Final Fantasy XIV Online

[Zaskull]

http://i41.:bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou:/2prbozr.jpg
Kotaku - PS3 Exclusive Final Fantasy XIV Announced - Final Fantasy XIV (http://kotaku.com/5276066/ps3-exclusive-final-fantasy-xiv-announced)
YouTube - [02.06.2009] Final Fantasy XIV - Online - e3 announce (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpEykudFq84)

For PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows.
Just announced at E3 2009.
I didn't see any other topics and didn't know where else to put this.
Discuss.

[Elpizo]

I just read it, too. Damn, nice move of Sony, to ensure its exclusiveness. Too bad it's another MMO, I don't play those.

And also, both XIII and XIV in 2010? SE must be sick or something, to not keep us waiting for the next FF for less than 3 years!

Oh well, while this is shocking and unexpected, I'm much more excited about the Golden Sun 3 announcement that took place.

[Jessweeee♪]

OMG

[Rebellious Eagle]

Argh, not more of this online crap! I want an actual game, not some thousand-player mayhem. :(

[Kenshin IV]

You're getting your actual, non-online game. It's called "Final Fantasy XIII." And I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he said "only console," which means it could still be on Windows. Which to me makes sense, as the PC is by far the best platform for any MMO.

[Zaskull]

You're getting your actual, non-online game. It's called "Final Fantasy XIII." And I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he said "only console," which means it could still be on Windows. Which to me makes sense, as the PC is by far the best platform for any MMO.

That's true. I put a ? next to Windows.

[Rebellious Eagle]

Well, I actually don't even have a PS3, so I don't know why I'm even complaining in the first place.

[Rocket Edge]

Wow! I'm delighted that I don't have to wait years & years before the next one comes out. I'll be getting it.

[Crossblades]

Wow o_O I didnt think SE was gonna release another FF based MMO with the way FF XI is now. Can't wait to hear more info on it.

However, this forces me to try to complete more things in FF XI by next year o.o

[Zeromus_X]

Woah, and XIII isn't even out yet.

I don't have a PS3, but I'm not really into MMOs so it looks like I'll have to pass on it like XI.

[Mirage]

Intriguing.

[Roogle]

Wouldn't it be a bad move to run Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV concurrently? I assume that Final Fantasy XIV will have as much content as Final Fantasy XI, and I feel like players will be divided on which service to continue on with as it is very difficult for the average person to manage to large games like that.

[Mirage]

They might decrease the time investment needed in FFXI, and/or give people rebates if they subscribe to both. I also hope FFXIV will include a lot more casual content, and things that give you instant satisfaction.

[Wolfen]

14? They haven't even released 13 yet! XD

Looks good though.

[Madame Adequate]

Wouldn't it be a bad move to run Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV concurrently? I assume that Final Fantasy XIV will have as much content as Final Fantasy XI, and I feel like players will be divided on which service to continue on with as it is very difficult for the average person to manage to large games like that.

Not necessarily; both Lineage games run concurrently, and both are fairly successful. And heck, they're still making xpacs for Everquest five years after EQII.

My wish list for FFXIV is pretty simple: The complexity and depth of FFXI, with the controls and lower demands of WoW.

[Del Murder]

Ooooh, it's a MMO? If it comes out for PC I might take a look. FFXI is awesomely addicting.

[sdm42393]

The trailer looked excellent... then I saw that it was online. :(

[qwertysaur]

I might give this a try when it gets closer to the actual release.

[Laddy]

Looks coolio. I'll wait for more info, though.

[Depression Moon]

I was supposed to be the first one to make this damn! You got the thread title and the first post looking all fucked up too!

Wow I thought it was going to be a couple of years before we heard about XIV, but i lost interest like many of you as soon as I saw the online part. It's another XI which like this isn't a real Final Fantasy.

I'll be damned if I'm going to pay monthly fees for a game that I can pay $60 or less for and can have just as much fun. If Square told them exclusive then they're liars. They told them the same about XIII, y'all don't think they'll do it again?

And when that happens I'm switching RPG franchises like I said a while ago.



Zero interest in this. Forking over a monthly fee in addition to the cost of the original software is just retarded to me, and I just don't like that SE is giving MMOs numbered titles in the FF series. I love FF for the stories - MMOs don't have complete stories, they have an ongoing, never-ending mess of "Well, what can we add next?" MMOs are the epitome of "How much money can we squeeze out of this one?" and I am not at all interested in a story that never ends purely for the purpose of making maximum $$ off of it.
My thoughts exactly good chum.

[Miriel]

Disappointed with how this new MMORPG looks exactly like FFXI. If Square was gonna do a new online game, I would have preferred that they went a whole different route, especially in terms of aesthetics. I'm honestly SO sick of the FFXI aesthetics, it's just so unappealing to me these days. It's bizarre to me that they would introduce a new MMORPG that is so similar to FFXI while FFXI is still alive and kicking. Is Square expecting everyone to switch over to the new online game and let the old one die out? I'm not sure what their thinking here might be. They can't possibly imagine that those invested in FFXI would be willing to play two online games at the same time. And if it was gonna be so similar, why not just utilize expansions rather than do a whole new game? Really strange.

