Zepla: Endwalker is the Worst FFXIV Expansion I have played

[Vahlnir]

Oh is that right? I wonder what happens if you rank the games she plays by average viewership.



Oh....

lol

Outside of raiding and Ultimates, FF XIV isn't the most entertaining game to stream. If that list is current, then good on you Elden Ring for standing strong. It deserves to be near the top of the list.

[Jeeqbit]

Outside of raiding and Ultimates, FF XIV isn't the most entertaining game to stream. If that list is current, then good on you Elden Ring for standing strong. It deserves to be near the top of the list.

Actually, one of the most streamed aspects of FFXIV has long been the MSQ. Long before the Asmongold thing, streamers with 200 viewers would go through the MSQ and go through similar things that Asmongold did. They still do and it still happens all the time. People like watching others experience the story that they did.

[EZGIL]

Oh is that right? I wonder what happens if you rank the games she plays by average viewership.



Oh....

[Vahlnir]

Actually, one of the most streamed aspects of FFXIV has long been the MSQ. Long before the Asmongold thing, streamers with 200 viewers would go through the MSQ and go through similar things that Asmongold did. They still do and it still happens all the time. People like watching others experience the story that they did.

That's fine, too. I'm just saying that, compared to other games, it's probably not the most engaging experience to watch.

[Jojoya]

Exactly. It's not just about endgame as in raiding but what is there for me to do in general as a player once I'm at max level? And I think it's rather myopic to think that players don't ask such questions ahead of time to see if the game is worth pouring their effort and sub money into. Not all do, obviously, but being the type of game it is, it's part of researching how the product shapes up by the point you get past the levelling experience.

Most consumers don't research products at all, especially not low value items such as games.

Day one sales are a good example of that. A game can have millions of sales on day one with no information available outside of reviews from industry critics who've gone through maybe the first 15-20 hours of the game.

Even with review bombs hitting the first week of release, sales can continue to climb because consumers aren't doing any research. New World had 4.5 million copies sold by the end of its first month of release and that had climbed to 17 million by the end of the second.

It usually takes them being burned with a very bad purchase on a similar product before they start doing the research. Even then, they may not bother with a game because they don't see the money involved as a big deal.

So while there are some players who will do that research in advance, I highly doubt its as many as you think. Did you thoroughly research this game and its end game before you purchased it? Did all of your friends?

[LittleImp]

lol

Outside of raiding and Ultimates, FF XIV isn't the most entertaining game to stream.

FFXIV is a terrible stream game outside of the MSQ/raiding. There is tons of private talk around this between people who stream the game, and some of the games bigger streamers actively loathe that they staked their entire identity on the game during the EW hype period. It's not even because they necessarily hate the gameplay or anything, it's just because it's a really difficult game to stream and it doesn't pay the bills anymore. I've mentioned this a few times, but an insane portion of the FFXIV streaming scene was being floated by just a handful of mega-whales, and when most of them stopped spending/watching, reality came crashing down.

Part of why Zepla is willing to put out a video like this this is because she's built out her presence enough that she doesn't care if her reputation in the 14 community takes a hit.

[Saraide]

Actually, one of the most streamed aspects of FFXIV has long been the MSQ. Long before the Asmongold thing, streamers with 200 viewers would go through the MSQ and go through similar things that Asmongold did. They still do and it still happens all the time. People like watching others experience the story that they did.

I dont wanna riff on people streaming to 200 viewers, getting that far is actually a huge accomplishment. But those arent particularly driving numbers for a game. The game is boring af to watch. It's currently sitting at place 69 on twitch for a 7 day average of 4k viewers.
For comparison:
Lineage 2 is at 4.1k
Fall Guys at 5k
Among us at 5.2k
Albion online is at 7.5k
Lost Ark at 12.2k
WoW at 60k

I'm sorry but by and large people arent interested in watching other people play ff14. I'm not even saying that as a bad thing about the game, that's just a fact. (Atleast we beat smite lol)

[Vahlnir]

I'm sorry but by and large people arent interested in watching other people play ff14. I'm not even saying that as a bad thing about the game, that's just a fact. (Atleast we beat smite lol)

I always forget that Smite even exists until someone mentions it. I don't think I've ever actually played that game.

[Atelier-Bagur]

lol

Outside of raiding and Ultimates, FF XIV isn't the most entertaining game to stream. If that list is current, then good on you Elden Ring for standing strong. It deserves to be near the top of the list.

People only tune in to a FFXIV stream only for the story and watching their favorite streamers their first time reactions. The only other content I can think of for proper viewership is for when an Ultimate comes out but the game is one of the worst MMOs for streaming content imo.

[Theodric]

I think the MSQ's would be more interesting to watch other people go through them if there were meaningful choices to make. I get more mileage out of games such as Baldur's Gate 3 or The Witcher 3 on that front since there's a lot of different options as to how the majority of quests can play out - so even if I do not intend to go a specific route myself I can look up the scenes on Youtube to see them if I'm curious.

In FFXIV, everyone is forced down the exact same path with only some very minor tweaks to dialogue.