why did SE come to this genre and create XI? what do you think their agenda was and do you think it was a smart choice? i want to hear what you have to say
why go to this genre, square enix
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.Tifa
Happiness can not be taken away~
Because SE lost a few bucks with the failure that was Spirits Within. They needed to do something, to collect the money that they lost while trying to make Spirits Within graphically stunning to audiences around the world. [ Aka- Good special effects ]
Good idea, never played FF 11 and never really been into the MMO side of gaming, but it's giving them money again. So yeah.
Think that they were planning to make FF10 online, so the idea of making FF11 online isn't actually that random.
Good idea, never played FF 11 and never really been into the MMO side of gaming, but it's giving them money again. So yeah.
Think that they were planning to make FF10 online, so the idea of making FF11 online isn't actually that random.
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The idea for FF XI was conceived before work started on The Spirits Within, and the 2 projects were developed pretty much simultaniously. So the idea to make a FF MMO had nothing to do with the poor box office performance of TSW.
I guess they did it because they wanted to branch out and try something a bit different. The idea of a FF MMO was good enough, but the timing and the implementation was a bit off. Online gaming on the Playstation 2 never really took off, and by the time the game saw a European release date, it was already 3 years old and had lost momentum and had to compete with World of Warcraft which was released a couple of months later.
That and it's insanely difficult to compete with all of the other MMO's that had large fanbases that were not ready to quit the one they were playing and switch to a different one. Although, I think it was a good idea, because it introduced those that played Final Fantasy, into the MMO world, if they had not already been there before.
There weren't many MMO's around when FF XI was released. Certainly not any with large fan bases. Games like Dark Age of Camelot, Ultima Online and Everquest which were arguably the most popular MMO's at the time never rounded as much as half a million subscriptions which is nothing by today's standards. FF XI did just as well as those games upon its release.
I think when they made FFXI they were trying to do something that would appeal to a different type of gamers. I think they might have seen the potential in exploring this market, especially if, as Sir Kenneth says, there weren't that many MMORPGs out at the time. Making FFXI a MMORPG meant they could carve a niche in a previously untested market.
DarkClaymore
Fatal Noob
My guess, they wanted to try something new and look how it works out.
I played the game (the 14 days free version). I wanted to play it as many hours as I could, in order to be able to properly rate it, but in the end I played something like 10 hours or so.
Doing a MMO wasn't bad idea in my opinion. But doing the battle system the same as in other MMOs, and not the same as in the FF series, was bad idea in my opinoin. I played it and tried to enjoy it. But I simply couldn't.
1) It took a lot of time to level up
2) I was controlling only one character and I like controling many characters
3) If I meet a too strong enemy, it is impossible to escape. A goblin hit me with his weapon even from a distance of 30 meters (or so), even though it's weapon was a short dagger or something like that (which can't reach 30 meters!!!!). That was really stupid...
It is the worst FF I have played so far. Even FFI was much better than this game.
I played the game (the 14 days free version). I wanted to play it as many hours as I could, in order to be able to properly rate it, but in the end I played something like 10 hours or so.
Doing a MMO wasn't bad idea in my opinion. But doing the battle system the same as in other MMOs, and not the same as in the FF series, was bad idea in my opinoin. I played it and tried to enjoy it. But I simply couldn't.
1) It took a lot of time to level up
2) I was controlling only one character and I like controling many characters
3) If I meet a too strong enemy, it is impossible to escape. A goblin hit me with his weapon even from a distance of 30 meters (or so), even though it's weapon was a short dagger or something like that (which can't reach 30 meters!!!!). That was really stupid...
It is the worst FF I have played so far. Even FFI was much better than this game.
GanjaKat
FFF's Resident Pimp
well yes it would bring ff players to a diffrent gerne of game, and alike it would have brought mmo players to like ff, i think it must have been a good idea and racked in the money or they wouldnt bother wasting time to make the up and coming ff14
Well yeah... That is also a good move though I believe it to be more geared towards MMO fans rather than FF fans. The stereotypical attitude which most fans follow to the letter is to by the newest as soon as it comes out. So FF fans were a given. I believe they more or less wanted to introduce MMO fans to the FF series. And in some hopes collect a new generation of fans. Fans who hopefully will follow the stereotype.
It was to try something new and experiment with a new change in game mechanics and a new enhanced battle system all set in an online world. They have attracted over 2 million players so far and that isn't for no good reason. So they have made quite a large profit off of it. The game wasn't jackpot but they suceeded in bringing out a very popular MMO to the gaming industry and it starts it's roots with the other Final Fantasy titles if you look at it from a certain angle with it's class system having the traditional classes such as White Mage, Black Mage, Red Mage, Blue Mage, Bard, Warrior, Thief, Dragoon, Dark Knight, Paladin, Monk, Samurai, Ninja, Ranger, Dancer, and ect.
