't take an awful lot to compress textures into a lower resolution. Cutting out and stripping down shaders or lowing the resolution on shaders that use one (like shadows and full screen effects) can help too. Or just turning them off. The the CPU issue could potentially be dealt with by reducing how many players are rendered on screen and give priority based on distance and whether in your party or friendslist. Not ideal, but it's an option and wouldn't be a deal breaker.

I mean, it'd look stripped down. But I think it is doable, depending on how optimised it'd be for Switch. And I don't think it'd have a negative impact on the PC or PS4 versions of the game, because I cannot think of anything they would add that'd make the console a limitation.

Although 4gb RAM is low for a PC these days, the game's minimum specifications are for 3gb RAM and a low-mid range graphics card. I expect the devs would stick to that kind of level for how they spec the game. So we have this limitation regardless of consoles. But at least it's better than what PS3's had to offer. And I certainly don't see a PS4 or XBox One providing these limitations in the future either.

Not everybody has a gaming rig or setup. And having a low entry point for spec makes the game more accessible. Especially as it is played global in a variety of economies by people in all kinds of backgrounds and ages. So some people are playing this on a potato, possibly because they can't afford something bigger, or can't justify a rig or console for one game, especially if it already runs on what they've got.

[MPK]

God I hope not. We don't want more hardware limitations in the future.