Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

[ItazuraNhomango]

Creating a Global MMO: Balancing Cultures and Platforms in Final Fantasy XI
(March 24, 2006)

If this has been posted before, I missed it. ._.

Some interesting points:

• 500k+ active subscribers. (Does this number ever change?!)
• 1.6 million characters (Content ID's?).
• 200k-300k active users daily.
• 130k-150k simultaneous connections.
• 55% Japanese (users/accounts).
• 2:1 ratio for Japanese PS2 users to PC users.
• 1:2 ratio for non-Japanese PS2 users to PC users.

Keep in mind this was pre-xBox360, pre-ToAU era, though still not that long ago.

While I would expect the percentage of non-Japanese speakers to have risen, this game is probably now still at least as Japanese as English. The huge number of PS2 install base isn't a surprise to me; at least now I have more solid evidence whenever people want to dispute with me using arguments like "Everyone I know use PC!" (Yes, we need to care about those PS2 users--they are roughly half of our friends in Vana'diel!)


p.s. Cross referencing http://www.mmogchart.com/ , Woodcock estimates 500k-700k accounts (as of May 2006), and his chart indicates that the subscription base is pretty much in holding pattern in face of the WoW phenomenon, after some initial decline in the 2005-2006 period. Good to know as of last year, this game wasn't dying, I suppose. >_>;

[Feba]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

While this was already known about, it was interesting a year ago.

Keep in mind that, in a year, a lot of those PS2s have probably become unusable due to various failures, and the only retail replacement can't play FFXI. What i'm curious about is how they count people that play on both.

Either way, now it seems to be if 360 has any real portion of the playerbase. PS2 is a dead system, Sony has stopped supporting FFXI through it, and PS2s aren't exactly known for being a robust system. Of the friends I know with PS2s, the ones I can remember to ask almost always tell me their's is from the past couple years, or a replacement. I'm the only person I've heard of in awhile still using a Launch PS2.

I can't imagine any statistics tying SE to PS2, given the state it's in. I imagine SE is just waiting for most of their JP players to get PS3s before they stop support altogether.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

• 500k+ active subscribers. (Does this number ever change?!)

Nope. SE's routine mass-bannings end up offsetting the number of new subscribers

[Akashimo]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

Nope. SE's routine mass-bannings end up offsetting the number of new subscribers

Lol, I was just thinking that. Though >_> its still unsettling to see WoW in top in terms of population. Lets see ratings based more than just player numbers! (By a nonbiased third party to post in the mainstream media for all to see if possible)

[Ziero]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

While this was already known about, it was interesting a year ago.
Keep in mind that, in a year, a lot of those PS2s have probably become unusable due to various failures, and the only retail replacement can't play FFXI. What i'm curious about is how they count people that play on both.
Either way, now it seems to be if 360 has any real portion of the playerbase. PS2 is a dead system, Sony has stopped supporting FFXI through it, and PS2s aren't exactly known for being a robust system. Of the friends I know with PS2s, the ones I can remember to ask almost always tell me their's is from the past couple years, or a replacement. I'm the only person I've heard of in awhile still using a Launch PS2.
I can't imagine any statistics tying SE to PS2, given the state it's in. I imagine SE is just waiting for most of their JP players to get PS3s before they stop support altogether.

Both my brother and my ex have launch PS2s, and my ex even plays FFXI. And other then a jitterey door on my bros, they both work 100%. I know more people who've had their 360s fail as opposed to their PS2s, is the PS2 really that fragile of a system?

[Clever Ninja]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

There are several launch PS2's that have had issues, and Sony was actually taken to court for it cause they were charging people for repairing their faulty products, so they do it for free now(minus shipping I believe). My Launch PS2 was probably the first system I've worked for, worked in a Hospital after freshmen year of High school and bought it. Besides not playing PS1 games recently(which I do on my PSP now honestly, so no big loss there) it still works just fine.

Both my original PSX and PS1-mini thingy work fine also, unless the dust killed the original PSX in the last few months <_<.

[Shadowneko]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

While this was already known about, it was interesting a year ago.

Keep in mind that, in a year, a lot of those PS2s have probably become unusable due to various failures, and the only retail replacement can't play FFXI. What i'm curious about is how they count people that play on both.

Either way, now it seems to be if 360 has any real portion of the playerbase. PS2 is a dead system, Sony has stopped supporting FFXI through it, and PS2s aren't exactly known for being a robust system. Of the friends I know with PS2s, the ones I can remember to ask almost always tell me their's is from the past couple years, or a replacement. I'm the only person I've heard of in awhile still using a Launch PS2.

I can't imagine any statistics tying SE to PS2, given the state it's in. I imagine SE is just waiting for most of their JP players to get PS3s before they stop support altogether.

I have a near-launch PS2 that I play this on. I think it might just be Version 2....I got it 2-3 months after launch since my PS1 gave up the ghost(after working for ages).

I'm not too crazy about the PC edition...the few times I've had it I hated the controls and how it did things...don't ask me why but I have to have a controler with FFXI....