I happen to enjoy the game and I'm content with it, there's a few flaws but they can easily be ignored if you look at most other MMO's because it suceeds most of them and it's only real rival as far as I'm concerned is World of Warcraft which I also played but I didn't get into it as much as FFXI. It's story isn't stellar and lacks any real plot that makes sense, poor controls, the classes aren't too interesting or fun to play, graphics are kind of dumb looking especially for the characters, it's not very challenging since you can solo most of your xp and level all the way to level 60 atleast practically by yourself and it's pretty easy to get end game stuff as long as you have a semi-decent guild and a lot of times your very first raid will score you some loot. It's like a strange mix of Diablo and Warcraft with cartoon graphics whereas FFXI has beautiful 3D rendered graphics. It also depends on what areas you are in as the expansion areas look more vibrant. There's also that issue with your graphics card being good enough to fully bring out it's graphics to it's peak performance.
As far as the story goes, if you took the time to actually engage in it and have a more in depth analysis of it you would become more attached to it and the characters. You would find that they are very well developed and not lacking like you see in a typical game of it's genre. I was actually reminded of Seymour in FFX from one of the villains, in terms of how he spoke and looked. He was the charismatic type like Seymour but at the same time manipulative and insane.
So I doubt Square's mindset was to attract only people who play the MMO genre. Any Final Fantasy fan could enjoy it, I'm one but it ultimately boils down to if you like how the game mechanics are and if you can efficiently adjust to them. If you can't then FFXI probably isn't for you because you have to deal with the mechanics every time you log in the game. You have to be somewhat patient to obtain and purchase the items of your choice, the monsters that have a desired item may take a while to appear and may not always give you the desired item. The economy is something else to look at when trying an MMO, some desired items may not be within your reach due to their price tag and money isn't easy to come by in FFXI, thus you have to have patience and farm for some until your wallet reaches the sum you want in order to purchase that item. I kind of enjoy farming so that's not a big deal for me. It adds to the challenge factor and keeps you busy.
Also, you must take the time to learn how to cope with other players and form groups with them and level up. You can't really level up by yourself which takes some consideration if you prefer to solo a lot or not, in that case FFXI probably isn't for you either. However, there is a class that excels in the soloing field so you could give that a try before scrapping the game.
To me, FFXI is the definitive MMORPG but to each his own ofcourse.
I happen to enjoy the game and I'm content with it, there's a few flaws but they can easily be ignored if you look at most other MMO's because it suceeds most of them and it's only real rival as far as I'm concerned is World of Warcraft which I also played but I didn't get into it as much as FFXI. It's story isn't stellar and lacks any real plot that makes sense, poor controls, the classes aren't too interesting or fun to play, graphics are kind of dumb looking especially for the characters, it's not very challenging since you can solo most of your xp and level all the way to level 60 atleast practically by yourself and it's pretty easy to get end game stuff as long as you have a semi-decent guild and a lot of times your very first raid will score you some loot. It's like a strange mix of Diablo and Warcraft with cartoon graphics whereas FFXI has beautiful 3D rendered graphics. It also depends on what areas you are in as the expansion areas look more vibrant. There's also that issue with your graphics card being good enough to fully bring out it's graphics to it's peak performance.
As far as the story goes, if you took the time to actually engage in it and have a more in depth analysis of it you would become more attached to it and the characters. You would find that they are very well developed and not lacking like you see in a typical game of it's genre. I was actually reminded of Seymour in FFX from one of the villains, in terms of how he spoke and looked. He was the charismatic type like Seymour but at the same time manipulative and insane.
So I doubt Square's mindset was to attract only people who play the MMO genre. Any Final Fantasy fan could enjoy it, I'm one but it ultimately boils down to if you like how the game mechanics are and if you can efficiently adjust to them. If you can't then FFXI probably isn't for you because you have to deal with the mechanics every time you log in the game. You have to be somewhat patient to obtain and purchase the items of your choice, the monsters that have a desired item may take a while to appear and may not always give you the desired item. The economy is something else to look at when trying an MMO, some desired items may not be within your reach due to their price tag and money isn't easy to come by in FFXI, thus you have to have patience and farm for some until your wallet reaches the sum you want in order to purchase that item. I kind of enjoy farming so that's not a big deal for me. It adds to the challenge factor and keeps you busy.
Also, you must take the time to learn how to cope with other players and form groups with them and level up. You can't really level up by yourself which takes some consideration if you prefer to solo a lot or not, in that case FFXI probably isn't for you either. However, there is a class that excels in the soloing field so you could give that a try before scrapping the game.
To me, FFXI is the definitive MMORPG but to each his own ofcourse.
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GanjaKat
FFF's Resident Pimp
all this is true, but dont overestimate the game, there are now many games that are better in the mmo world, even runescape has 4x the memberships, this is the reason for a updateed mmo in FF14 not just a new expansion pack