Quote Originally Posted by caffe_macchiato View Post
FFXIV just simply doesn’t seem to have the lasting cultural impact that World of Warcraft had. Even 20 years later, WoW is a titan in the industry. Many look back on their formative years spent entirely in Azeroth rather fondly. Imagine skipping all the traditional rites of passage, like going to parties, getting laid, etc. for a video game—and not regretting it. It takes a very good-quality product to have that effect on people.

Would people say the same for FFXIV? Probably not. The gameplay doesn’t have the same addictive staying power. Content is burned through quickly. Combat is the opposite of addictive—it’s slow, turgid, and clunky. The perfect word to describe raiding in FFXIV is janky. It’s awkward and uncomfortable. It lingers like the aftertaste of aftermarket diet soda when compared to the real thing.

Suffice to say, people make their memories in FFXIV doing anything but what the developers sanction—including modding, ERP, and drama culture. Anything to avoid the actual gameplay. Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as this game’s predecessors, does it?

Where’s our South Park episode?
It sounds like you view any MMO without the lasting cultural impact of WoW to be a failure, which I would consider particularly ignorant.
WoW was the perfect game at the perfect time. There will never be another MMO like WoW.