Final Fantasy XIV producer promises to “reboot” and “rebuild” [1/2]

[Ohri-Jin]

Newly incumbent Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki Yoshida has kicked off 2011 with an open letter to fans (and detractors) of Square Enix’s beleaguered MMO, promising some radical work on the game.

Yoshida referenced last year’s sudden shake up of the game’s development team in the wake of vocal review criticism, and revealed a new design manifesto includes the telling buzz words “rebuild” and “reboot”.
This apparently sincere approach to rebuilding faith in the much-derided game lends optimism to the prospect of new content in upcoming months. A coy poem, largely incomprehensible even to those steeped in the game’s canon, suggests a cataclysmic set of events for your intrepid hero.
Before we get excited about that, though, there’s a poll to complete as to which aspects of the game are most in need of a tune up.
Current FFXIV account holders can visit the poll to air their opinions on what stays, what goes, and what should head up the queue for a major overhaul.
FFXIV was released in September last year for PC. Naoki Yoshida took over from Hiromichi Tanaka as producer on the project in December.


Source - http://www.vg247.com/2011/01/02/fin...r-promises-to-reboot-and-rebuild/#more-133903











Hmmm interesting...depending on how it works out I might be dedicated

 

[Terra Branford]

Reboot? A game that isn't even out yet? It failed already...? lol

Here's hoping they do it better. >.>

 

[Martel]

I'll believe this when I see it. If ever there was a game that was beyond all redemption, it was FFXIV. I honestly don't think anything they could do could restore critic's faith in the game.

Still, actions speak louder than words. Anyone can make a promise, so let's see some action.

 

[Terra Branford]

Was really that bad? Four of my friends said it was horrible, but I just thought they were dissing to diss. :/

I never tried it play it or get a BETA or whatnot even though I was given one. It didn't look very good from the beginning...

 

[Rey]

Wait were they not just releasing the playstation III Version that was 100% xomplete soon? They want to reboot the game now and rebuild it? God SE screw that and concentrate on more important projects like Versus XIII.. Idiots

 

[Linnaete]

If they were smart, they would hold out on releasing the PS3 version completely until they earn some accomplishments in dramatically improving a lot of the game BEFORE releasing it to the general public again. Good luck to this guy. Managing this rushed prototype of an MMO is no enviable task and SE will need to do something pretty big to win back the players disillusioned and just plain disappointed by the game when it released for the PC not long ago. Even then I do think FFXIV is a lost cause anyway. Entering the MMO market was never a wise idea for SE with so many strongly established MMOs already commanding much of the market.

 

[Eight]

My key piece of advice to SE here is major market research. Pick people off the street and get them to test the game over and over before they release it. Take in what they say and their own advice. I don't know what went wrong because I have yet to play the game but they can avoid it again by taking in by listening to the public and fixing their problems with the game.

 

[Steve-O]

one thing to say......... failage for god sake the game not even out yet like and there already saying that it fails..... fail

 

[Ohri-Jin]

The MMO has been out on PC for 2-3 months now... 3 times a extention of the free monthly trial.

The PS3 version was going to be released in march but due to circumstances (I bet because of the contents of this article) it has been delayed...

It might end up in August or later lol..

I used to play MMORPG's in the past and I would love to play this on PS3 mind its good and fixed properly...

I think this is the obvious way to go for them, they have no choice..Reboot? Hell Yeah ...Rebuild? Hope they do it the right way.


Also there is a poll in the article where people can vote for what they want and need etc.. So they do have to listen to its customers.

 

[Eight]

Either way, it looks like FFXIV's staff will be pulling a few sleepless nights and ordering take-outs to the office. Since it's technically already released they need to do this 'reboot/rebuild' fast. People have already purchased the game and subcriptions, so to keep them waiting would be unacceptable.

Mind, I'm not sure who has the worse end of the stick, the PC players or the (soon to be, or maybe not so much) PS3 players. The PC players seem to be getting screwed around with yet the PS3 players are having to wait longer for a release date.

 

[Rapture]

I was really considering getting XIV for my ps3 at one point...thinking ohhh they'll learn from their mistakes from the pc version, fix them...and the game might be somewhat worthy by the time they release it later on the ps3. After reading this, I'm going to stay clear of this game at all costs. When they say they need to rebuild and reboot it, that gives me some really bad vibes. I like FF and the whole concept, but I'm really tired of them putting crap out and smacking their names on it and knowing people will buy it because they are suckers for the Final Fantasy name.

They really need to start seeking out their fan base to be able to find out what they really want in a game rather than just pulling ideas from their bums and assuming that will be good enough.

Who knows if they will even keep to their word. They have so many projects going on and they keep releasing the names of new projects too often. I bet they don't even have the staff to rebuild and reboot this game properly enough because they have so many irons on their fire.

 

[Eight]

At one point, I was kinda looking forward to FFXIV too. It sounded promising with how they've said it'd cater towards the casual gamer, and me not having the dedication for most MMORPGs nowadays though maybe this would be for me. Alas, with the reviews and how negative the feedback has been, and as you say, for the game to actually need a rebuilt/reboot, I've been turnt off the idea.