I'm not interested in anymore mithras and humes and all that. Yawn. If they went with something completely different I'd probably be a lot more interested. I like online games, I'm just burned out from FFXI, and a FFXI 2.0 isn't appealing at all.

[Rostum]

I have no idea what will happen. The reason I was excited at first, was because the tech demo from 2005 showed so much promise, and I loved the whole art nouveau style. I hope they keep with that design.

It also looks as if the art director is the same director from Final Fantasy XII and Vagrant Story, which could really show a lot of promise that hasn't been realised in the teaser. It is also quite awesome that Uematsu has been hired to do the soundtrack.

I am still a little anxious to see if Square release any more information tomorrow, and I hope they bring something different to just reinvisioning the races from Final Fantasy XI. I guess what got me disappointed is that Square has previously stated it wasn't a Final Fantasy title, and that it wasn't to replace Final Fantasy XI - that is my mine gripe, other than that it looks nice.

FINAL FANTASY XIV (http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/)

You can see some very nice concept art, download a true HD version of the trailer, and you can also find out that this is PS3 and Windows based. So it's not PS3 exclusive as it will be on the PC, but it will be exclusive in the console market (Xbox Live has a lot of difficulties with MMORPG's).

[Wolf Kanno]

Lord, I've barely put time into XI as it is now a new FFMMO and they didn't really learn their lesson from last time...

Well, as someone who has learned the hard way that I'm not cut out for MMO's I may have to pass on this one. I guess when I was joking about looking forward to FFXV, fate decided to put a fast one on me... :D

[Yar]

If there are any monthly subscription fees (which I don't see why there wouldn't be) I'll more than likely pass. :/ Need more info though.

[VeloZer0]

Personally subscription fees are a plus for me when it comes to a MMO. It means that the developers have a constant source of income and are able to constantly improve the product. That being said I'm not really interested in any MMO at the moment.

Anyone else wish the would call it like Final Fantasy: Online instead of listing it as one of the numbered ones? Its not like having spin-offs is a new concept to S-E. At least being released right after FF13 means that it won't take a spot in the FF development que.

[Xaven]

Aww, I was just about to start FFXI. :]

This'll be fun for me then! In a year.

[Rase]

Just started playing FFXI a month ago, so I'm not really excited. That plus the fact that I'll not be playing any XI during the school year and my lack of PS3/computer that can likely run this and I won't be getting it any time soon.

[ljkkjlcm9]

This is also for PC... I like online games, I just hate subscription fees... so we shall see

THE JACKEL

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Since I only barely got into FFXI, I would be willing to try FFXIV. At least a trial run and see. :D

[Shlup]

The PS3 exclusiveness is total buttholery. I have a Wii and two 360s but no PS3, and I never ever want one. BUTTHOLERY.

[Ouch!]

The PS3 exclusiveness is total buttholery. I have a Wii and two 360s but no PS3, and I never ever want one. BUTTHOLERY.
With all the trouble that the Nintendo Wii has even playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl online, an MMORPG is completely out of the question.

As Omecle already mentioned, Xbox Live, while fantastic for multiplayer in most games, for whatever reason, does not respond well to MMORPGs. For example, it is almost impossible to participate in Besieged (an event in FFXI) if you're playing on the Xbox 360 as you will inevitably be disconnected at the end of the event (when you would receive your reward for participating). This is unacceptable, especially since this is something that the PS2 version is able to handle.

I'm still undecided regarding this game, and I'm going to postpone major judgment until the press conference tomorrow. I'm certainly excited, although I am shocked that it does seem so closely related to FFXI after they ensured us that it would be completely unrelated. I'm going to sit on other comments until after tomorrow, though.

[Mirage]

If you hate PS3 so much, you can also *gasp* get it for the PC!

[Rostum]

The PS3 exclusiveness is total buttholery. I have a Wii and two 360s but no PS3, and I never ever want one. BUTTHOLERY.

Stiff :bou::bou::bou::bou:, tbh.

[Breine]

All I could say when I found out was "Say whaaaat!?".

For some reason I didn't expect Final Fantasy XIV to be an MMORPG, and I totally didn't expect Square to announce it this year! - I guess I was wrong.

It'll be interesting to learn more about this upcoming game. Never played Final Fantasy XI (or WoW for that matter), so maybe this'll be my first MMORPG.

[Masamunemaster]

I wish they would fix FFXI's problems instead of moving on to a new FFMMO, I mean I had to stop playing because somehow my account got smurfed up and they didnt know what to do other than to tell me to make a new one...

So..
Fix FFXI?
Make XIV a normal FF
or
combine them?

[Mirage]

No, they're gonna make FFXIV an MMO.

[Gilghamut]

Some info on FFXIV, pardon if any of this has been posted before


Square Enix Unveils Newest Addition to the FINAL FANTASY Series, FINAL FANTASY XIV!

MMORPG Scheduled for Simultaneous Global Release on the PLAYSTATION 3 and Windows

LOS ANGELES, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Square Enix), announced that FINAL FANTASY XIV, an all new massively-multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG), is planned for simultaneous global release with language support in Japanese, English, French and German.

Adventure begins anew in the vast realm of Eorzea!

