The Inevitable Future of FFXI

[The Heretic]

Well Ladies and Gents, the time of reckoning is drawing ever closer, and the question that alot of people are asking will be anwsered: "Which MMORPG will be king, and which will be the most popular?

What is everyones forecast for FFXI?

Will EQ2, Lineage II and WoW fall flat on their faces?

Will everyone leave FFXI?

Will WoW make people go wow!

Can any beta testers tell us how the other MMORPG's match up?Will they stay in FFXI, or move on?

I think we all know where this is going, so lets get some info in here...

[Nodachi]

With how well FFXI is already established and to read the future plans i'm sure it isn't going anywhere for a long time. On a side note personally the other three games despite whatever ideas they have don't appeal to me. . . they seem to DnD and i can't stand the appearance of EQ and WoW. I'm truely not trying to be a 'fanboy' or claim XI has a future cuz i currently play it and would like to continue playing it rather than switch. . . that's just truely how i feel about it all.

[Kilgraw]

I think Middle-Earth Online is going to be insanely popular when it comes out. Hardcore fans of the novels have been waiting for this game for decades. The timing is perfect as well, coming out a year or two after the big success of the movies... I'll probably try it out when it's released.

...As to the ones you mentioned...
Don't know much about Lineage II. EQ2 is just EQ... Old EQ players will just transfer over to that. What can I say about WoW, other then I don't trust Blizzard... Expect hacks and duped items within a month. FFXI is still the best looking MMORPG in 2004 in my eyes.

[ZeR0]

FFXI should still be popular just because they are trusted when it comes to security and such
btw, is World of warcraft free or pay
usually masses go to free play but ill wait and see

[Netrus]

i cant wait for WoW but i love ffxi so ill prolly play it for awhile longer before i start WoW..whenever its released..but i am definately buying it....what about city of herroes...anyone seen that ?...it looks pretty promising but who knows..customization of characters and such sounds great to me...ill probably end up getting that as well

[Colde]

people should do a search on Lineage II and read about it. i honestly think the graphics rock. as for play and depthness...... that's all up to the game when it comes out - so i can't say L2 will rock FF11.


Vash

[Zaleshea]

I'm amazed at how many of you never heard of Phantasy Star Online. Which has been around longer than alot of them. However PSO is not considered a MMORPG by many gamers standards cause while you have hundreds in the lobby at once, you can only have 4 per team in one game.

To me FFXI has hopes of being the best of the best.

[TMPikachu]

PSO's more like Diablo II

[Melkor]

While Im enjoying FFXI atm, its not amazing, and at times seems a bit to much like work.
Ill be leaving, or atleast taking some time off to try WoW, it sounds like its gonna be great and very fast paced, which is a good thing compared to pretty much all other MMORPG's, and seems more like a game that you dont have to plan 3+ hours to be able to play.
And its made by Blizzard, and I have more faith in them then S-E(even though S-E makes my favourite games)

I also know many people from Ultima Online, which I played for 5 years that well be going over to WoW, many people from my old guild well too and are all signing up for beta (We well share beta accounts if possible, or giving them to members who didnt get in) which is more reason to switch over.
I also have a few RL friends who well also, which is another plus.

As for the future FFXI, I dont see it going anywhere for a long time, even after all these other MMORPG's come out, Im sure it well even beat EQ for the top MMORPG sometime soon. I just dont see myself playing in a year.

[TMPikachu]

The new expansion in the works, n' the release of Dynamis (limbo zone) and Party vs Party should keep it running long though.

[Malachi_Gage]

I don't have time for any more MMORPG's so FFXI is stable in my eyes. ESPECIALLY for the PS2 buyers.

[Frarinalga]

1 million characters is impressive. Yada yada some accounts have 2 characters, but still, 1 million characters is impressive. I don't see this mmorpg going anywhere within 5 years.
EQOA on ps2 will probably croak within a few months O_o

[Cometgreen]

I don't really care what reigns supreme. I love FFXI, and will probably stay with it. I'm not a fan of EQ, so I won't try EQ2. WoW doesn't look that great to me, probably because everyone has been saying that it's going to be uber-l33t. Therefore, I'm drawn away from it. ;) The only one I've been watching a bit has been Lineage II. I signed up for the beta, and if I get in or if it gets good reviews, I'll try it. If I somehow love it more than FFXI, well, I may switch over to that. I don't have time for more than 2 mmorpgs, nor do I want to pay for 2.

