Quote Originally Posted by Lux_Rayna View Post
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.