More information on FINAL FANTASY XIV can be found at FINAL FANTASY XIV (http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/).

About FINAL FANTASY XIV

Platforms: PLAYSTATION(R) 3 & Windows(R)
*Details on required PC specifications to be announced
at a later date
Languages: Japanese, English, German, French (simultaneous release)
Genre: MMORPG
Release: 2010
MSRP: TBD
ESRB: RP (Rating Pending)
Copyright: (C) SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.

Sorry, no source link for the info quoted above

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/1upGamer/info.jpg <- Image of the Main Staff for 14, including Uematsu as Composer

[sir helix]

wtfing hell, why make a final fantasy mmo thats goes into the main series, iv accepted x-2 as ff11, but another one omg this if dumb

[strawberryman]

mwarfgharglestiltskinz

Just what I need. And knowing my luck my PC will yet again be not up to snuff to play it if I wanted.

[yaywalter]

wtfing hell, why make a final fantasy mmo thats goes into the main series, iv accepted x-2 as ff11, but another one omg this if dumb

Guess you're gonna have to accept XIII Versus as XIV. :P

[Rase]

Good lord, why do people care so much about it being in the "numbered series"?

[yaywalter]

Good lord, why do people care so much about it being in the "numbered series"?

I dunno. I don't particularly care about it being numbered myself. I think it has something to do with most FF fans being interested mostly just in single-player RPG experiences. I'm more of a single-player player myself, but I also happen to be a relatively new fan of the Final Fantasy series, so perhaps that's why I don't care?

However, if Square Enix made an online FF set in Ivalice, I'd be all over that...

[charliepanayi]

Maybe this will become a trend, they'll start to do an MMORPG every three games in the series - expect FFXVII to be online! :)

[Ultimage]

The SE Conference has started, no video allowed though. Here's a link to the blog though.

Live Blog: Square Enix E3 2009 Press Conference - G4tv.com (http://e3.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/696020/Live-Blog-Square-Enix-E3-2009-Press-Conference.html)

[Depression Moon]

Good lord, why do people care so much about it being in the "numbered series"?
Because FF is a single player experience and even if i could somehow afford the game, my terrible internet service would lag and drop constantly, just ruining the experience to add.

[Bolivar]

I have to admit, I'm interested. With Uematsu as the composer and Yoshida doing the character designs this could shape up to something nice. FFXI for the current gen seems like it could be really good.

It says this Komoto guy worked on FFIX, but I can't seem to find what he was actually responsible for. Anyone know?

[Ouch!]

The press conference was interesting. It seems they're really aiming more towards a casual gaming market (something WoW has done fantastically). As long as they don't sacrifice FFXI's depth, this doesn't bother me. Interesting explanation for their inclusion of FFXI's races, and I'm glad they clarified that it's otherwise completely unrelated to FFXI. Since they're aiming for a 2010 worldwide release, I imagine we'll start getting more information soon.

[Markus. D]

I for one, am absolutely excited.

I can't wait to see how SE goes about transitioning to the current generation, what with FFXI being so hardcore, gamers have a much more casual outlook on such things now (eg. People don't want to spend a good half hour or more travelling to a grind spot... or the next major city is just one thing).

As long as the love isn't lost... because FFXI is awesome xD!

[Lionx]

Good lord....i better finish up all the expansions before the game comes out and people dry out the servers(if at least temporarily).

[Jowy]

Too bad it's going to go the way of Warhammer, Age of Conan, Lord of the Rings Online, and anything else that came out to try and dethrone World of Warcraft. Seriously guys, delusional much? It's just gonna be the same as FFXI with shinier graphics.

[Rostum]

Assumptions suck, don't they? Damn WoW fanboys. You do realise there's still a lot of successful MMO's out there, right?

[VeloZer0]

If you define success as topping WoW you are ultimately going to fail. I highly doubt this, or any game in the next few years will be able to come close to overtaking WoW.

That being said, it doesn't have to outsell WoW to be a success. FF games don't out sell GTA games, but does that make them failures? They just have to be realistic when making their buisness plan.

[Crossblades]

Good lord, why do people care so much about it being in the "numbered series"?

Because people are ignorant. Nuff said

[Rase]

Good lord, why do people care so much about it being in the "numbered series"?
Because most FF's is are a single player experience and even if i could somehow afford the game, my terrible internet service would lag and drop constantly, just ruining the experience to add.
Fixed a bit for ya. Still, are you implying that if the game was named "Final Fantasy Online" you would not be unhappy with it, and that the only reason is because it is FFXIV? That is the effect that I am seeing some people say, and I can't for the life of me understand the reasoning behind that view. I can understand not being happy it's online, but just being unhappy with it based upon that fact that Square is making it Final Fantasy XIV is a bit ludicrous.

[Yeargdribble]

First thing's first.... if you didn't really play enough FFXI to any serious degree, feel free to NOT make comments about things like the story or even go so far as to say it sucks. You don't know.

About the numbered thing... well, I sort of agree, but the ship has sailed... long ago. Obviously they are going to use the traditional series numbers for the online games.