That, and I kinda recently concurred that MMORPGs are not really for me and I'm in no financial state to pay the monthly fees. xD

EDIT: However, I know SE have it in them to make good games, I wasn't a hater of FFXIII, and I was really impressed with KH: BBS. To me, they just need to stop biting off more than they can chew.

 

[Linnaete]

I just...don't know what exactly happened with this. Normally they love taking as much time as they want with their other games, but with FFXIV, it sounds more and more like a rush job that was hurried out of the door before the latest WOW expansion pack. I do agree with the plan of action though. If there is ever a company that needs to sit down and do a lot of thinking, it's Square Enix.

They've lost the plot a lot of time, and frequently remain rather out of touch with their fanbase and customers. Kind of like with FFXIII, they didn't even bother with any feedback or external input until the game reached its concluding stages of development. Their ploy to westernise, while understandable to some extent, will only hurt them as they're starting to try too hard to be like their western counterparts that their games will start becoming mere replicants of western efforts. So I welcome plenty of external input for Square Enix, only to push it back towards the right track....if it even does much anyway.

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

Last time Square-Enix asked people for their opinions, during the development of Final Fantasy XIII they pretty much admitted that they didn't bother implementing what was suggested. That said, I couldn't care less about Final Fantasy XIV anymore, I don't expect to have to watch a game fail first time around for them to realise it's not a good game. I can't see that much changing, they will have spent years developing it, not something that can be fixed within space of months imo.

 

[Abstract Debauchery]

Last time Square-Enix asked people for their opinions, during the development of Final Fantasy XIII they pretty much admitted that they didn't bother implementing what was suggested. That said, I couldn't care less about Final Fantasy XIV anymore, I don't expect to have to watch a game fail first time around for them to realise it's not a good game. I can't see that much changing, they will have spent years developing it, not something that can be fixed within space of months imo.

This to the power of infinity.

Sure I was excited as FFXIV was being released... Then they released a video of combat and knew it would be shit. It was boring and un-involving. But that was the least of their worries. The entire game interface was fucked, it was buggy, and everything but maybe crafting was boring as shit. When crafting is your games strong point, YOU FUCKED UP.

Not to mention the copy and pasted terrain.

As Ryan said, SE got opinions as to what they should do for FFXIII, and SE showed that they're rather skillful at ignoring their fanbase.

So, I'm quite certain that in a few months time, we'll see more of the same old shenanigans from the FFXIV team.

However, SE isn't going to give up on it, they're going to beat that pinata until something good comes out of it.

 

[Unsung]

So many people are bashing Square Enix. These guys have dropped amazing games in the past and still are doing so today. One mistake and all of a sudden they've got people jumping all over their backs. Have they not done more good than bad? I think gamers owe it to them to not be so critical.

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

I'm inclined to disagree with the first point, a lot of people have noted how the quality of Square-Enix titles have gone downhill after the merger. Personally I've not played a Final Fantasy title that I've thoroughly enjoyed since IX. It's arguable that XII and XIII are controversial games in that some people liked them, some hated them but for the latter group, XIV is pretty much the nail in coffin for them.

 

[Linnaete]

SE's business practices nowadays is just something that's really dragging it down. As mentioned before, they did not even pursue much in the way of feedback for FFXIII until the last stages of development and even then they ignored them mostly. Add to their controversial business strategies lately, namely westernisation. The one sensible thing they have pledged to do though, is issue more and more game information the sooner a game is to completion, otherwise they would do what they've been doing lately, and that is announcing games years before they actually get finished. It's good that people are very critical of them because of how prominent they are in the gaming industry, so they are more compelled to listen to people.

On the other hand though, yes, SE has still produced highly acclaimed games. I for one enjoyed FFXII and I understand that FFXIII was just not to my tastes. To some extent, FFXIV perhaps is the biggest cock-up we have seen from them, and it's not a cock-up they could afford to do, and certainly not something they can afford to do again money-wise.

 

[BretHudson]

They should try to do whatever they did with the titles 4-9. Those were the best received games (other than 8) so they should try to use the same development plan for the games, maybe return some elements, and try to set up the production more like the earlier games.

FF 4-9 were the best games, and you could argue Square was getting better and better, then with Enix dropped in, some bad habits started to sprout, but either way - they need to stop these bad habits so they can discontinue their current bad streak with the public. We're not entertained by these new things you call "Final Fantasy" anymore (I'm just talking about recent ones, not FF in general!), so either start making some good games or put your shitty games in a different series!
-Bretboy129 ~ Bret Hudson

 

[Unsung]

Critique is always helpful but there is a difference between criticizing and bashing. I didn't like FFXIII either but I didn't attack them for it, I just said that they shouldn't have tried something new but rather stick to the regular format.

(They did do a good job with the Lightnening and Sazh characters, though.)