What can SE do to make FFXIV "Noticed"?

[Lux_Rayna]

You know some of us here are actually experienced. Like I run a neuro-e-marketing business. And I'm sure theres a few other people on here who have similar experience.

Oh I'm sure there are quite a few professionals playing FFXIV. I just don't think the chances are high that you'll get more than a few educated opinions on the forums. Obviously if you have the chops and the experience, discuss away.

To get FFXIV noticed SE needs to do the following:
Change the name. A Realm Reborn makes it look like an expansion which is -not- a good thing.

Any name would make it seem like an expansion; honestly, I don't think it matters. There is no other option outside of naming it FFXV, and that is not a very good option. It's the natural cost of re-releasing any title.

Advertise like crazy. Emphasize the story. Make people want to play just to experience it. For example, a tv commercial with music like at the end of the new fight, that shows people being killed, a child being separated from their family, and then a hero running in to save the day. Say something like "A realm divided" "War approaching" "pain" ..... "suffering" ..... and then have a little girl look up from a battle field and say "we need you......" then speed up the music or switch to final fantasy battle music and cycle through images of some of the coolest landmarks really fast, then cycle through a few battles against -epic- monsters doing the coolest moves in pimp looking gear. And end with a party running, looking up, seeing a massive dragon land, and everyone drawing their weapons. Cut to the ffxiv logo and say somthing like "Final fantasy 14, new graphics, new world, new game" and then cut back to the dragon roaring.

1. Advertising is costly. They already put themselves really deep in the hole by making 2.0. On top of that, their share price plummeted after XIV's failure. In other words, they can't afford to advertise like crazy..and it wouldn't do them any good anyway. Consumers are a lot more educated than they used to be, they know to take advertisements with a grain of salt, especially if the previous installment didn't work out too well for them. No matter how good the ad is, ppl who know XIV's past will not be any more inclined to play it due to the mistrust. In short, throwing money at advertisements is basically a waste of money...one they probably can't afford.

2. They probably ARE advertising in Japan, or will be if they haven't started yet. They don't necessarily need to advertise world wide, because the internet will do that for you, especially if you have a loyal fanbase that follows your moves whether you are advertising in their home country or not. I can count the number of FF ads i've seen on 1 hand, but i've played each installment every successive year. Why? Because I was a fan, and the internet/gaming magazines kept me updated. Let the internet do some of the dirty work. as advertising in different countries, especially in the United States, is ludicrously expensive.


Considering that FFXIV already has a playerbase attached to it, word of mouth will likely be the advertising method of choice. It's free, first of all, and nothing is more convincing than words straight out of the players' mouths. With the internet as monstrous as it is, the subs will increase as word gets out that FFXIV 2.0 is actually a really fun game. Like it or not, most gaming sites WILL play the game to review, if only to laugh at it some more. If it actually turns out good, the reviews will come back favorable and that will drive people to the game. SE doesn't really have to advertise like crazy; all they have to do is focus their funds into making the most fun game they possibly can. The internet and gaming magazines/review sites will do all the work for them...including the players they already have.

[Azurymber]

Oh I'm sure there are quite a few professionals playing FFXIV. I just don't think the chances are high that you'll get more than a few educated opinions on the forums. Obviously if you have the chops and the experience, discuss away.



Any name would make it seem like an expansion; honestly, I don't think it matters. There is no other option outside of naming it FFXV, and that is not a very good option. It's the natural cost of re-releasing any title.



1. Advertising is costly. They already put themselves really deep in the hole by making 2.0. On top of that, their share price plummeted after XIV's failure. In other words, they can't afford to advertise like crazy..and it wouldn't do them any good anyway. Consumers are a lot more educated than they used to be, they know to take advertisements with a grain of salt, especially if the previous installment didn't work out too well for them. No matter how good the ad is, ppl who know XIV's past will not be any more inclined to play it due to the mistrust. In short, throwing money at advertisements is basically a waste of money...one they probably can't afford.

2. They probably ARE advertising in Japan, or will be if they haven't started yet. They don't necessarily need to advertise world wide, because the internet will do that for you, especially if you have a loyal fanbase that follows your moves whether you are advertising in their home country or not. I can count the number of FF ads i've seen on 1 hand, but i've played each installment every successive year. Why? Because I was a fan, and the internet/gaming magazines kept me updated. Let the internet do some of the dirty work. as advertising in different countries, especially in the United States, is ludicrously expensive.


Considering that FFXIV already has a playerbase attached to it, word of mouth will likely be the advertising method of choice. It's free, first of all, and nothing is more convincing than words straight out of the players' mouths. With the internet as monstrous as it is, the subs will increase as word gets out that FFXIV 2.0 is actually a really fun game. Like it or not, most gaming sites WILL play the game to review, if only to laugh at it some more. If it actually turns out good, the reviews will come back favorable and that will drive people to the game. SE doesn't really have to advertise like crazy; all they have to do is focus their funds into making the most fun game they possibly can. The internet and gaming magazines/review sites will do all the work for them...including the players they already have.

