PlayStation 3 version: Why Bother?

[Quesse]

Final Fantasy XI was released for the PlayStation 2 first before other platforms, during the height of that console's popularity. The PS2 slim hadn't even been announced yet. And yet today, the PS2 version of Seekers of Adoulin will not be released in North America, and in general it is the PC version that seems to get the most support and attention from Square-Enix.

Now we have ARR on the horizon. 1.0, at least, was written for and graced the PC first. Meanwhile, all indications are the next PlayStation will be announced by the time ARR hits shelves; and there's certainly no guarantee that Sony's next console will play PS3 games.

With the cards already stacked against the PS3 version, and with the history of FFXI showing that support for console versions will get axed well before the PC version, why is Square-Enix bothering with releasing the PS3 version of the game at all at this point? And why should players make the commitment of buying the PS3 version when history shows they'll just have to move to the PC eventually anyway?

You're basically saying that because ELEVEN years after PS2 FFXI launch, support is ending, then PS3 version shouldn't be released.....

.....because, ya know, in ELEVEN years, it might be unsupported, so, ya know, better just not release it. :/

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

You're basically saying that because ELEVEN years after PS2 FFXI launch, support is ending, then PS3 version shouldn't be released.....

.....because, ya know, in ELEVEN years, it might be unsupported, so, ya know, better just not release it. :/

First off, for all intents and purposes the PS2 version of FFXI has been ignored by S-E since the release of WotG, at the latest.

But even then, it would seem we can expect console versions of ARR to have a limited lifespan but not the PC version. Whether that life is 2 years or 8, why even start going down that road to begin with?

[Linkurrra]

First off, for all intents and purposes the PS2 version of FFXI has been ignored by S-E since the release of WotG, at the latest.

But even then, it would seem we can expect console versions of ARR to have a limited lifespan but not the PC version. Whether that life is 2 years or 8, why even start going down that road to begin with?

Meh, consoles by their very nature have pre-determined lifespans. In fact the lifespan of the current generation of hardware is the longest the gaming industry has seen ever! It used to be 4-5 years and that was it! This does not mean it's not worth developing for the console just because down the road nobody will no longer be playing the PS3. There is still money to be had within the years that it will still be viable.

PC's are upgradable, but notorious for having varying issues on performance because of variety of hardware that can be bought for it. They are cumbersome and difficult to troubleshoot and if it wasn't for the fact that in the last couple years they started adding HDMI to video cards you could not easily hook a PC to your HDTV and play!

Regardless, to play a PC on the sofa you have to spend a pretty penny to buy the equipment you need to make it happen!

Plus, while there are other MMO's out on the PS3 console, like Free Realms and DCUO. Neither allow multi-platforms to play on the same servers. This is still unique to Square-Enix, and I believe has done well in extending the life of FFXI. Neither the PC/PS2/360 have huge audiences still playing all to themselves. If you were to separate them into their own servers people would stop playing the MMO because there would not be enough people to play with!

But since they can all play on the same servers the community can mingle with each other and bolster the population of one server more than any one console could support! Most people can't see the benefit, but it's there and worth getting attention. If FFXI was a better MMO it would be in an even better position than it is now.

[Nuru]

Simple Answer: FFXIV ARR will be perhaps the only actual MMORPG on the PS3 system. This alone will grab some attention.

[vax]

Simple Answer: FFXIV ARR will be perhaps the only actual MMORPG on the PS3 system. This alone will grab some attention.

DC universe aldready on PS3 .

I think it will have some attention, but will decrease slowly when people can afford better PC to run the game. Everyone know PC > PS3.

[Nuru]

DC universe aldready on PS3 .

I think it will have some attention, but will decrease slowly when people can afford better PC to run the game. Everyone know PC > PS3.

That's true, but DC Universe wasn't too great of a game. haha.

[Firon]

For the people saying no ps3 port for XI When the ps3 first came out there was no reason for it cause it had support for it already with the first ps3's being able to play ps2 games. I had a few friends running XI on the ps3.

[Yolteotl]

DCUO isn't a real MMO.

SE looked into porting FFXI to PS3, but the encoding process due to the split RAM (same reason FFXIV 1.0 was not doable on PS3, same reason Skyrim DLC was not doable on PS3) makes encoding for a PS3 too much of a pain.

If it wasn't such a pain to upscale PS2 titles Sony wouldnt of dropped the compabatility support to lower the cost of PS3s by $200, and the HD PS2 Collections would of appeared much earlier in the PS3s lifespan. HOPEFULLY upscaling from PS3 to PS4 wont be so bad. Kinda like upgrading from XP to Vista is awful but Vista to Win7 is cake.

Microsoft being greedy and SE not supporting the 360 for FFXIV has nothing to do with the dev team. I think it's a bad idea to port it to the WiiU as well.

AND they arent dropping PS2 support for Seekers of Adoulin, only PS2 support in NA. EU never had PS2 support for FFXI. It's still being developed for JP PS2.

[Zehira]

HOPEFULLY upscaling from PS3 to PS4 wont be so bad.

I heard someone said PS4 is going to use a Vita-like CPU, if a port can be working like the Vita, it should be cheaper and easier for developers. Cell processor costs them too expensive though.

Microsoft being greedy and SE not supporting the 360 for FFXIV has nothing to do with the dev team. I think it's a bad idea to port it to the WiiU as well.

lol... :P Really, it's up to SE and others. I know about M$ anyway.

[Pseudopsia]

I heard someone said PS4 is going to use a Vita-like CPU, if a port can be working like the Vita, it should be cheaper and easier for developers. Cell processor costs them too expensive though.

For the PS4 CPU to be like the vita CPU it will have to have the ARM instruction set. Right now ARM CPUs are low powered and slower. I don't know much details of the PS4, looks like I'll have to go hunting.