Final Fantasy XIV hit 1.5 million registered players in its first two months, and if you're wondering what that means, here's one suggestion: A Realm Reborn was worth it.
First, let's put that number in context: 1.5 million might be negligible for a free-to-play game, but Final Fantasy XIV is a subscription-based MMORPG. All of those people are paying monthly to inhabit the world of chocobos and crystals. (The biggest paid MMORPG, World of Warcraft, was at 7.7 million subscribers last time developer Blizzard announced their numbers.)
Another high-profile MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, started similarly, with 1.7 million subscribers in its first two months. But momentum slowed for BioWare's online game, and following a big drop in subscription numbers, they took it free-to-play last year.
So this is a good start for Square's critically-acclaimed MMORPG, which was first launched to disastrous reception in 2011, then shut down and overhauled only to be relaunched this year as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn for PC and PS3. (The folks behind the game, Square Enix, say a beta for the PS4 version of the game will launch on February 22.)
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Now let's see if they can keep it up.
DISCUSSION
I wonder what the retention numbers are like.
Everyone except one that I played with in FF XIV has let their subscription lapse due to a lack of stuff to do in the "end game." There are some things to do but they just didn't hold our interest.
That's 19 out of 20 players who did not continue beyond the first month.
But, that's just a really small sampling size there could be a bunch of people who are continuing to play plus if they ever release "end game content" I suspect a few will go back to check it out.