Don't say it's not a "real" FF. How do you define a "real" FF game? It's got Cid, Chocobos, deep storyline (honestly deeper than any of the offline FFs). It's a Final Fantasy game if SE put Final Fantasy on the logo.


Now on to the real topic. All though I quit FFXI long ago due to SE's beyond terrible customer service and the impacts thereof on the game... the game was awesome and had a flavor that is irreplaceable. My wife and I both have an immense amount of nostalgia for it. I'm glad to see it continuing and the press conference makes me feel even better. It seems that SE is going to try to learn from their mistakes. Depending on how much they learn from their mistakes this game could be incredible.

For those thinking it will flop... you are simply wrong. It's going to likely attract the vast majority of FFXI players old and new (especially with them sending the death knell for FFXI in the press conference). If they fix most of the problems of FFXI then they will probably keep a large base.

Keep in mind FFXI has a fairly consistent base of 500,000 7 years in. While you might think this is a failure compared to WoW's 11 million this just isn't true. Just because something isn't #1 in sales doesn't make it a failure. As long as it is consistently sustainable and doesn't have a trend downward (losing players constantly) then it's a success. The thought that FFXIV won't achieve this after fixing the flaws of FFXI (which has achieved relative success) is just illogical.


Hopefully they make it approachable enough that some of you give it a try. While I still have my reservations about it (MMO+console = ugh, cross-region servers = racism), I think it will probably be pretty decent and I'm looking very forward to it.

[Lionx]

Found this on another forum

tl dr - Square learned from it's mistakes in FFXI (which some were glaring) by catering to a more casual crowd, more diverse playstyles, and the graphics are beautiful. I hope its everything they wanted FFXI to be in the first place. I wasn't too interested at first, but if they really were to fix all those things, then i would not mind making a similar character that i have on FFXI in this new game.


FFXIV will be coming to the PS3 & PC. They are currently considering other hardware (including Microsoft hardware!)



Q: What are the ties to Final Fantasy XI, if any?

A: While you may have noticed that some of the same type of races appeared in the trailer, the world of FFXIV is different from FFXI. The reason that we made the races similar to the FFXI races is so FFXI players could choose a similar type of race in the new game. For example, in movies, you might have an actor that plays many different roles. Please, think of it that way.



Q: What happens to Final Fantasy XI now that we're moving to FFXIV? Are you going to phase it out or continue to publish new content for XI? How will the development team be split?

A: The development for FFXIV started 4 or 5 years ago with primary ideas. Development started a few years ago, while FFXI was still being supported. FFXI will continue to be supported. There is another year of content planned. There are no plans for the near future to stop development on FFXI.



Q: What influence have games like World of WarCraft have on the development of FFXIV?

A:As with WoW, we want to aim a bit for the casual user. However, we don't want to make a copy of WoW. We believe we will have things that are unique and will stand out from that game.



Q: Will combat be more action oriented or turn-based?

A: We cannot talk about the battle system at this time.



Q: FFXI has evolved a lot over the years, especially in the areas of player accessibility and the ability to solo. Will you carry over features like level sync and other features to FFXIV?

A: Yes. All of the knowledge and experience we gained from FFXI will be used in the development of FFXIV. At the launch, we intend to have content for solo players as well as large-scale battles. We want a wide-variety from the start.



Q: Are you planning a simultaneous worldwide release or will it be released in Japan first?

A: Yes. At the launch, this will be a worldwide simultaneous launch on PS3 and Windows PC. English, Japanese, German, and French versions released at launch.



Q: Will all servers be worldwide or split by territory?

A: The current plans are to have worldwide servers that are cross-platform and cross-region. We will do a beta test and look at the balance and player experience. We want to look for a good balance between region and cross-region play.



Q: Will you be taking feedback from your FFXI users?

A: Yes, we still get a lot of feedback from our FFXI players and will continue to take feedback as we move into beta. The game will change as it goes.



Q: Will you try to move players from XI to XIV or will they be separate communities?

A: It's up to the community themselves. We envision users that will hopefully play XI one day and XIV another. They will be independent, but users are free to play both.



Q: Are there plans to localize the game in Spanish?

A: Currently, there is no Spanish version in development. We'll consider it if enough Spanish-speaking users demand it from us. Getting good translators in Japan is hard, but if there's enough demand we will consider it.



Q: How can users transmit this demand?

A: We will conduct marketing research.




Q: Is there any special element in the MMO genre that you will improve with this game?

A: Our plan from the beginning was to make the best Final Fantasy game available. That is our vision for XIV. Then we thought, how can we make the best FF game and we came to the conclusion that it would be an MMORPG. It was decided to make the best FF first, then led to the decision to make it an MMORG and use that genre.

A: However, we are trying to implement a lot of new systems that other MMO's haven't used in the past



Q: I've been seeing information that the title is free to play, is this true?

A: No pricing has been decided at this time. It is still TBD.


Q: Why did you decide to make a new game rather than continue to evolve FFXI?

A: It all comes down to, originally, FFXI was designed for the PS2. It then moved to PC and Xbox 360. A lot of people have asked for a port to the PS3. With an MMORPG of this size, you have to develop new content. Porting to a new technology would take a lot of effort. Instead, we decided to use that time to make something new.



