Gamespot ARR article. HOW DARE YOU DOUBT OUR YOSHI-P!!

[TenraiNagi]

All of these elements that are "new" to Final Fantasy XIV seem "old" in the grander scheme of MMOGs. I asked Yoshida which online RPGs provided him the most inspiration, and his answers weren't surprising. He name-dropped World of Warcraft for its user-friendliness and enduring popularity; Warhammer Online for its system of public quests; Dark Age of Camelot for its player-versus-player content; and Guild Wars 2 for the way it made its map part of the exploration and questing process. When I asked him what makes Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn stand on its own, his answer wasn't as clear. He mentioned graphics, he mentioned the game's three story layers, and he mentioned the focus on console players--but not much more. In fact, he suggested that the idea of uniqueness among MMOGs is a bit of a misnomer and that most such games iterate on what came before rather than redefine the genre.

In other words, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn isn't trying to be that much different from other MMOGs--it's just trying to be different from Final Fantasy XIV as it currently exists. It's hard to say at this point whether that's enough, though Square Enix certainly hopes so. Yoshida steadfastly claims that the company is "putting everything" into this project and that it will never give up on a Final Fantasy game. Unfortunately, a lot of players have already given up on Final Fantasy XIV.

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/features/sta...chF%3bReadMore

THE STORY!! Final Fantasy has always been known for it's awesome storytelling. We got an awesome story for 1.0, a game they're going to let go. That's what's making me really looking forward to what's coming in ARR.

So what's special about FFXIV that most other MMO's fail miserably to deliver? STORY!

Yoshi-p you tell them that!!

[Aion]

weird he says that YoshiP answer not clear while the next sentence is the answer

[Almalexia]

weird he says that YoshiP answer not clear while the next sentence is the answer

Graphics, stories and consoles are not distinguishing features of games in general. A great many games have graphics, stories and console support. Some even have all three. The author asked what makes XIV stand on its own--distinguish itself from other games and MMOs out there.

Yoshida's response was unclear (in the narrative of the article) because he touted things about 2.0 that you wouldn't expect to form the centerpiece of SE's big reboot gambit. SE isn't trying to break new ground in the genre; their selling point is sticking to the fundamentals and precedents other games in the genre have already set. As a result, Yoshida's rhetoric is more down-to-earth than the jingoistic game-hyping we hear everywhere else.

You could say, in other words, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn isn't trying to be that much different from other MMOGs--it's just trying to be different from Final Fantasy XIV as it currently exists.

Huh.

[Aion]

Graphics, stories and consoles are not distinguishing features of games in general. A great many games have graphics, stories and console support. Some even have all three. The author asked what makes XIV stand on its own--distinguish itself from other games and MMOs out there.

Yoshida's response was unclear (in the narrative of the article) because he touted things about 2.0 that you wouldn't expect to form the centerpiece of SE's big reboot gambit. SE isn't trying to break new ground in the genre; their selling point is sticking to the fundamentals and precedents other games in the genre have already set. As a result, Yoshida's rhetoric is more down-to-earth than the jingoistic game-hyping we hear everywhere else.

You could say, in other words, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn isn't trying to be that much different from other MMOGs--it's just trying to be different from Final Fantasy XIV as it currently exists.

Huh.

which game is that?

[Almalexia]

which game is that?

I know there's a console grafix joke in there somewhere. You know what I mean!

[Orophin]

The initial cause of the failing of FFXIV 1.0:
-The game didnt hold enough Final Fantasy Lore

I wouldn't say the lack of Final Fantasy lore, but the lack of a cohesive (or finished even) story for that matter. It's taken a lot of discussion over in Anonymoose's thread to actually piece together the puzzle that's still missing pieces from the box in terms of the original story. It wasn't until Yoshi-P took over and introduced the 7th Umbral Era and Grand Company storylines that the game actually seemed to start moving towards some direction.

To get back to your earlier point about the game being "too different", it's funny how reviewers are looking for some big breakthrough in MMO mechanics, yet when FFXIV seemed to discard almost everything that worked in FFXI it got butchered by reviewers. Even if the server structure and UI responsiveness were top notch, I still don't see how anyone but FFXI diehards would have kept playing FFXIV in its original state.

[MyKotoShi]

Expect more articles like this from Game Informer too. They've been bought out by Blizzard it seems.

[Keres]

Expect more articles like this from Game Informer too. They've been bought out by Blizzard it seems.

Let's...not go through this again, seriously. There were enough fanboys spouting "FFXIV is getting trashed in reviews because all of the reviewers were bought out! Square refused to play their bribery game!" at the 1.0 launch that we had to deal with.

Disagree with the interviewer's logic or his opinion, fine. But this constant meme of "anyone in the gaming press that I disagree with must be on the take" is really ridiculous.

[WHS]

Let's...not go through this again, seriously. There were enough fanboys spouting "FFXIV is getting trashed in reviews because all of the reviewers were bought out! Square refused to play their bribery game!" at the 1.0 launch that we had to deal with.

Disagree with the interviewer's logic or his opinion, fine. But this constant meme of "anyone in the gaming press that I disagree with must be on the take" is really ridiculous.

I really do agree with this point. Let people have their own opinion and don't judge. If you love ffxiv then fine and if you don't that's fine too. Look at it this way. Gamespot didn't create a forum account and come over here to snipe. They put in out on their own. It's fine we all logon here cause we love ffxiv but please don't continue the snipe by being directly obtuse. People will have their opinions and that's what they are is opinions. Not everyone is going to love any particular game but the real truth will come out in paying subscriptions. Let that be the true judge. The saying put your money where your mouth is still applies.

[TenraiNagi]

Let people have their own opinion and don't judge.

^Exactly this. When I read the article (maybe it's just me), I got the impression that the author was imposing his opinion on the reader, rather than let him form his own. ARR is still a game that not many people are aware of. And this media tour was supposed to inform people by making it all over the media, making it's name familiar, etc...

The purpose of these articles is to help in doing that, but it's not supposed to be in such a biased way. The author is claiming that the game has no clear direction (which is not true, the devs are already talking about an expansion), and that it's better than the previous crap but "meh". He overlooked all the systems and features the game has to offer just because of his "oh well, people moved on" concept.

So yea let people make up their own opinion!

And seriously, stop hanging your hats on how story makes this game unique. First of all Square Enix really isn't the king of story telling in games anymore. And secondly, while I quite enjoyed 1.0's story, LotrO and SWTOR emphasize story even more and present theirs in a lot more accessible way. The fact that FFXIV has a good storyline doesn't make it unique.

Honestly, if you're comparing FFXIV's 1.0 story, which they made up in a month, to the stories of these other titles then FFXIV already wins. The cut scenes for this game were being done while they're making another MMO, AND doing other stuff for 1.0. Those other companies had years to make up their stories and put them together.