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Denver, 2:09 AM
Fri Dec 18
66 posts in the last 24 hours
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12/17/09
But I'm burned out on WoW, my PC is too far away, and I'm really loving the hell out of the art design for FF XIV.
12/17/09
Even if it doesn't end up being a better game, it will get a lot of console customers simply because there are no alternatives via console, and thus is tapping an otherwise untapped market.
12/17/09
God knows the art design is already on track.
12/17/09
Now if I could find some comparisons between FFXI install base on the 360 vs the PC, I might be able to back my baseless claim somehow.
12/17/09
HEY! My pickle and peaches flavored edible porn magazines are going to be huge sellers! HUGE I say!!
12/17/09
-Late 360 release:
The XI community was already well established by the time the game was brought to the 360. It was even pretty well established prior to the PS2 release in NA (which was 5 months after the NA PC release).
-Rapidly changing industry:
What was true 5 years ago isn't necessarily true today. The Sony PS2 was released only 10 years ago. Hell, Youtube isn't even 5 years old but it feels like it's been around forever. Just think how much a part of our culture it's become in that short time. Consoles, and video games in general, are more of a household item than they've ever been. Take the media circus that is Modern Warfare 2, for example. Can you imagine that happening back in 2004 for any game? Even more significant is the fact that MMO's fall into that "household" category thanks to WoW. They're no longer just for hardcore gamers.
-Technology
For the PS2 version of XI, you had to buy a Hard Drive AND a network adapter. The PS2 HDD was made pretty much just for that game. The whole PS2 XI bundle cost about $100!!! Can you imagine buying even a bottom of the line console now without either of those features? The logistical bottleneck for putting an MMORPG on a console is all but gone.
Furthermore, I would argue that gamers are increasingly willing to commit to subscription content on a console. Perhaps moreso if that content is an MMORPG. The business model for games is simply different from what it was not long ago, and to me it feels like it's shifting towards paid-for online content. Sometimes it feels like you buy half of a game on a disc and the other half through downloadable purchases.
I take it as a fact of life that people will always own more PC's than video game consoles as long as a distinction between the two exists. For that reason alone, an MMORPG is going to have higher numbers on PC than on consoles.
So, will putting XIV on a console widen the player base enough for it to catch up to WoW? I'm not expecting any miracles, but I'll put it this way: I doubt Square-Enix is going to lose any money by supporting consoles. I think they have every reason to be optimistic, and I think they'd be crazy to not to dominate that market on their home turf.
12/17/09
12/17/09
I understand my inserted comment was semi-random, but I am really seeing a disconnect between my reply and your new reply!
What do you mean by "hiding the evidence a selling point?" The sauce part I can kinda grasp but there are several double entendres I can interpret from it so it's still a bit unclear. The first part however completely threw me for a loop.
12/17/09
Done with your porn mag, and too embarrassed to leave them hanging around?
Just eat your peach and pickles porn mag! Two satisfactions fullfilled without the guilt or the shame!
And the sauce is just an option: You could supply your own. If you get my drift.
12/17/09
For some reason the word 'evidence' clicked in my head for arguments, which I didn't mean to start. I thought you were accusing me of hiding something, but then your obvious joke at the end must have meant the first part was joke but I just wasn't seeing it.
And there's always a complimentary side of Salty Sauce included when this product is involved XD
12/17/09
Winner to be heart disease, obesity, and carpel tunnel syndrome.
12/17/09
I think WoW has a done a good job over the years of adding little things for people who like to solo to keep their interest up -- FFIV will have to do something similar to get me to play for more than a month.
12/17/09
12/17/09
I do hope they've evolved it past that a little. To be fair, grouping in FFXI was a blast, it just took forever and a half to find a group.
12/17/09
dunno what else i can do
12/17/09
12/17/09
If it was the first attempt of Squeenix to make an FF online and they were working it to perfection, maybe.. maybe.
But as it is, I see no reason to say this will get even close to scratching WoW...
It would require a completely new franchise, or a very drastic change on an old one, with a millionaire ad campaign and plenty of other stuff only to get close to WoW...
And I'm not even a WoW fan. Their numbers are just absurd.
12/17/09
But as for toppling WoW completely? I don't see it. WoW grabbed a few of the lapsed EverQuest players, but I know dedicated EQ players still digging that game.
Shoot, I haven't hardly played WoW since I picked up Dragon Age. I haven't even played since the last patch. But I'm not going anywhere. I have too much invested in that game, and I still want to see what happens with Cataclysm.
12/17/09
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12/17/09
Also, just because sequels to successful MMOs have always failed, doesn't mean that sequels to unsuccessful MMOs will succeed, such as Asheron's Call 2.
12/17/09
On the topic; I think WoW is going to be number one for a long time; I enjoy always coming back when they release an expansion (which lasts be about 2-3 months worth of fun, then I just quit).
12/17/09
12/17/09
Rough estimates considering the beta signups just started is that the game will be out late 2010, which very well may coincide with the release of Cataclysm (WoW's 4th xpac), or fall shortly before / after Cataclysm comes out. That's going to be a tough act to be around.
What FFXIV probably needs to do is release early next year when many people have gotten tired of 3.3 WotLK and are looking for something to occupy their time, or wait at least half a year after Cataclysm is out to catch the people who have played a good chunk of the 4th xpac and are waiting for the next WoW content update.
So best case scenario I think with the timing of FFXIV would be to have Cataclysm come out in the summer of 2010, and have FFXIV come out in December so they can scoop up some bored WoW players.
12/17/09
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12/17/09
You'd be surprised about how short closed beta's can be though. Star Trek Online's closed beta started last month and the game is releasing in February :|
12/17/09
That said, I completely agree with OP on this one. They need to release when WoW players are bored and looking for something else to occupy their time. Releasing with a new WoW expansion only a few weeks away is not going to be the way to accomplish that. They'd be better off delaying until 2012 if that's the case.
01:21 AM
And yah, I played FFXI from the NA launch for 2+ years or so. I didn't mind the slow(er) pacing of content I guess. Not after seeing other MMO's, even prominent ones like WoW, throwing out content that was broken all over the place and had to be fixed after being released (not saying FFXI didn't have broken content released too, but comparatively it wasn't that bad).
12/17/09
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12/17/09
I don't play World of Warcraft, and I won't be able to play Final Fantasy XIV, but I most certainly believe that World of Warcraft is undefeatable, at least for now. Give it maybe another 5 years or 10 years, just long enough for everyone to fizzle out and look for the next great MMO.
12/17/09
I mean, aim for the stars and all that, but WoW is a beast. The only place FFXIV is going to beat WoW is Japan, which is too unfriendly a market to even release WoW in.
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12/17/09
But I doubt it will take out World of WarCraft in the rest of the world, especially considering how Final Fantasy XI fared in Europe and the United States. It certainly didn't perform spectacularly.
12/17/09
There may be some truth to his statement as the realm of console MMORPGs hasn't really been tapped into yet in the west. By catering the game to the casual market similar to WoW, making it work well on consoles and branding it as a Final Fantasy game it may sell better than most MMORPGs today.
Though, this WoW-killer thing is getting old and I'd prefer he wouldn't compare the games even in competition. It makes me lose a little faith, to be honest.
12/17/09
@TenaciousAjay: I agree that the console MMO market is something developers haven't tapped into, but one of the biggest reasons for why World of WarCraft is so big is that it can be run on almost every single personal computer bought the last 5 years or so.That, I think, makes the game so hard to kill.