Mid June = monthly subscription?

[Chronic]

I'd expect a PS3 version before we are charged a monthly fee.

[Mireille]

Christmas would make a good release timeframe for PS3/Expansion content, so I think November/December makes a lot of sense. Assuming they finish the fixes in September that gives a few months of real player testing before they go live with a relaunch event. The game has to be stable, it has to recapture the interest of the people who left, and it has to hold that interest more than a month or two. The content has to work and be well ballanced. If I were SE I would want to be sure of those things before undertaking a media blitz to relaunch the game. That will undoubtedly be an expensive undertaking by itself, and if it fails their reputation will be damaged. This is all total speculation on my part though. I think they also have to beat Blizzards new MMO out the gate, but I have no idea how close that is.

I don't think they owe us a free download, but I would sort of like an ingame item for sticking it out. Nothing fancy just the FF equivalent of a t-shirt that says 'I stayed the course through a year of fixes, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt '

I am sure the game will become great, and I think all of the players who stayed the course deserve some recognition for that from future generations of Eorzeans.

They shouldn't do anything that would drive the current player base away, so that probably means no fee till the game is 100% in their minds and ours. I am sure they know that players who didnt stay this past year won't give them a third chance if the relaunch isn't a success. Thats a big chunk of the XI player base too, and they can't aford to lose that. Personally I am happy enough with the progress I wouldn't object to a fee, but I have only been crafting, and I can't comment on the progress they have made on the battle system. I did watch my LS kill Cactaur Jack recently, and they seemed to have a lot of fun doing it.