Q: Yesterday's trailer that was shown, was that running of a console or was it pre-rendered?

A: There were parts that were pre-rendered and parts that were running on the in-game engine.



Q: Is that the quality you're aiming for? The scene with the Galka fighting, is that what you're aiming for?

A: Yes, that is the part that was running in-engine.



Q: In that scene, we saw many parties and many enemies. Is this the new focus: many parties fighting many enemies?

A: I cannot say too much, but we hope to have battles that are many vs. many and many vs. one.



Q: What would you like to emphasize with this game? What is different from FFXI?

A: For FFXIV, the keyword that we've been using is "The Growth and Development of the Character." We will have the same type of storytelling and high-quality graphics. We also want to expand and create new in-game systems. The player can grow & develop in a more natural way without putting too much weight on the player. We will expand the job system to make it fairly different from the one in FFXI.

A: Another very important concept that takes a different direction from FFXI, for FFXIV we want to make it so the player can choose to play solo, in a party, 40 minutes, all-day... there will be content for ALL of those play styles and systems for all of those play styles.



Q: On the beta process, will current XI players get in?

A: As with the actual release date of the game, we don't have a concrete beta schedule yet. We will have a beta and look forward to more information about then shortly.



Q: Will FFXI characters be portable to XIV in any way?

A: The game is completely different. There will not be any XI character transfers to XIV. However, the character design is familiar and XI players will be able to create a similar character.

A: We will NOT be using PlayOnline, but friend lists will transfer over.



Q: If I'm new to the MMO genre, why would I choose FFXIV over other games?

A: We believe that players will fall in love with the world & story that we have created.


Q: I've been seeing information that the title is free to play, is this true?

A: No pricing has been decided at this time. It is still TBD.

[ThePheonix]

a few more:


The ZAM team sent a total of 10 questions to Square Enix this morning. Of these 10, four are answered below.

>> Will current owners of the Square Enix Security Token be able to use the same token they use in FFXI to secure their FFXIV account?

Players who have already obtained a SQUARE ENIX Security Token and have been using an OTP for FINAL FANTASY XI will not need to purchase a new one, and will be able to use their current one for XIV.

>> Will Final Fantasy XIV be available on Direct2Drive at launch?

Because of the estimated size of the game, we are aiming for a package release. However, we are also considering distribution via download.

>> People were ecstatic to hear about the beta. Can you tell us anything about it? Will it be a closed or open beta?

We are planning both closed and open beta testing periods. The schedule is not yet decided.

>> You've confirmed that FFXIV will not be using PlayOnline. Will FFXI continue to be launched through PlayOnline or will it be done away with completely?

As long as FINAL FANTASY XI service continues, PlayOnline will continue.

For the rest of the questions we don’t have any comment at this time. Glad to see you guys excited about FINAL FANTASY XIV!

[Masamunemaster]

ok here is my view on the Wow vs. FF games stuff...

you have WoW as the main thing for warcraft...I bet most the people on there never even played any of the other warcrafts, even after someone says they should

FFXI isnt the only game in that series thats memoriable....most people(the sane ones)would rather play the other games than sit on XI all night long

so in the majority of the games played in the series'

Warcraft WoW, and maybe warcraft 3 maybe
FF XI 12 dissidea 7 8 6 9 4 2 1

in the long run square has no need to fight online battles...they got the offline set for a very long time

[Rostum]

ok here is my view on the Wow vs. FF games stuff...

you have WoW as the main thing for warcraft...I bet most the people on there never even played any of the other warcrafts, even after someone says they should

FFXI isnt the only game in that series thats memoriable....most people(the sane ones)would rather play the other games than sit on XI all night long

so in the majority of the games played in the series'

Warcraft WoW, and maybe warcraft 3 maybe
FF XI 12 dissidea 7 8 6 9 4 2 1

in the long run square has no need to fight online battles...they got the offline set for a very long time

Wow, that is the most illogical post I have seen in a very long time. Are you here, with us, in the real world?

[Aerio]

I'm legit excited. I have been into MMOs since before FFXI was released and was absolutely ready to blow when FFXI was announced. I played FFXI on and off for years, but never got very far (in fact, I only got past vulkrum once with a job). I really enjoyed the class systems and such but hated the UI since it was designed for the PS2 originally.

I use to hate the idea of MMOs for consoles - but as I get older and realize consoles are an easier (less expensive) investment than up to date computers, I'm supporting them more and more. I had basically given up MMOs recently being busy with college and friends. I reached 80 in WoW and was just done, I never enjoyed it a ton. I was always an Everquest 1 and 2 player at heart (the world was much more invoking to me than WoW). I, however, am excited to see FFXIV will be a more casual game than FFXI because of time restraints as my life develops more and more responsibilities. Maybe once again I can dream of playing a summoner class. I never actually got it in FFXI. I do however hope they don't make it AS casual as WoW - its nice to have some group aspects still required.

How long till you guys think guild/link pearls (thats the name in FFXI right?) groups will start up? It's always nice to have a guild set up before a game launches, becomes that much easier to jump into.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

How long till you guys think guild/link pearls (thats the name in FFXI right?) groups will start up? It's always nice to have a guild set up before a game launches, becomes that much easier to jump into.

