I really don't think timing's going to have any impact with 'hyping' FFXIV up. FFXIV already got a lot of bad publicity, even if they announce something 'big', people outside of this community will just dismiss it because they are only words. SE will have to prove that they are fixing FFXIV, which they are already doing so obviously.


Let's say they do come up with something 'big' to build the 'hype' for FFXIV, fantastic! Are we going to see it in sites outside of FFXIV Lodestone and the premier sites (IE, FFXIVCore, Eorzeapedia, and Zam?) I highly doubt it. Yes, I agree, these games are big, but 'littered with monstrosities'? Not really.

Keep in mind that we'll soon be approaching the E3 Season, along with the release of big games throughout this year, including Duke Nukem Forever (If hell actually freezes over and they actually DO release it), and of course Mass Effect 3 down the road, but these games aren't going to have anymore impact on FFXIV than games like Portal 2.

I'd say the only shot they have at building up the hype, as you put it, would be the PS3 release. If they do fix the game up to the point that people will actually enjoy it, MAYBE some game critics will forgive FFXIV and give it a 'second chance' with thePS3 release, and maybe it will get FFxIV the hype it deserves, when the game actually gets better.