Very Concerned for the Future of FFXIV and SE

[Reimmi]

Well, sooner or later FFXIV will either shut down or get so old/outdated that a successor will take its place.
So no reason to think of "when" or "how".
Just enjoy the ride for as long as it carries on and when it doesn't feel right for you anymore carry on elsewhere.

FF11 is still kicking, i dont think they'd shut down teh servers, just end support in a decade or 2

[Ayuhra]

I do have concerns about this weird consolidation of game companies happening lately.

Microsoft: Activision-Blizzard,
Sony: Bungie,
Take-Two: Zynga,
Embracer Group: Square Enix's internal Western studios (Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montréal, Square Enix Montréal).

[Kolsykol]

Sony buying SE has been a rumor for a VERY long time and nothing has happened.
My biggest problem in this regard tho is that I think it's complete bullshit that two publishers and platform holders can own so much and eat up competition like that...
I don't care if it's Sony or Microsoft or even Steam they shouldn't be allowed to just buy up big publishers like that en masse.
Imo I don't think it's good when other big publishers either just gobble up studios there gotta be more control over that.

Buying SE now that they sold off their Western studios and IP's tho would be very strange.
If anything I think that speaks more towards there not being a deal in the making, if there was then I don't think that sale would've happened.

I do have concerns about this weird consolidation of game companies happening lately.

Microsoft: Activision-Blizzard,
Sony: Bungie,
Take-Two: Zynga,
Embracer Group: Square Enix's internal Western studios (Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montréal, Square Enix Montréal).

Yeah it's kinda the same with huge companies like Disney too, they just own too much it's not healthy for the industry.

[TaleraRistain]

SE constantly has to squelch that rumor so I'm just waiting for when they do this time.

I'm with others here. They weren't to break into the western market as much as they wanted. So they offloaded what they saw as failed properties. Though they did well with some. Maybe they can be renewed in hands that understand them better.

[Jin-]

Hopefully not, Sony is a horrible company, moral wise like many others. Big companies buying smaller competitors off is usually bad for the customer. And unregulated capitalism means bad times for everyone apart for the very few

[SamsaraTrickstar]

Starting this off, I want to say that this is based off of an industry rumor; however, there seems to be some pretty sound evidence this rumor could very well come to fruition soon.

I've been reading multiple articles detailing the rumor that Sony may be in the process of acquiring Square Enix. This has me on edge for many reasons, mainly what happened to WoW after Activision acquired it.

I stopped playing WoW at the end of WotLK, so please forgive my ignorance as to the full state of the game now, but from understanding it's a microtransaction mess with kill purchasing and an extensive p2w system in place for purchasing gold.

This is what I'm so afraid of happening in XIV. As many veteran and new players have noticed, XIV has been in an incredible special bubble that has preserved a way of gaming not seen in decades. Sure, there are cosmetics and we don't like that, but for the most part Yoshi has been able to keep XIV free from extensive microtransactions. What happens when / if Sony purchases SE?

Let's not all kid ourselves either in thinking this wouldn't happen. They've already sold Crystal Dynamics among other studios, had multiple poorly performing games, and the golden goose egg that is XIV has been very publicly praised within the past year.

My personal expression is this to the developers and Yoshi - I have played your games since I was a child. XIV represents a very special place in the market of games and MMO's. Please, do not allow corporate greed to taint this secret garden we're all enjoying. Please remember what happens to products that fall into the gutter of profits over quality. We have been with you since the launch, supported you through the failure, and cheered you all on during the success - please do not disregard or forget us for Sony's profits.

Just an additional thought I posted below but feel is very important to add to these concerns:

i don't think sonny will buy SE but they are in a bad place as the recently sell off all the non Japanese studios and games they have (like tomb raider). soi say SE doing all they can to not sell them self. FF16 and he next kingdom hearts will make or brake SE. so far it looks like ff16 will do well but i need to be the nest seller they ever got and LH look to be one more flop.

[Illmaeran]

I wonder why Square Enix would want to end their company suddenly. If it's just what shareholders want then that's unfortunate.

I doubt it would end the company; SE has its fingers in too many pies to just make it go poof. Keeping the mostly independent with the SE name could go a long way toward preserving customer perception as the general consumer isn't usually aware of who actually owns the brand they're purchasing. Hell, for the greater portion of its existence, and during its Golden Years, Blizzard was owned by larger companies, but was given a lot of freedom to pursue its own projects.

IF Sony does end up buying SE, I have hope that it won't turn out to be the mess when EA, Ubisoft, or Activision buy studios.

[IckeDerTyp]

If anything an outside acquisition will make em do more for this game again!

Cause it feels like we're at actiblizzard already ^^

[Evergrey]

FF11 is still kicking, i dont think they'd shut down teh servers, just end support in a decade or 2

And that's why I also added the part about getting old/outdated.
Everquest 1 is also still kicking but I don't personally think a lot of new players make that their "main game".
A successor will come at some point.
When? No one knows, but it will.
And the hardcore players will stay in FFXIV, just like how the hardcore EQ1 still plays that.

[Raskbuck]

I'm personally more concerned at the rather aggressive push SE has been doing regarding NFTs and blockchain. It's a risky venture that's likely going to upset a lot of consumers, and if Sony acquiring SE would put a halt to that, I'd welcome it.