MMORPG.com recently interviewed Naoki Yoshida, one of the leading producers on the Final Fantasy XIV team, regarding the game’s future. This interview mainly regarding patch 1.21 (released earlier this month) and the upcoming re-launch, aka patch 2.0. The interview also covered upcoming developments in housing and Hamlet Defense, a planned feature involving cooperative strategy.
According to Yoshida, patch 1.21 is the final main step in the game’s development before the big relaunch, and that he is proud of the current developments. He claimed that players would have been much more satisfied had the game been in its current form on original release, though he admits that there is much more to do (mentioning a guild system).
While the player satisfaction issue may be true, it says a lot that it took over a year to get to that point. Still, it looks like there are a lot of major developments going on and that the re-launch will involve a much different and more polished game than what was originally released. For short-time players who quit shortly after the launch, 2.0 may be worth another look.
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