Sorta seems hard to plan something like that though. If Squeenix decides that you will be randomly assigned to a server, or at least to the least populated server, it would make it difficult to be in the same server as the rest of the linkpearl once the game launches. I think people will have to wait and see what Squeenix decides to do as far as server assigning goes.

[Ouch!]

How long till you guys think guild/link pearls (thats the name in FFXI right?) groups will start up? It's always nice to have a guild set up before a game launches, becomes that much easier to jump into.

Sorta seems hard to plan something like that though. If Squeenix decides that you will be randomly assigned to a server, or at least to the least populated server, it would make it difficult to be in the same server as the rest of the linkpearl once the game launches. I think people will have to wait and see what Squeenix decides to do as far as server assigning goes.
Speaking from experience, it was surprisingly easy to get people onto Midgardsormr when FFXI launched, even without the help of people who transferred characters from beta (and were thus allowed to choose their own server). I don't foresee this being a problem, and given that Square Enix probably expects a large portion of their population to come from FFXI, it would seem illogical not to have some type of method to ensure you'll be able to get on a specific server (e.g. world passes).

[Lionx]

Lol Ouch, we lost our characters and were not able to transfer them. We actually kept in touch via a central forum/IRC Channel. Everyone in the LS i was in (which was one of the bigger known ones) and a couple of other big ones voted on Midgard...then we started a World Pass Tree from one character, where it extended to everyone else that we knew. Think we started a fund to get Passes as well with donations. We cannot choose our servers, just randomly create/delete til we hit Midgard.

With the way FFXI is now, they probably will let you choose which one to go to. About guilds being established, probably within the first day for the dedicated gamer. If people can beat certain content in a day, like a Raid, then a guild is nothing.

[Rostum]

I will most likely end up running our linkshell alongside both FFXI and FFXIV.

[Yeargdribble]

ok here is my view on the Wow vs. FF games stuff...

you have WoW as the main thing for warcraft...I bet most the people on there never even played any of the other warcrafts, even after someone says they should

FFXI isnt the only game in that series thats memoriable....most people(the sane ones)would rather play the other games than sit on XI all night long

so in the majority of the games played in the series'

Warcraft WoW, and maybe warcraft 3 maybe
FF XI 12 dissidea 7 8 6 9 4 2 1

in the long run square has no need to fight online battles...they got the offline set for a very long time

I assume you had a point in there.. but I missed it. I have played all of the "main series" FFs and many of them multiple time through. Your argument that there's enough in the main series that nothing else is needed doesn't quite hold true. Additionally, as anyone who has actually played FFXI can tell you, there's a ton of content and story and you could play for years and never see half of it. You can see all of most of the offline FFs in a week or two of hardcore playing. I'm not saying if that's a pro or a con... just a fact.

Also, are you suggesting that simply because WoW has a backstory (which you say is irrelevant because nobody plays them) and that since FFXI is standalone it's suddenly less worthwhile? FFXI, like any other in the series, can do what it wishes independent of the rest of the series. This is something WoW couldn't do due to pre-existing lore restraints.

As far as being memorable... having played FFXI and WoW each for three years (at different times) I can say (imo) that FFXI was a more memorable game due to the depth of the story and the focus thereon.



I use to hate the idea of MMOs for consoles - but as I get older and realize consoles are an easier (less expensive) investment than up to date computers, I'm supporting them more and more.

Consoles can't grow and eventually they set an artificial ceiling for simple things in any game. Sure the PS3 doesn't seem like a limited piece of machinery now, but neither did PS2 at FFXI's launch. Then you run into the frustratingly ubiquitous comments from the devs about "PS2 limitations" for things like simply giving us adequate inventory or any number of other issues that would simply not come up if it were PC exclusive.

Regardless of the popularity, even if FFXIV hit WoW numbers (btw, not going to happen) the game would be forced into retirement in under a decade due to the lagging performance of the PS3... or everyone would have to move to PC, and some simply wouldn't. While it's true that the playerbase in Japan loves the console MMO thing, it's a trade off for SE to get those numbers both through Sony and from the JP playerbase but to box themselves in at the same time. It's probably the right business move, but it's frustrating nonetheless in the long run.



stuff about server assignments

This will definitely not be an issue with FFXIV. This is one of the things SE fixed in FFXI. Of course, like most, they waited years to do it and it was too little too late. If they'd had the foresight to fix most of these problems ahead of time instead of during FFXI's relative decline the game might've been a serious competitor (still not a WoW competitor, but that's irrelevant). Luckily for us wanting to play FFXIV, it sounds as though they were using FFXI as an extended beta to learn how an MMO should actually run and rather than applying most of those fixes to FFXI they've been incorporating them in FFXIV.

[the AJman]

They've announced XIV already, and its going to be MMO? Oh man and I finally got XI and just still haven't started it yet. Oh well if they continue to support XI than its not that big of a deal.

Well since XIV is announced for a 2010 release it probably means we should be seeing XIII come out soon too. To hear that Uematsu is composing and Yoshida is doing the character designs that alone makes me excited for the game, the trailer looked good too.