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

Well. I've encounter sentiments that PS2 client issues isn't important to warren consideration beyond phasing those clients out, due to the lack of players using them. However, if half of the players were using PS2 last year, I doubt it would have dropped from 50% to 5% since then.

New PC/xBox360 players and PS2 reliability issues not withstanding, the existing PS2 users are very much a part--and a large portion--of the community, and it's about time NA PC users recognize that.

[Nazo]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

I can't imagine any statistics tying SE to PS2, given the state it's in. I imagine SE is just waiting for most of their JP players to get PS3s before they stop support altogether.

And then what? Unless there's been some announcement about a PS3 client I missed, stopping support for the PS2 would mean stopping support for the PS3 also. Also, given the state of PS3 sales currently I wouldn't hold your breath for catch up any time soon.

[Feba]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

PS3 sales in the states, yes, I've heard they're better overseas... not to mention, nowadays you can get a PC that plays FFXI just as well as a PS2 for a couple hundred dollars used.

And yes, SE will probably make a PS3 client if they intend to keep FFXI going through the next-gen, given the unpopularity of Xbox in japan.

[Nazo]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

PS2 hasn't been selling particularly well here in the UK, prices are being slashed already in a lot of stores. From what I read it isn't going much better in the rest of Europe. In Japan sales have fallen below those of PS2, on top of that, PC gaming just isn't big in Japan like it is in the west.
I think you're gonna have to face it, far from being a burden the PS2 client continues to cater for the majority of the playerbase and is going to be around for a long while yet, probably as long as FFXI itself.

[Feba]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

PS2 isn't majority, anymore.

Especially when you count all the accounts that play on PS2 AND PC, PC wins by a large margin.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

Especially when you count all the accounts that play on PS2 AND PC, PC wins by a large margin.

Would you like to construction the logics behind that statement for me? Seems like nonsense.

The only platform which should have received large number of new player in the past year is xBox360. People tend to stick with what they know--Macintosh user is likely to buy another Macintosh, and my family probably will never purchase any car that's not a Toyota. If the Mac breaks down, that is. Otherwise, most users--not "enthusiasts"-- are likely to stick with a working computer for 3+ years easily. A new car would be nice, but my ancient little car still runs well enough.

The safe bet is, in general, PC players stay on PC's, and PS2 players stay on PS2's. How would PC's go from about under 50% to "win by a large margin" within one year?

* * *

Off Topic Story

Christopher Columbus was an idiot.

Convinced that the world was a round ball, he sailed to a "new" continent (new to non-Viking Europeans anyway, not to Americans), but doggedly insisted it was India he sort of reached, through out his life.

Years later, presented with calculations (after calculations) showing the mismatch between the length of journey he took, and our globe's geometry/geography data on where the real India was, he changed his mind:

The world was pear shaped, not spherical.

While it's wonderful he was willing to re-examine some of his fundamental beliefs, and alter his core conception of our Earth to fit the data, he still didn't go far enough: he never set foot in India. Never even saw its freaking shoreline.

End of story. >_>

[Tekumel]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

Would you like to construction the logics behind that statement for me? Seems like nonsense.

The only platform which should have received large number of new player in the past year is xBox360. People tend to stick with what they know--Macintosh user is likely to buy another Macintosh, and my family probably will never purchase any car that's not a Toyota. If the Mac breaks down, that is. Otherwise, most users--not "enthusiasts"-- are likely to stick with his working computer for 3+ years easily. A new car would be nice, but my ancient little car still runs well enough.

The safe bet is, in general, PC players stay on PC's, and PS2 players stay on PS2's. How would PC's go from about under 50% to "win by a large margin" within one year?

* * *

Off Topic Story

Christopher Columbus was an idiot.

Convinced that the world was a round ball, he sailed to a "new" continent (new to non-Viking Europeans anyway, not to Americans), but doggedly insisted it was India he sort of reached, through out his life.


Years later, presented with calculations (after calculations) showing the mismatch between the length of journey he took, and our globe's geometry/geography data on where the real India was, he changed his mind:

The world was pear shaped, not spherical.

While it's wonderful he was willing to re-examine some of his fundamental beliefs, and alter his core conception of our Earth to fit the data, he still didn't go far enough: he never set foot in India. Never even saw its freaking shoreline.

End of story. >_>

I don't think Feba's trying to say that in the past year, that PS2 users have suddenly jumped ship & changed to PC. I think the point is that while those users may have originally started their accounts on PS2, that many may have migrated to other SIMULTANEOUS systems.

I started on PC, before CoP came out. I've always played on PC.

When I picked up my XBox 360 last November, I picked up FFXI as well. I still play on PC, but...why play on a 17" laptop screen if the 42" HDTV w/ surround sound is sitting idle? So really, if you're doing a by-system user tally, I should be counted in both, not just PC.

[Feba]

Re: Gamasutra article: Creating a Global MMO

Exactly my point, Teku, thanks.

Just because your family owns a toyota alone doesn't mean there's not a lot of people out there that don't use a Toyota as a daily driver, but have a honda for weekend drives, or a Suzuki for when the weather is nice. If you had all three, it wouldn't be fair to say you only have a toyota, would it?