Dell Partners with Square

zenintrude writes "Gameforms is reporting that Square has signed a deal with Dell that will secure new Dell computers to be shipping with Final Fantasy XI pre-installed. This comes on the heels of another story involving Square partnering with nVidia, in which certain aspects/details in Final Fantasy XI will only be able to be accomplished with a geForce4 card."

Comments

If you can't beat em with technology

[SpiffyMarc]

nVidia has finally realized the edge it needs to put ATI under: marketing dollars. No amount of cool tech from ATI will stop the fact that Square signed this deal with nVidia. This is where the GeForce4 will get its' edge against the technically superior Radeon 9700 Pro.

It's the same way with Sony. If you can't win with better games, win with more money and an unstoppable juggernaut of a marketing department.

Dude...

[shadowcabbit]

...these jokes are getting old.

But seriously, this could be a good thing and it could also be a bad thing. If FFXI gains enough popularity to generate the fanbase it needs in Japan, a US port (to PC) would be almost guaranteed. But, considering that nobody wants to pay (monthly) for FFXI after buying it, is giving it away free going to make people want to buy it? I think not. Take Everquest, for example-- you can pick up a jewel case copy for $10, a huge slash over what it was back in the day. I did this. And I stopped paying for it two months later, when I found that I don't like that style of game. If anything, it's going to get a huge fanbase for the first month or so and then everyone will quit.

Of course, that's all just my speculation, being a typical FF fan. See sig.

Counter-proposal

[parliboy]

Why don't they port FFIX and FFX first. And I mean really make an effort to port it -- I don't want to have to kick in anti-aliasing x3 to enjoy the game.

What? Don't think it'll sell? So quit trying to port XI.

Re:Counter-proposal

[Junta]

Well, for one, I think 7 and 8 set the precedent that it wasn't that valuable of a franchise for porting to PC as single player games (at least, not after the PS versions are out for months before PC, same problem as Loki).
Now, two factors are diffent. One, this is MMORPG, a genre that has proven itself to have worked best on the PC platform in the past. Sure, there have been console MMORPG's like PSO, but nothing so widely successful as Everquest, for example. Also, as an MMORPG, it is absolutely critical for its sucess to have as rapid growth of users as possible. With standalone games, the overall sales are not affected so much by how many people get it as soon as possible, but the quality of a MMORPG is dependent on a large user base, so if it starts slow, it would hamper later sales badly.

Secondly, this will be a simultaneous release. Unlke the PC ports, people can immediately pick their favorite, most convenient platform without suffering a time penalty, so the sales figures will more accurately and fairly reflect the viability of Square games on the PC versus Playstation. This may be important to show that PC ports are not a waste and bring efforts to port FFXII immediately.

Of course, in my opinion, FFXI has a high probability of failure. Even if executed perfectly on technical terms, the Final Fantasy series fanbase is not necessarily big on MMORPG. I know I like standalone games better, because playing MMORPGs put certain pressures on me that I don't want to deal with. I don't feel like I can play at my own pace, sometimes for the best affect I have to coordinate my playtime with other, and I like a cohesive story that comes to some sort of definitive close. Those differences between traditional FF and MMORPG may cause FFXI to fail, if MMORPG and standalone are sufficiently exclusive communities. I know several people who plan to skip XI because they have no love of MMORPG, and also know several MMORPG players who aren't impressed in the least bit by the name 'Final Fantasy'. Of course, this is only among the people I know, so I have no idea what the true picture is..

Re:Square is loosing...

[stratjakt]

Square's been doing this stuff forever.. Remember Super Mario RPG? Actually, that Disney one looks kind of intriguing.. Probably pick that up for 'the kids'.

I'm just upset they're abandoning the installed FF fanbase in favor of a 'trendy' MMORPG. What made the series great was the story lines, characters, the single player experience.

Now instead of leveling up to track down Sephiroth or defeat the Ultimate Weapon, I get to have Jimmy McNutsack in his parents basement in Iowa call me a 'big gay fag homo'.

I swear to god, those things are just irc chatrooms with 3d avatars, and less intelligent conversation.