yes XI is still profitable, they are running it on a skeleton crew and all the original development cost are paid for.

But profitable with 150-200k subs is different the profitable with 350-400k subs. XI is not dead but it is dying, and it is in a decline faster then ever before. If the new expansion does not slow it down FFXI will probably be f2p or a hybrid model by the end of the year.

Stagnate is better then 99% of other mmos on the market where it is drastic declines every year. I am sure games like Aion, SWToR, Tera, wish they could of had XI's stagnation. Lol even WoW is losing what like 500-700k subs a year, think panda land might of slowed it some. But yea I am sure almost every mmo wishes they could hold their peak numbers for near a decade.

Anyways I am done on the XI topic, this thread is about hnms. And I wish we would talk about how we can implement them without screwing over casuals or making them forced to get the best gear. Instead of this pointless hardcore vs casual.