But overall, I don't care what is most popular. If there's less people on my server, the better.

Cometgreen

[Carbon]

FFXI will be stable IMHO. WoW and EQ2 may steal some subscribers and otherwise will be good competition, but I don't think they'll "kill" FFXI in any way.

Lineage2 is a hardcore PK game, regardless of whatever "measures" they put in to restrain ganking. AFAIK, such measures have not stopped PK gankers in past games, so I doubt they'll stop them in L2. Thus, I'd put Lineage2 in a different crowd, and not a "direct competitor" to FFXI.

[Tobold]

Every single MMORPG that ever came out was extremely flaky during its first year. FFXI kind of cheated that trend by doing this first year in Japan only, so the NA release was incredibly stable and bug free by industry standards.

EQ2, WoW, or any other game coming out in 2004, will not be as bug free and stable as FFXI. Some of the features that are now promised to us will be missing. Servers will crash frequently in the first couple of weeks. There will be countless bugs, and problems with customer support. These are not predictions based on hating any company, this is the sad reality of the MMORPG industry.

Having played the last "big hype" game, Star Wars Galaxies, just before switching to FFXI, I can tell you that the difference in playing a buggy game to playing FFXI is huge. I certainly will give EQ2 and WoW a "test drive", but they would have to be surprisingly good AND bug free to lure me away from FFXI.

[Mewnie]

wait a month or two..that is if you don't care too much about being behind the curve

by then most MMPOGs seem to have the major kinks worked out

[Dark Aphalite]

FFXI will still remain the titan.
World of Warcraft won't appeal to as many people because:

1) Final Fantasy is a much bigger franchise and has a much bigger fanbase.
2) WoW is a RolePlay game and could put some people off.

I am glad I decided to go for FFXI and... i'm lovin' it™ :angel:

[Frarinalga]

Originally posted by Dark Aphalite
i'm lovin' it™ :angel:
lmao

[TMPikachu]

Originally posted by Dark Aphalite
[B]
2) WoW is a RolePlay game and could put some people off

and FF isn't? They're both MMORolePlayingGames



http://www31.tok2.com/home/tierra/cosplay/event/f_tarutaru1.jpg

http://www.ax.misty.ne.jp/~erfvv/fantasyforest/cosplay/ivent/comike/natu03/ff11-4.jpg

[LinkinFate]

I personally like this MMORPG for the fact is Final Fantasy and I LOVE the series, I wouldn't be as attracted to play WoW, and considering many people have spent quite a long time on EQ I think they're too burned out to go and play EQ2, but thats just my opinion.

I really think this game will last if they keep adding great content, even now it's a great game. I'll be playing this for a long time to come.

[Chaos Kikaizum]

I've read everything there is to read on www.lineage2.com, and well the game is mainly for those that like to fight with and against other players. It seems to be a great game for roleplaying as well as it does have quests you can do. There isn't a wide variety of things to do as far as I can tell but never-the-less I think it'd be a good game. I signed up for the beta like one of the previous posters did. If I get into the beta perhaps I can post a little review of what I think of it.

As to the poll, I think FFXI will remain at the top for a long while.

[Kamotracker]

EQ2 is just EQ... Old EQ players will just transfer over to that

Nope. Majority of the people that I know from EQ have no intentions of even TRYING it. They don't want to start over. My guess is 1/4-1/3 will transfer over, with another 1/6-1/4 playing both(supposed to have a small amount of cross-game content). The remainder will stay with EQ untill is stops being fun for them.

[valkk]

FFXI future looks really good. With such great support from SE I bet there will be loads of expansions lol.

WoW and True Fantasy for Xbox will definitely be big hits too. EQ die-hards will move onto EQ2 and lineage 2 is borrrriiinnnnnggggg, played the beta and I wouldn't even play it for free.

[Murrdox]

I think FF is going to see a noticeable dropoff in players when WoW comes out. I've seen way too many people on various FF forums who say that they can't wait until WoW comes out.

There's also a substantial amount of people who at least want to "try" WoW.

Now, three months after that we'll either start to see FF accounts being cancelled, as people decide to STAY with WoW, or we'll see more activity in FF with characters that we hadn't seen very often in the past few months.

All this will depend on whether or not WoW is a good game. I think SWG disappointed a lot of people, but then again, I'm sure there are people who love it. I've never seen/played it, and all I've seen of it are FF forum posters who said they didn't like it and came back to FF.

