"Why have two MMOs in the main series?" Discussion Thread

If you would have asked me last year what I thought about having two MMOs in the main series of Final Fantasy, I would have told you I didn't like it. I would have told you that they should have made one "Final Fantasy Online" that they could just progressively update over the years. But I now tell you this:

I was wrong.

I started play FFXIV a few months ago and I've gotta say, I'm in love with this game. I think it's truly excellent and I'm so happy to see it given main series recognition. It makes me want to go back and play XI, which I've never played before.

By the time I get around to XI, I will be extremely late to the party! But I'm okay with that. I want to experience what people have talked about all these years. I want to go back and play the first FF MMO and see if I enjoy it the way I enjoy XIV right now.

I would encourage those of you who haven't played an FF MMO to try at least one month before you take a stance on whether or not you think they deserve to be main title entries. You might be pleasantly surprised by the world you've immersed yourself in.

There is only one thing really that worries me about the future of these titles and that's if consumer interest can keep these games online. With a console game you already own, you can just plug it in and play forever as long as your console works. The FF MMOs however, have certain aspects that require you to cooperate with other people.

The games are still going pretty strong, but there will come a time when inevitably the crowd for these games become less and less. Will this make these games unplayable? Or will SE find a way to make them easier and solo-able when it's decided they want to make their very last update? For that matter, how long will the servers stay up? Some of these things we can only ponder about.

I disagree. The actually quality of the games, imo, shouldn't be the barometer of whether to count them in the main series. I think FFT is the best game SE ever made, but that doesn't mean I think it deserves to be FF8. Conversely World of Warcraft, which succeeded in a manner not imaginable prior, was not Warcraft 4.

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Originally Posted by Lone Wolf Leonhart

The games are still going pretty strong, but there will come a time when inevitably the crowd for these games become less and less. Will this make these games unplayable? Or will SE find a way to make them easier and solo-able when it's decided they want to make their very last update? For that matter, how long will the servers stay up? Some of these things we can only ponder about.

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Given the existence of FFXIV, FFXI's days are likely numbered. It'll probably stay online as long as it's profitable. I don't see SE making a solo version of FFXI. They'll take it offline and hope everyone goes over to FFXIV.

I stopped caring about which FF games get official numbers and which don't once they starting putting MMOs in the ranks. I wouldn't be surprised at all if FFXVII is a shovelware free-to-play iOS game.

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Originally Posted by Dr Unne

They'll take it offline and hope everyone goes over to FFXIV.

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This was my main concern, just the overall concept of a main title entry becoming offline and unplayable.

If it was me I'd have called them Final Fantasy Online and FF Online 2 but it's really not that big of a deal either way. In terms of a legacy though, I think you're quite right - it will be a blow for a main series FF game to be rendered unplayable for years to come. After all, people are still playing FF1 26 years later.

Final Fantasy isn't a series, it's a brand.

I felt the same way about the MMO and in the years to pass....

I still feel the same way about the MMOs. They should have been Final Fantasy Online with updates, that way if it did go offline and become unplayable no one would care because it's basically an MMO spin-off of Final Fantasy. But they made it a part of the numbers to get more subs and make more money and it worked and they'll continue to do it as long as they are so enjoy the MMOs now because they won't be here forever.

There are a lot of modern games no one is going to be playing in 26 years because the DRM servers are turned off. Not just MMOs.

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Originally Posted by Dr Unne

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Originally Posted by Lone Wolf Leonhart

The games are still going pretty strong, but there will come a time when inevitably the crowd for these games become less and less. Will this make these games unplayable? Or will SE find a way to make them easier and solo-able when it's decided they want to make their very last update? For that matter, how long will the servers stay up? Some of these things we can only ponder about.

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Given the existence of FFXIV, FFXI's days are likely numbered. It'll probably stay online as long as it's profitable. I don't see SE making a solo version of FFXI. They'll take it offline and hope everyone goes over to FFXIV.

I stopped caring about which FF games get official numbers and which don't once they starting putting MMOs in the ranks. I wouldn't be surprised at all if FFXVII is a shovelware free-to-play iOS game.

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How high is the population still for FFXI? Everquest is on its 20th expansion and has been going just as strong as its EQ2 sequel in 2004, not to mention plenty of servers to chose from. As long as the devs keep feeding it quality care then FFXI should be safe for years to come. I've seen MMOs keep on running with only a mere one server left, so I'd be surprised if FFXI collapsed any time soon , because it seems like quite a number of people still play.

If they were to release a handheld single-dungeon version of Final Fantasy XI and XIV, I would be content. As of right now, every time I see XI and XIV, I feel as if my eyes are being raped when I think about the fact that can't play them because I can't fecking afford to pay. It's possibly the one thing about Square Enix I find to be irredeemable.