You know what would increase subs?

[Ath192]

They would spend tens of millions of dollars reworking the graphics engine and then updating all the models and all the textures for pretty much the entire game. You can't just 'update a graphics engine' for a 23 year old game without updating models and textures and expect miracles to happen.

And then people would play it for 2 weeks and quit.

Look, I loved FFXI when it came out, I poured multiple thousands of hours into that game. There was a point where my average played hours per day exceeded my average sleep hours of the day. But even I can come to grips with the fact that FFXI's gameplay style is not conducive to a modern MMO audience. It was a niche game then and it'd be even more of a niche game now.

But you don't know that. Everyone says that like its fact. XI would be the perfect counterweight to WOW classic, as its SE's own unique offering that was well beloved. And WOW classic proved there is an audience for more old school experiences. I also don't understand taking the standpoint of guarding a companies money.

There is a good chance they get all their tens of millions back with enough time and support for a game with a proven track record than launching the new crap that has been bombing left and right from their studios. You benefit nothing by telling them hey don't do it, just pocket the change, and stand a lot to gain from bringing back a good game to modern standards. Maybe you don't have time anymore, but a lot of young people do, just like we had time back then. Heck most people that left this game did so because there isn't anything to do in it if you're caught up. The bad story was just the excuse they needed to finish breaking the cycle.

Does anyone here think FFXI remastered would be a worse investment than Babylon's fall?

"Square Enix did not publicly disclose the specific financial losses from Babylon's Fall. However, it's clear the game was a commercial failure and contributed to a significant drop in Square Enix's stock value. The game's poor performance led to the company restructuring its development approach and taking an "extraordinary loss" of 22.1 billion yen (approximately $140 million USD). This loss likely includes costs associated with the game's development and subsequent abandonment. "

I don't. The probabilities of FFXI having been the better bet than that are overwhelmingly clear. Even in its ancient decrepit state FFXI still pulls a profit.