Square, FFXI, and the MMORPG

LukeG writes "Squaresoft's latest instalment in the ubiquitous Final Fantasy series will mark huge departure from previous titles, as they gamble on the popularity of massively multiplayer gaming on consoles. The genre, already succesful on the PC, has yet to be tested on a console audience, but that is exactly what Square are planning with the groundbreaking release of Final Fantasy XI later this year on PS2." I'm interested to see the FF world taken to an MMORPG. If anyone can make the genre not suck, it's Square.

Comments

Re:Eh...

[dkemist]

Doesn't your post contradict itself? "I suppose it can be expected ten or however many sequels later." -- Then you go on to talk about Sega NFL 2k2 which really doesn't qualify as a sequel -- it's the same game updated with graphics and players each year.

Personally, I think one of the best things about the final fantasy series is that they keep the same basic playing feel and keep adding interesting twists. The materia system in FF7 was great and added a whole new dimension of strategy. I'm just started on FF10, but I already think the sphere grid level system is a great enhancement. Far from being sequels (the plots are unrelated) I think the final fantasy series takes a good game engine and keeps updating it with new concepts and new options. I'm already looking forward to a multiplayer version.

Re:The Only Way

[Anonymous Coward]

It is highly unlikely it will appear on Xbox, not because it doesn't make sense (as the only console with built-in networking, it makes perfect sense) but because of Sony and that little 30% purchase of Square after the Final Fantasy movie fiasco. They're even on their board of directors now, and it's highly unlikely they would support Square developing anything for a major console competitor.

In other words, it will be multiplatform, but expect those platforms to be PS2 and PC. The Xbox and Gamecube will be left out in the cold, though it's possible the latter will get it if Sony doesn't feel the markets overlap as much as they do with Xbox.

They also face an uphill battle, because console owners will have to purchase additional storage and broadband adapters (another reason Sony wouldn't want it on Xobx but may support it for Gamecube). Currently in Japan, Sony's hard drive costs around $200, so in addition to shelling out $X for the game, you need to spend a few hundred bucks for a hard drive and the modem adapter. Few games that required additional hardware have ever done well, though this is one that is big enough to buck that trend.

Early word on it out of Japan is the fans of the series feel it's too "Western," and are very unhappy with it in beta.

Synopsis -- just the facts

[ProfKyne]

For those who aren't interested in reading 9px Arial font with few line breaks, or the fanboy details/speculation (like what kind of magic Red Mages can use, or how desolate the Saltbelt Plains are), here's the meat of the story:

• You can "communicate" with other players by selecting a symbol from a menu, which becomes like a "name tag" -- it hovers above your head, broadcasting your intentions to other players.
• You can join a team of other players by broadcasting the right symbol.
• At least in the beta, no multi-language chat facility (a la PhantasyStarOnline)
• Teams can form alliances, up to three in an alliance
• A leader must be selected when an alliance is formed, and this leader is highlighted in the game for all to see (i.e., a target)
• Wandering monsters can be seen ahead of time and avoided
• Not known if limit breaks are going to be included in battle
• You can choose the race of your character, this obviously has implications for what its abilities will be
• A class system may also be included. It has been designed, but it is still unknown at this point.

All of that information is taken from the article, not my own a priori knowledge or opinion.

Re:Eh?

[ProfKyne]

I don't get it. How final is a fantasy when there are dozen of them?

Taken from www.videogames.com, here is the origin of the name "Final Fantasy".

Sometime in 1987, a small Japanese publishing company named Square Co. LTD. was in desperate need of a hit. Until this point, Square had mostly published smaller games for the Famicom Disk system. The titles sold respectably, but the modest installed base of Famicom Disk systems made blockbuster status an elusive goal. Hironobu Sakaguchi had an idea: why not create a game similar to competitor Enix's Dragon Quest? The console RPG was a big hit with gamers, and Sakaguchi thought that Square could significantly improve upon the basic formula. Thus work began on a massive one-megabit cartridge role-playing game that would attempt to revolutionize the genre. All of Square's resources, dreams, and hopes were placed on this single game. If it failed, Square would be no more. The project, as Square's final gasp, was given the name "Final Fantasy."

it's the hardware, stupid

[Hnice]

let's not get involved in 'ff is stale' or 'your console suX0rs' discussions. the issue here, as much as i love square, is the hardware.

7 syllables to remember for the console industry, and if you don't believe me, ask sega's hardware division: no one buys peripherals.

they'll buy an extra controller. they'll buy a hundred games. they'll pay an isp. but no one drops $100 on anything, once they've spent $300 on a console that plays mgs2, ffx, gta3, gran turismo, and ico just fine already. it's been tried, dozens of times, and it doesn't just fail, it puts companies out of business.

now, sony's not going out of business on its hard drive/ethernet combo. i'm going to buy one. but i'm giant sucker with lots of disposable income who must play ff. but (slashdot aside) there aren't that many like me -- not enough to make this work. there were only 300k phantasy star online players, and that didn't even require hardware. sony will be lucky to get 250k people to buy their $100 hardware, and square may get half of those to PlayOnline. compare that to the millions of units of, say, ffix they've sold.

i know, i know, a usb ethernet adapter -- you can also make your linux machine into a gateway for halo, but how many people are doing *that*? again, not counting me ;)

i want square to do well here. and maybe other consoles will help, although last i read, they're thinking about nintendo and not ms, and the cube also has no connection. but the hardware is the issue here, and for all ff's sweet, chocolatey goodness, it's not going to sell much hardware.

The end of the Final Fantasy series?

[Rayonic]

Whether or not this MMORPG is successful, it marks the end of Final Fantasy as we know it. The main series (1-10) has always been single-player with predefined characters and a linear story with an end. An MMORPG is none of that.

Problem is, a lot of people probably want yet another traditional Final Fantasy game - I know my fiance does. It boggles the mind why they named this spinoff game Final Fantasy XI. They should have named it "Final Fantasy Online" or something, so they could pick up the main series again, if they wanted to.

Capcom is a good act to follow in this case, especially with the Mega Man franchise. The original series is still intact, with the spinoffs relegated to their own series' (i.e. Mega Man X, Legends, etc). What if Mega Man 9 was a platformer, while 10 was an RPG, and eleven was real-time strategy? Nonsense.