[ochibi]

time will tell... oh yes time will tell...

that corny line being said my prediction would be that yes FFXI will lose players but not to the point where it will be in severe dire straits, FFXI did not release the console version yet so we still have new players to look forward to AND the fact that there is a new expansion coming out.

FF fans will always have a home base to work with, since square-enix has already built a fan base for it. thats all i can really say from a marketing major point of view.

[kitzkozan]

FF XI future is rock solid either way.Yes,there will be a drop-off because of WOW,Lineage 2 and EQ2.Gamers will try these games,but they could either come back after the free month or find a new home.I am talking about all us current PC user.However,the PS2 crowd is coming soon.This will give the game and us NA player enough of a playerbase to never encounter the party grouping problem like before.Add to this a new expansion,player vs player battle and the new alternate dimension plus mid-level content and you have a certified solid game for the next 2-3 years.

Square really established itself in the persistent community world with FF XI.If they make another mmorpg I would probably buy it without hesitation.I am sure I will have a stable,bug free game with a tight security system which prevent hack and cheat.Add to this a company which will support the game with new content and you have a winner.No reason for me to leave FF XI for now,except lack of overall time to play game:rolleyes:

[Tukka]

I'm a pretty bad judge of these things in advance. I was greatly anticipating ShadowBane before its release, but it turned out I wasn't at all very impressed by the game when it was released.

On the other hand, Final Fantasy XI was probably the new MMO I was least interested until shortly before I started playing it, but so far I've been very impressed by it.

Really it's hard to say what a game will be like before you've played it. Developers can have a lot of cool ideas and describe them brilliantly, but everything rides on execution and innumerable niggling details that you may not read about in a preview FAQ, that can make or break a game.

I've decided I'm pretty much going to rely on word of mouth from experienced players before taking the plunge with any new MMOs, or getting too worked up about any of them.

The only MMO that I have any real investment of interest in is Hero's Journey, only because it's being developed by Simutronics, the company that runs the first MUD I ever played and because I'm acquainted with some of its former and current employees, and I'm interested to see what their take on the genre would be. But right now that game is pretty much vaporware, so I'm not THAT invested in it. :)

I do know however that FF11 has the quality and the following to stick around for a long time to come. This game isn't going anywhere any time soon. New games may slow the rate at which new subscribers join, and may bleed off a few current subscribers, but people aren't going to be leaving in droves unless one of these new games is almost miraculously revolutionary.

[Keiro]

BBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG GGGGGGG BBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK PPPPPPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[krycis]

I'd forgotten about WoW. Imagine that, FFXI made me forget about something. =)

But, it's good to have a game that's tried and true to play while all the early-adopters beta test new MMOs. I got screwed by SWG, but FFXI should carry me through to when WoW gets good, or atleast be there when I find out that WoW's not for me. =)

[prellius]

defenitely trying WoW. EQ2, i might try it just for fun but after finally kicking a 3+ year EQ1 habit last fall, i dont see myself ever playing an EQ game hardcore again. Lineage..no way. PK is really stupid in online rpgs. if i want to kill other human players i play first person shooters.

Wow will hurt this games population, mainly in the NA players. people sick of the crap that goes on in this game in regards to the JP interaction, advantages, and all that goes with it, will switch over to an american based game where it wont be a problem anymore(and there will be new problems, but all games have them). i know this is one of the reasons i'll be leaving this game for WoW.

FFXI has a decent future only if they push out expansions like EQ did. otherwise the content will be eaten up way too fast. sure right now its not bad, but in another year if theres nothing new, people(mainly the lvl 75 rank 10's in every nation people) will be sick of it. theres only so many times you can start over a new job and still actually enjoy it.

[TMPikachu]

Originally posted by prellius

theres only so many times you can start over a new job and still actually enjoy it.

about 15 times 'till you get tired of it, actually.

[Tehuti]

Most everybody is underestimating the fact that FFXI is the only one of these games that is going to be available on the ps2. I know about 10 people who are getting it and this will be their first mmorpg (including myself). That alone is why there is no reason why FFXI won't be, and continue to be the most subscribed to MMORPG.

[Mewnie]

Originally posted by TMPikachu


about 15 times 'till you get tired of it, actually.

I seriously doubt most people will get that far before they go out back and put a shotgun in thier mouth

I could see someone finally burning out after maybe getting 6 classes to 75 and the rest up around 30ish tops before getting sick of leveling all the time.

At least SE is delaying that by adding Dynamis/Limbo. Give them something to do other than farm NMs for money over and over and over.

