When will PlayStation 4 support be stopped?

[theunhappypotato]

No. It didn't end because roughly 60 million people still only have a PS4; half the entire Playstation user base.

That isn't likely to change in the coming years both due to the economy and the fact we know a PS6 is coming. Likewise, the PS4 isn't holding the game back in any significant way. This isn't the same scenario as the PS3 that could barely process the game at launch.

but its literally running the game at 30 fps (at best) some mechanics dont load and dont get me started on big content like OC, if you pair that with the new "graphics" and the shit code, then ofcourse the ps4 is holding it back

[Johners]

No. It didn't end because roughly 60 million people still only have a PS4; half the entire Playstation user base.

That isn't likely to change in the coming years both due to the economy and the fact we know a PS6 is coming. Likewise, the PS4 isn't holding the game back in any significant way. This isn't the same scenario as the PS3 that could barely process the game at launch.

The remaining global PS4 player count wouldn't be why Square Enix decide to drop support, it would be the FFXIV-specific PS4 player count as well as the future technical requirements of the game. Given that the currently incomplete graphics overhaul has barely been made available for the PS4 game client, one would assume that end of life for the PS4 version isn't too far away. Not to mention the much longer loading times do impact other players when entering instances or moving between zones for treasure maps.

[Rinoa_353]

No. It didn't end because roughly 60 million people still only have a PS4; half the entire Playstation user base.

That isn't likely to change in the coming years both due to the economy and the fact we know a PS6 is coming. Likewise, the PS4 isn't holding the game back in any significant way. This isn't the same scenario as the PS3 that could barely process the game at launch.

The PS4 has been holding the game back since ShB, once they end support, they would also bump up the recommended PC specs when currently use CPU's from 2019 when the PS4 was based on an entry level CPU in 2013. Try doing a hunt train on a PS4 and tell me it doesn't hold the game back when hunts would be killed before you even finished loading a lot of times. The reason the PS5 and XBOX Series will last longer is because they all have fast RAM and a SSD for fast loading that the PS4 suffers from. The PS4 has 8GB of shared RAM/VRAM when the average gaming PC today has 16 GB and will likely be 32GB by the end of the decade. The PS4 GPU may still render the game decently but the entry level CPU and small pool of shared RAM would definitely be it's limiting factor when it has since ShB.

[Masekase_Hurricane]

No. It didn't end because roughly 60 million people still only have a PS4; half the entire Playstation user base.

That isn't likely to change in the coming years both due to the economy and the fact we know a PS6 is coming. Likewise, the PS4 isn't holding the game back in any significant way. This isn't the same scenario as the PS3 that could barely process the game at launch.

49 million as of a year ago. Unless you saying another 11 million have purchased one since then.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/...rs-as-the-ps5/

[Absurdity]

I wouldn't at all count the time of 1.0, on account of 1.0 wasn't ever available on PS3 despite the promise it would be. Never happened.

That's also the reason why they developed ARR for the PS3 in the first place, which they never should have. But they had promised that XIV would be on the PS3 all the way back in 1.0.

By the time ARR released the PS4 was already out, the PS3 was already 8 years old and it's hardware was severely limiting for the game.

The PS4 has 8GB of shared RAM/VRAM when the average gaming PC today has 16 GB and will likely be 32GB by the end of the decade. The PS4 GPU may still render the game decently but the entry level CPU and small pool of shared RAM would definitely be it's limiting factor when it has since ShB.

This will happen even faster if the current trend of unoptimized games continues.
Monster Hunter Wilds eats almost 8GB or more of memory on it's own, 16GB is barely enough to run the game, operating system, peripheral software and a browser at the same time.

[Kemiko]

That's also the reason why they developed ARR for the PS3 in the first place, which they never should have. But they had promised that XIV would be on the PS3 all the way back in 1.0.

By the time ARR released the PS4 was already out, the PS3 was already 8 years old and it's hardware was severely limiting for the game.

I'm of a different mindset for this. Part of the reason 1.0 failed so badly was how intensive it was on hardware. The Limsa opening in 1.0 barely ran on what was considered good gaming PCs at the time, nevermind if you had an average or below average gaming pc. A lot was wrong with 1.0 and its unfriendliness to user hardware was absolutely one of them.

Also FFXIV ARR released 3 months before the PS4 did, nevermind that during their development of ARR they wouldn't have known about the exact specifications the PS4 would have.

[Hanayumi]

Looking like 8.0 is very likely. Sony is also looking to dwindle down its ps4 support here within the next year or so.

[YISUG]

if they don't drop the support by 8.0, guess it means that it's also may be coming to NS2 so why drop ps4 they are both kinda equal in power

[Alice_Rivers]

I expect the PS4 will be left behind when both A: It actively holds back development and B: It's not a significant number of players. If they really wanted to move those people who use the PS4 only to play FF14 then they could possibly do a deal with Sony around 8.0 to subsidise PS5/PS6 discounts and bundle 8.0 codes with them.

[ForteNightshade]

but its literally running the game at 30 fps (at best) some mechanics dont load and dont get me started on big content like OC, if you pair that with the new "graphics" and the shit code, then ofcourse the ps4 is holding it back

The PS4 has been holding the game back since ShB, once they end support, they would also bump up the recommended PC specs when currently use CPU's from 2019 when the PS4 was based on an entry level CPU in 2013. Try doing a hunt train on a PS4 and tell me it doesn't hold the game back when hunts would be killed before you even finished loading a lot of times. The reason the PS5 and XBOX Series will last longer is because they all have fast RAM and a SSD for fast loading that the PS4 suffers from. The PS4 has 8GB of shared RAM/VRAM when the average gaming PC today has 16 GB and will likely be 32GB by the end of the decade. The PS4 GPU may still render the game decently but the entry level CPU and small pool of shared RAM would definitely be it's limiting factor when it has since ShB.

Both of you are simply describing the limitations of the PS4 itself not whether it impacts XIV's development. Unlike the PS3 where the devs literally couldn't add UI improvements without breaking the console, they haven't run into any noteworthy problems evident by the graphic update going through without a hitch, albeit in a very reduced state for the PS4.

Put simply, it running at 30 FPS and struggling to load 300+ hunt trains doesn't matter so long as it isn't impact the devs ability to add new features.

The remaining global PS4 player count wouldn't be why Square Enix decide to drop support, it would be the FFXIV-specific PS4 player count as well as the future technical requirements of the game. Given that the currently incomplete graphics overhaul has barely been made available for the PS4 game client, one would assume that end of life for the PS4 version isn't too far away. Not to mention the much longer loading times do impact other players when entering instances or moving between zones for treasure maps.

Obviously, only SE has those exact numbers, but it's hardly a reach to suggest a not insignificant amount of XIV players haven't upgraded when 50% of the entire Playstation playerbase hasn't. If that number remains high, there's simply no chance they drop support and risk losing them. Especially not when the overall XIV playerbase has been in a pretty steady decline since DT launched.

49 million as of a year ago. Unless you saying another 11 million have purchased one since then.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/...rs-as-the-ps5/

Not according to these articles which place the PS4 userbase at 59M

https://gamerant.com/ps5-sales-numbers-compared-ps4/
https://tech4gamers.com/playstation-users-half-ps4/

Even in your article, it still cites 50% of the Playstation install base is actively playing the PS4.