[Masamunemaster]

I was just saying to the WoW fanboys that SW doesnt need to try to kick WoW off the throne of MMOs, because the other games in the series,unlike the warcraft series, actually still get played and bought on a regular basis.

Did that clear it up a lil?

[Ouch!]

Lol Ouch, we lost our characters and were not able to transfer them. We actually kept in touch via a central forum/IRC Channel. Everyone in the LS i was in (which was one of the bigger known ones) and a couple of other big ones voted on Midgard...then we started a World Pass Tree from one character, where it extended to everyone else that we knew. Think we started a fund to get Passes as well with donations. We cannot choose our servers, just randomly create/delete til we hit Midgard.
I know, man. Krystic and I did exactly that for the WLA when the game was launched. Perhaps I was wrong about the beta, but otherwise the world pass tree was nowhere near as difficult to create as you're implying it was. You're talking about moving the whole GA, which was a ridiculous endeavor. I was only talking about getting a group of close friends. =P

[Cloudane]

Aw. I got really excited at the XIV trailer. Then they started saying worrying things like "join us" and I thought 'uh oh...' then sure enough it said "online" and it's like - well, back to looking forward (and forward and forward) to the European release of XIII :p

They shouldn't number them in with the single player adventures, IMO.

Should be interesting still, but I've only just got around to grabbing XI... Everquest was more than enough to fulfill my MMORPG desires for this part of a lifetime.

BTW I don't think it'll be knocking WoW off its throne. FF always comes across more of a 'hardcore gamer' type game, relatively speaking, compared with WoW which is an "everybody's game" (people at work play it, parents play it, even the milkman probably plays it)

[the AJman]

I was just saying to the WoW fanboys that SW doesnt need to try to kick WoW off the throne of MMOs, because the other games in the series,unlike the warcraft series, actually still get played and bought on a regular basis.

Did that clear it up a lil?


I'm not sure what SW is, but to say that Warcraft games don't get played anymore is pretty far from the truth. Warcraft 3 is still one of the most played, popular, and sought after Real Time Stragety games out there. Just the fact that its online service is still being supported and populated by thousands of gamers is proof of this fact. About the only other game in the RTS genre that I can think of that rivals it is Starcraft which is ironically another Blizzard game.

[Rocket Edge]

Whatever release date they do fix to XIV, you can rest assured it will be correct and won't be constantly pushed back. I'd say they can't wait to get their hands green with money.

[Yeargdribble]

Well, from things said in recent interviews you can interpolate the release date.

Things SE said:
1. It will be released after FFXIII (slated for Spring 2010)
2. It will have a longer beta than FFXI (longer than 3-4 months)
3. Beta plans aren't solidified yet.

Now let's look at the history of FFXI. It was first announced in January 2000 with the beta opening in December of 2001 (nearly 2 years later).

While they obviously can't wait 2 years between announcement and beta without releasing it late in 2011... it's fair to say the beta will probably not start until long after the announcement (days ago).

Additionally, they may not want to overlap the beta too much with the coming content for FFXI.

My guess is that the beta will probably start at the end of the holiday season (December 2009) or a tad later and they will probably want at least 6 months of beta testing.

Well, you don't have to be a genius to see (simply from the "after FFXIII" comment) that it's obviously going to be Q3 or Q4... my guess is the latter.


EDIT: BTW... if some of you haven't seen the latest news and are curious.

Q&A from E3:
E3 Press Conference Q&A - The Final Fantasy 14.com (http://www.thefinalfantasy14.com/ff14/e3-press-conference-q-and-a/)

IGN interview:
IGN: E3 2009: Final Fantasy XIV - What We Know (http://ps3.ign.com/articles/991/991483p1.html)

Additionally, there's apparently a recent Japanese interview that revealed some more information. We're waiting (on another forum) for the resident translator to do his magic to get the particulars that auto-translations fail at.

EDIT2: More news

Video "interview" from IGN (similar to but different from the above):
IGN Video: Final Fantasy XIV Online PlayStation 3 Interview - E3 2009: Interview (http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/823994/square-enix-ps3-mmorpg-untitled/videos/ff14_vdi_060309.html)


EDIT3: ... yeah

Allakhazam.com: Final Fantasy XI: FFXIV NEWS - Tanaka & Komoto Interview (http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/story.html?story=18309) <--- This may or may not be the aforementioned Japanese interview.

[Masamunemaster]

I was just saying to the WoW fanboys that SW doesnt need to try to kick WoW off the throne of MMOs, because the other games in the series,unlike the warcraft series, actually still get played and bought on a regular basis.

Did that clear it up a lil?


I'm not sure what SW is, but to say that Warcraft games don't get played anymore is pretty far from the truth. Warcraft 3 is still one of the most played, popular, and sought after Real Time Stragety games out there. Just the fact that its online service is still being supported and populated by thousands of gamers is proof of this fact. About the only other game in the RTS genre that I can think of that rivals it is Starcraft which is ironically another Blizzard game.

SE...was late for work><

but yea....warcraft 3 is the only one really played anymore other than WoW right?...my point is made..I think

[Lionx]

I still play Starcraft lol. I have WC3 but i dont play it...not my style.