[Injection]

Ill 100% be leaving this game for WoW.

Blizzard has trampled over all other companies in thier field before, and they might do the same now with WoW.

Can you not say Starcraft was the best RTS you ever played? Will you not say Diablo 1 and Diablo 2 were great games?

Some might complain about cheating in D1 and D2... but it was free. Is WoW going to be free? No. Will major cheating go on in WoW? Probably not.

On top of that how many copies of each of thier games have they sold... insane numbers.

Insane sales of games dont happen if the game isnt quality.

How many months, no years does Blizzard put into all of their games?

How many times do they delay the release of thier games?
When was the last time you saw a Blizzard game that was released half assed (Planetside, Asherons Call 2, Starwars Galaxy, ShadowBane)?

These other companies are in to mainly to make money... while Blizzard has a reputation to keep up.

A Reputation of making quality games.

The release of WoW and Starcraft: Ghost will make or break their reputation.

[Omena]

I don't understand why people are so excited about WoW.

The graphics look like they're using the Half-Life engine and they don't seem to have anything new to offer at all.

I think FFXI has a solid future.

[Mewnie]

Personal preference really...practiaclly every MMPOG in the past 3-4 years has been nothing more that a retread of the same basic formula as EQ; level level level, get phat lewt- rinse and repeat

and before the fanbois jump in and say 'but FFXI isn't like EQ!!111' , it is. Same level grinding, same aquiring of phat lewts. The job system and conquest are nice touches, though. And it is fun, which is the main reason I keep playing.

Don't expect the next crop of MMPOGs coming down the pipe to be revolutionary either. Same basic concpt with a fresh coat of paint. The deciding factor is if they're fun and relatively bug-free (come on, this is MMPOGs we're talking about, something is bound to screw up the first few weeks of release lol)

[Ginthaeriel]

Blah... World Of Warcraft's graphics look awful. Sure maybe Blizzard can pull off some really nice games with great design but I really wouldn't want to play a game that makes me feel like someone puked on my screen :P.

Everquest 2... well I dunno. Since all the servers will be based in the U.S, and I live in Hong Kong, that = severe lag for me. One of the reasons why I bought FFXI was because the servers were based in Japan. Also theres just too much stigma associated with the EQ genre that really makes me wanna avoid it.

But Lineage 2! Lineage 2 looks awesome! I mean check out the screenshots- the graphics are as good as EQ2 or FFXI, but what REALLY looks awesome is the armor. I mean, in FFXI you've got all those... well... fruity looking armors like the bondage armor and the lizard jerkin hat... ^^;... but almost every single armor I've seen in Lineage 2 screenshots are about as badass/cool-looking as DRK AF. 0_0. I'm pretty sure Lineage 2 is going to have its servers based in Korea.

I don't mind PvP at all. I mean, if you think about it, after you do the level grind, and after you get all the loot... what else can you do? Level grind... some more? Where's the reward? I'd think it be fun to challenge yourself in PvP after you've created a really powerful character. Hopefully ganking and griefing won't be too bad in Lineage 2, but the Lineage series of games have been focused largely around "sieges" which is pretty much massive team PvP on an insane scale. Not only would you be teamed up with friends, but you really can't be "ganked" in that kind of scenario...

Not to mention that the girls in Lineage 2 are hot :P

[Khaelyn]

WoW looks very pretty, but when was the last time Blizzard released a game that didn't have hacks or cheat codes available for it within days of its release? There were 'trainers' available for Diablo II before the Beta was over.

Still, isn't it nice that we can finally have enough games out to argue about? If someone had told you five years ago that there would be serious competition in the online multiplayer world, wouldn't you have laughed at them? Think about it, so much choice! It's wonderful!

[Rico]

I personaly belive FINAL FANTASY XI will be okay if people leave for games like WoW. But Ps2 is coming near soo even more members will come I think twice as much at the PC did. As for me I haven't gotten bored of FFXI yet but it's a game I turly like alot and I dont see myself playing any other mmorpg right now.

[Baradak]

Cheating:
You can't even compare WoW to the Diablos. Diablo data is stored system-side. This allows people to hack the code values in order to alter their characters, weapon stats, what have you.

WoW and ANY MMORPG worth a damn keeps player data server-side. This hampers cheating. In order to cheat, you'd have to alter data in real-time. While not impossible (MacroQuest for EQ was such a program, but it took them YEARS to develope it to where it is now), it is very difficult.

