Square partners with hardware company to produce FFXIV branded SSD...

[ElazulHP]

SOURCE: https://www.destructoid.com/stories/...d-608473.phtml

I have two questions:

1) Why?

2) Does it come with an exclusive emote like the expensive statues? LOL

[Ilenya]

This is an actual thing?

Also, statues are more expensive, it seems, so no emote for you.

[ElazulHP]

This is an actual thing?

Also, statues are more expensive, it seems, so no emote for you.

Yes, apparently it is. I'm not sure why considering you'll never see the SSD inside your machine and it's more expensive than other SSD. Unless there is some sort of reason to buy it like an in-game item or emote I dunno.

[Halivel]

I'm not sure why considering you'll never see the SSD inside your machine

According to the article, you aren't supposed to put it inside:

It's 500GB in size and is an external SSD via USB 3.2 Gen 1 (without a power adapter requirement). Weirdly, the company even has an app called GigaCrystaPhantom that will allow a quick-transfer of FFXIV from your HDD to the new SSD: which might be helpful to Japanese players who don't want to re-download everything.

[Packetdancer]

Yes, apparently it is. I'm not sure why considering you'll never see the SSD inside your machine and it's more expensive than other SSD. Unless there is some sort of reason to buy it like an in-game item or emote I dunno.

Reading the product page on the manufacturer site, it's actually a portable external bus-powered USB 3.2 Gen1 SSD. So it doesn't go inside your computer. Being 3.2 Gen 1 means it will have I/O speeds roughly the same as an internal SSD (slightly slower, but still WAY better than magnetic media), and being bus-powered means that it's powered entirely by the USB connection and doesn't need a power adapter. It also comes with software to re-optimize the SSD layout periodically, which is something I don't see often (and will keep the game running faster as things get rewritten over the course of updates).

So the idea appears to be that you can transfer your existing FFXIV install to it without having to re-download/re-install, have all the speed benefit of an internal SSD, but be able to move it from computer to computer as needed... very useful in a culture where gamers often play at gaming cafes rather than at home.

While the tie-in seems a little weird, the fact that the drive is predominantly targeted at gamers means it's not surprising they'd try to partner up with a big game to brand the thing and provide a special migration app, to try and snag players of that game. And while I'd expect an SSD of that size to be far cheaper if it were an internal drive, a lower-speed bus-powered external SSD, or a higher-speed externally-powered SDD... honestly, the price isn't actually that weird for what you're getting.

[Hanayumi]

They're not the only ones, BDO also did a promo not too long ago with an external SSD. This isnt really ment for the western folks, a lot of people in like Korea and Japan tend to go to cyber cafes for computers, smaller living spaces so many dont have personal set ups.

[Ilenya]

Given some context, it does make a lot more sense.

[Cetek14]

Buy it or the only content in 6.0 will be MSQ. Small indie studio, by the way.

[Hazama999]

Me: *slaps sticker with my name on a Ziploc bag*

"I have partnered with Ziploc® to bring you a chicken parm sub."

[Arngrim_Greyashe]

Eh, they made a mouse. Why not a hard drive? Lol