Does FFXIV-2 sound like an expansion?
Have they used the -2 in other games? yes. X-2 and XIII-2

Advertising is not costly. They need to make an epic trailer, put it on youtube, and let social media take its course.
Elder scrolls got over 3mil+ views on its official trailer, millions of views on other trailers and 15mil on ign's gameplay footage.

Then they should release a different trailer or teaser to every gaming magazine/site. They will love to be able to post unique content even if everyone else has diff content. The reason is that they can say "unique video only on our site" and people reading that will assume they are good at getting unique content and will decide to keep reading them.

Could even advertise on facebook. "Play final fantasy Online." with a pic of a miqote in the new colliseum hood. A lot of guys will click through for the slutty cat girl, and then you offer them 3 months or even 6 months free.

At the start the more players there are the better, even if they aren't paying. Because an active community will retain members. So whatever you lose from free play at the start is gained by the number who stick with the game because of their experience while the population was high.

There are so many options for advertising that can be done nearly at no cost. Could even hold a facebook page contest like "share the news of the new game and get a chance to win a ffxiv necklace" or ingame items.

Koren MMOs that suck attract thousands of players just through good targeted advertising. No reason why SE can't.

But SEs main problem is they have no marketing department, or if they do, their marketing department is a failure. Releasing the same video to 4 different cultures is a BAD idea. If you design 4 videos, one for each culture, you will have a significantly larger impact.

[Keisuna]

Why did you have to do this? The last thing we need is a bunch of armchair advertising experts. Do we really need to feed the egos of countless gamers who think they can run a game from their gaming chair? SE knows what they're doing better than anyone else here. What can a horde of clueless and ignorant gamers really contribute to this discussion? Not a lot, so why make this thread. It's just a avenue for SE bashing by a bunch who think they have a clue. SE has tons of experts in their fields (ie of advertising) that know the ins and outs of markets, costs, and efficiency. Yet here you are, asking the common rabble about that which they do not understand. Why Starlord, why?

Yeah, what would a bunch of gamers know about making a game appealing to gamers? That makes no sense!

[Relic]

Advertise gameplay a lot, show content. People don't care about CGI, it doesn't tell them anything about the game other than an artists "vision" of the feel they're trying to portray in the title.

[Churchill]

I laughed when he said SE knows what they're doing.

This is why SE can release shit content for years and still sell copies of their games.

[Elexia]

I laughed when he said SE knows what they're doing.

This is why SE can release shit content for years and still sell copies of their games.

And here you are.

[Churchill]

I also want to, as a man, un-volunteer from any set of rules where people talk about getting asses kicked for things said on vent or any sort of objectification of shitty food and tits as some sort of nirvana.

[Valmonte]

I also want to, as a man, un-volunteer from any set of rules where people talk about getting asses kicked for things said on vent or any sort of objectification of shitty food and tits as some sort of nirvana.

ah but you like the Beer and Pub eh.

[darkstarpoet1]

well for the person saying se knows what they're doing..... did you miss the original release? if you were there for it then you would see that undoubtedly they don't.

now on a serious note. most games can expand off word of mouth, but even if 2.0 is a great success i doubt the normal philosophy is going to work. even if every person that plays the game now floods every site talking about how great the game is they will be drowned out by the vast majority that played the original version and despised it. it will be hard for word of mouth ONLY to make a dent in the reputation this game has. that's partially the fault of the existing players that have been talking down everyone that has a bad opinion about the game since beta. when word of mouth hits those sites now people are just going to look at it as "oh it's those guys again" and just get drowned out by negativity.

to me they are really going to have to advertise hard to get people interested in the game again. a bunch of teasers like the one that just came out won't cut it in my opinion. they are going to need to show comparisons on before and after on gameplay, graphics, story, content, and anything else they can show the public that this is not the same game as what it was on release. the vast majority doesn't even know about 2.0 as far as the depth of the changes that are being made. they are going to have to hit the ps3 and pc versions twice as hard as normal due to the fact the initial release had such worldwide hatred. they need those that hated the original version to try the new one and admit it's not like it was when they left.

[Lux_Rayna]

well for the person saying se knows what they're doing..... did you miss the original release? if you were there for it then you would see that undoubtedly they don't.

A mistake =/= not knowing what you're doing. It's called a mistake. Every professional makes mistakes no matter how good they are, because perfection does not exist in humanity. And you have to admit, they have to know better than you at the very least, considering they went from 0 to 138B. You will never see 138B in your lifetime, so I think it's safe to assume they did not make all that money without at least a little knowledge on how to sell their shit. Considering no one here has sold even 1% as much, nor ever will, please tell me how SE isn't better qualified to handle this.