New MMORPGs:
I can't see in the forseeable future see any revolutionary MMORPGs. Its all been done. Hell, EQ itself wasn't even revolutionary, and it was the first mmorpg to the market. It was just DikuMUD with a 3d GUI and some decent lore (at first, lore from SoL to PoP just plain blew). Now EQ was a damn fun game...until Luclin. Some of the luclin content and PoP content was good, but it lacked the flair and style that the first 3 iterations provided. My favorite fight ever was a 10 minute fight against Zlexak (anyone who has fought him knows what i'm talking about). No clue how we extended a 2 minute win-or-lose fight into 10 minutes, but we did and won.

Sigil Games Online might have somethign up their sleeves. It was founded by the heart of the EQ creation team, the ones who made EQ original, kunark, velious, and a smidgen of luclin. The game has a lot of promise, but they are being VERY hush hush about it.

Overall:
Its a good time to be a MMORPG player. With all the games coming out, you're bound to find the game you want to play. EQ killed itself for me, and FFXI is too much of a leveling treadmill for my liking. I signed up for Lin2 and WoW betas, hopefully get a chance to play both before they go Gold.

[Kodimus]

Something to note about blizzard...close to a handful of their original founders/designers have resigned recently. Take that for what you will...maybe they're just wanting to do something new, or maybe they didn't like the direction he company was going in terms of games designed.

[Hitman601]

Personally, I wouldnt purchase WoW for that very reason. When Vivendi took over Blizzard they gave the founders and Roper so little say in anything in terms of development that they just got fed up with Vivendi. Hell, they wouldnt even give them a phone call back. That kind of slap in the face was the straw that broke the camels back, hence they left and created a new studio just like they did with Blizzard.

[Tehuti]

They didn't make their own studio, some quit games period, but most went to the new time warner games division, which will probably be just as bad, but they're getting paid more than they ever made at blizzard. A lot of people would sacrifice their creative integrity for that.

[Katra]

I love to play FFXI but at times the constant searching and forming parties and putting so much time into leveling can get boring fast. I am a true FF fan but I am also a true Blizzard fan(I even still have a D2 account).
When I compare what I seen so far visually wise of WoW compared to FFXI, WoW wins hands down. The colors in the game are so vibrant and FFXI colors are very dull.
I have also seen gameplay footage of WoW and it looks very entertaining to watch. FFXI is mainly a party based mmorpg as with WoW but unlike FFXI(except bst) in WoW you can go through 50 levs solo which is good in many ways but not as fast as gaining with pt members.
The thing I would like to see in these games is a skill based leveling system much like True Fantasy Live Online which I also have an eye on for the xbox.
Here are some screenshots to the game if some of you are unfamiliar to what I am talking about.
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/rpg/truefantasyliveonline/screenindex.html

[Injection]

FFXI is a good game but there is just so many features it doesnt have.

-I like to put in my stat points myself, and not the game do it for me.

-I like the ability to swim and jump around.

-I like the ability to alt+tab and play in windowed mode (and no forced fullmode does not prevent botters for ****)

-I like PvP (not player agreed dueling; thats just boring).

-I like seeing more monsters through out the world. ... Seriously not even color changes or size in mobs ... only name difference?

-I like hunting in deep hardcore dungeons for good items.

-Paying only one fee for the max amount of charater slots.

-Alot of guild/clan features... while ffxi only has a linkshell.

those are some of the features i enjoyed in previous mmos.






Now for the features i will enjoy in World of Warcraft.

-All of the above.

-Underwater themes: Swiming underwater, Dungeons, Areas, etc.

-Choice to solo or party.

-Choice on leveling up in regular dungeons, or randomly mixed dungeons.

-Race specific mounts.

-Eight different races to choose from including many customizable body and facial features.

-Pets can be trained and customized.

-And so much more but the list would just go on and on.



Basically FFXI is a good game but PS2 limits it alot. Its missing alot of the good features previous mmos offered.

It is without a doubt the best mmo out right out IMO, but im looking for something more.

Hopefully WoW can provide that something, and considering Blizzard's track record it signs point to yes.

[Mha-Sama]

Ill definitly jump to World Of Warcraft. Blizzard makes quality games at best. FFXI has too many annoying issues. IE.Variety and Party making and much more unfortunatly. WoW seems promissing and im 100% sure I wouldnt have a problem finding parties. Even if I actually good I wouldnt care cause then I could ATLEAST solo.