[Kuro]

Originally Posted by Omgwtfbbqkitten

I think you're still giving them too much credit.

A true master of understatements at work.

Holy crap did I just side with Feba!?

I don’t think I can live with myself anymore…

[Chucklez_1]

Originally Posted by IfritnoItazura

I think it took over a year after FFXI went live before it became operationally in black ink. All the years before that, pure bleeding on the financial terms.
Given that kind of investment, it'd be hard to believe Square-Enix would set it aside casually and think of it as a side project, especially when the subscription revenue is still holding steady.

I think it was for 2 years. They weren't even prepared at all at launch for JP when the server kept crashing and it was basically unplayable for a week or two. And I believe that was also one of the reasons they were hesitant about bringing it over to NA (it not being insanely profitable at the jp side).

It takes a lot of effort and money to keep up this game and its server. I seriously don't think it's a 'side project.'