[the AJman]

I was just saying to the WoW fanboys that SW doesnt need to try to kick WoW off the throne of MMOs, because the other games in the series,unlike the warcraft series, actually still get played and bought on a regular basis.

Did that clear it up a lil?


I'm not sure what SW is, but to say that Warcraft games don't get played anymore is pretty far from the truth. Warcraft 3 is still one of the most played, popular, and sought after Real Time Stragety games out there. Just the fact that its online service is still being supported and populated by thousands of gamers is proof of this fact. About the only other game in the RTS genre that I can think of that rivals it is Starcraft which is ironically another Blizzard game.

SE...was late for work><

but yea....warcraft 3 is the only one really played anymore other than WoW right?...my point is made..I think

Don't worry about, thats ok we all make typos, I can't go for a single post without having to go back and fix things.

The first two games are still being played as well, just not to the degree as the other two considering WoW and Warcraft 3 and much more popular. At least half of the warcraft series (if you count WoW and all its expansions as one entity), is still doing very strongly and dominating their respect genres. World of Warcraft is the undisputed best selling MMORPG period and Warcraft 3 is one of the most popular RTS games out there. Warcraft is series that is very far from dying or being wash up.

Now doen't get me wrong I'm not saying which series is better. Heck the companies that make these games, Square Enix and Blizzard, are two of my all time favorite game companies. I'm just saying don't sell Warcraft short.

[Jowy]

Successful troll was successful, boy howdy.

[Rostum]

You guys also need to realise that the PS3 is far more advanced than what the PS2 was at its time.


Successful troll was successful, boy howdy.

Don't you get it yet? Trolling is lame, and if successful, just proves how much loser one can be.

[Yeargdribble]

Well, I can at least agree that for the fairly small strain an MMO will need to put on the console, PS3 will not perform so poorly as the PS2. Once you've laid your graphical framework the only really important things are how much space you leave yourself to work in. It's unlikely they will invoke PS3 limitations for simple things like inventory or the ilk. Those were really the killers in FFXI.

What I think could really hurt the game is if they make the UI too limited or make a mistake on par with not allowing windower. They will then cite their ToS about 3rd party tools. Though it will be easier to get 3rd party tools onto a PS3... they will probably still suggest that their use on a PC would constitute an unfair advantage.


Aside from that, and my confession that the PS3 is probably less of a long-term technological shackle than the PS2 was... let's be wise enough to have foresight about this. PS2 looked great at the time. We take our 20/20 hindsight and try to believe that we thought it wasn't great, but by-and-large people did. I remember being wowed by SotC and while it's still an impressive game, it just doesn't hold up to current gaming.

I still hear people comment that they can't imagine how much better it could get than the graphics of the latest Metal Gear installment. I don't believe that and even if I did... I'm a realist. New technology will come and graphics can be made to look even better. There are things far beyond photorealistic depictions of events in a game.



In short, my point is, there will be PS3 limitation as an issue one day. It's an artificial ceiling that's already on the game. While we might not be able to even imagine it yet, there will be problems.

[Rostum]

Well, I can at least agree that for the fairly small strain an MMO will need to put on the console, PS3 will not perform so poorly as the PS2. Once you've laid your graphical framework the only really important things are how much space you leave yourself to work in. It's unlikely they will invoke PS3 limitations for simple things like inventory or the ilk. Those were really the killers in FFXI.

What I think could really hurt the game is if they make the UI too limited or make a mistake on par with not allowing windower. They will then cite their ToS about 3rd party tools. Though it will be easier to get 3rd party tools onto a PS3... they will probably still suggest that their use on a PC would constitute an unfair advantage.



Well, SE have learnt a lot from FFXI and these would be founding situations they'll most likely avoid. For the most part, they have fixed those issues in FFXI - they have an official window mode and they recently released more Gobbie Bag quests along with Mog Satchel (gives me 70-80 more inventory space on the fly).

As for the UI, well... there's not much you can do about that in FFXI. I really do hope they put a lot of thought into it this time around. They also really need to let playesr customise their UI's to a certain degree.

[Cloudane]

I hope if they release a PC version, it doesn't take all kinds of tweaking and text file editing to have half decent graphics and usable controls!

[NeoTifa]

I might get into mmo's for this thing.

[Yeargdribble]

Simply having a little customization in the UI would be helpful. LOTRO online had a simple fix for this and also doesn't allow 3rd party tools. At any time you can go into a customize mode and make things visible or invisible, change their size, change their position. It's simple but still a great idea.

It's basically like the Dominos addon for WoW, which I honestly can't live without.

One of the hugest foundational flaws I hope they fix for FFXIV is the AH limitations.

[KentaRawr!]

This makes me feel like a butt for not getting on FFXI more often. They're already making a new game, darnit! :mad2:

[Quindiana Jones]

The only thing stopping me from ejaculating everywhere in excitement is the PS3 part. If the PS3 was as cheap as a 360, I'd actually think about getting one just to play this game. I'm yet to play XI, but will be starting soon, and the various problems I've heard about it on the 360 make the whole thing seem very unappealing. I'd quite like to check out an MMORPG that was specifically designed for the console I play it on.

Having said that, depending on where you look an Elite costs about the same. I imagine it won't be another year before I invest in a PS3.