Quote Originally Posted by strawberrycake View Post
All of tose things existed, but could you walk up to anyone back then and talk to them about that or did everyone who played pokemon, or even remotely knew about it just see it as a kids game? The point is rather simple, Game Freak doesn't market all of that or talk about it. they just sell cute pokemon and maybe one big competitive feature that most people won't think twice about. Like SE, Gamefreak sells simplicity to a fault. It's semantics to talk about the rest when again, everything else about pokemon is agressively niche, the wider audience isn't losing out on much for not playing into those things like how we're losing out if the majority of people keep refusing to acknowledge how XIV works and functions at it's core.

The inital sales of a single player game matters more then the people who stick around for official tournaments. So the children matter more. With an MMO, long term subs matter more then launch day numbers, so this is a bigger issue with XIV selling simplicity like Pokemon.
You're missing the point. Just because the complexity and depth were not the main focus of the Pokemon franchise does not invalidate the existing of said complexity and depth. In fact, that complexity and depth existed in spite of the game's lack of focus on it. So the game was able to exist appealing to both the kids and casual Pokemon players who don't care about the competitive scene as well as the people who are interested in the deeper, more complex competitive scene. That is my point.

Why can't FFXIV, a game designed for a much older audience, do the same? Why can't it sell its more casual story mode and easier game modes while still offering jobs that have a level of depth and complexity not required to get through said story mode and easier game modes, but that players have the freedom to engage with at their leisure? Your point would make sense if every new generation, Pokemon sought to erase complexity and difficulty. While the story mode has generally become easier, and grinding has gotten faster, the competitive scene is if anything more complex than it has ever been before, not less.