New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

[KingOfZeal]

We would like to announce the appointment of a new director for FINAL FANTASY XI.

Former Battle Director Akihiko Matsui has assumed the post, and would like to take this opportunity to offer a few words of greeting to our players.


Dear Users,

It is both an honor and pleasure to give this address as the newly appointed director of FINAL FANTASY XI.

With the commencement of official service for FINAL FANTASY XIV imminent, the period ahead will prove to be a turning point for FINAL FANTASY XI. I have had the privilege of being part of the team since the project commenced some ten years ago, but to assume the mantle of leadership at this juncture is daunting indeed.

As director, I intend to work in close cooperation with all project members and involved parties to ensure that FINAL FANTASY XI will continue to hold allure for our players. For truly, nothing would please me more than to see Vana'diel remain a gathering place for those seeking high adventure and camaraderie.

I look forward to your continued support in the future.

Akihiko Matsui
Director, FINAL FANTASY XI

[MrMageo]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

congrats to that guy

[cidbahamut]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

Should I be thrilled or terrified?

[Mhurron]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

Should I be thrilled or terrified?

Probably no need to really care.

[Nandito]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

Yeah, doubt anything will change. Previous director probably left him a To-Do list, ha.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

Well, its good news in the sense that the director for FFXIV is no longer dividing his attention, which has been the case for a while now. It already cost FFXI enough the last few years that attnetions were divided between two games. This is just the first step, I'd think.

[wrongfeifong]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

yea but isn't FFXI dying, unless they make something that link FFXIV to FFXI, i don't see any future for FFXI.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

It's a business. The question is not about dying or not dying, but about whether it's making SE money.

As long as it's making SE a good chunk of dough, SE will pay attention. Once it becomes merely pocket change (or worse, money losing business), then it'd be perma /shutdown.

[Balfree]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

or eventually "free-to-pay" with microtransictions like where so many titles are going

[Yelsew]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

That'll be a sad day.. I wish they could make some app that I can have my character with all its current gear so i can look back on it whenever I want. Not play or anything just like the character creation screen but with your character when you can pick and choose through its inventory it had when you left and put armor on and off as you please just so we don't forget. I'd gladly pay for it, over 5 years of my life and all I have is some screen shots.

[ShepardG]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

I'm gonna be honest, I think this move was major for the current player base of FFXI. There is so much stuff to do now and the fact that they addressed the little things (hello stacks of forbbiden keys which go to 99 now!) leads me to believe that with the "regime" change it's almost like someone took the helm who gives a shit.

I'm sorry, I know were not getting the whole picture concerning the inner workings of Square Enix development teams but the last 3 (but mainly this one and the last one) have been nothing short of fun and awesome. Can you say that for the ones prior?
-I look back to the update that introduced Zeni mobs, and I didn't feel nearly as excited as I have about these recent ones.
-MMM? Not knocking it but it really didn't get much love until the last update, and now you can get some really really nice gear along with some really exciting fights.
-Evoliths? what the hell was this crap? only good part was the fact that whoever implemented it realized they did it wrong and has , up to this point, left it alone until a working solution could be made.

I honestly feel like, and again i'm outside looking in, but I get this:

-1st Tanaka runs FFXI for however many years

-2nd Salvage bans followed by mediocre updates for almost a year and a half (probably due to development of 14, i'll give em that.... sort of)

-3rd Tanaka basically in all but title passes off the helm to Matsui who has probably been pushing for a level cap increase since WoTG was released.

-4th He's running the show, he starts pushing all these radical game changing (and you have to admit the level cap to 99 was a mind blowing thing back in feburary) additions and people start hitting the forums and saying things like "Man i really don't want to come back, but I really really do" because the community is nothing short of excited as shit!

-5th the "Surplus EXP" incident of the FFXIV Beta which(and god damn it kailea i know we don't understand it, but we don't understand black holes that well either and they destroy the shit out of everything, just like what this has potential to do)honestly has probably doomed the game before it got out of the door. And yeah that makes me sad because the game has potential to be as amazing as FFXI has been for a whole generation of new gamers, but we all know we live in a fickle world where one black mark on your record could ruin your future.

-6th Tanaka rages at people assuming things, which.... is what people fucking do because were fucking human

-7th Matsui announces he's basically running the show after what has, in my mind, been 2 of the most epic updates in the games history (merits wasn't this damn exciting) He seems to be paying attention, he seems like he still really cares about providing amazing new content with the 7 year old hardware restrictions. I'll go out on a big ole limb here and say "Matsui want's 14 (i.e. Tanaka) to fail"

-8th

Walahra Turban

NEVER FORGET!

[Kailea]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

alittle on the tinfoil side, but it does makes some sense...... I still have hopes for FFXIV myself, and plan on buying it, and giving it the first months go.... but if it turns out to be a pile of poo, I will not stay. As much as I want to come back to FFXI, I dont think thats a good idea ether, I finally kicked that habit -.-

[ShepardG]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

K,
yeah brother im in the same boat, on ffxiv.

You wanna hear some crazy shit that I've been tossing around in my head?

Would square enix give matsui the go ahead to port FFXI to direct X 11 + 360/ps3 if 14 fails?

From a developers stand point, im un-educated as to the difficulty of making a graphics engine that works both ways...

[Ziero]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

-6th Tanaka rages at people assuming things, which.... is what people fucking do because were fucking human

-7th Matsui announces he's basically running the show after what has, in my mind, been 2 of the most epic updates in the games history (merits wasn't this damn exciting) He seems to be paying attention, he seems like he still really cares about providing amazing new content with the 7 year old hardware restrictions. I'll go out on a big ole limb here and say "Matsui want's 14 (i.e. Tanaka) to fail"

I can't help but love how saying "Foreign sites posted false information and JP sites made it worse through bad translations" suddenly turns into "RAGING AT THE COMMUNITY". Sankaku Complex posted one of the most ignorant pieces of news regarding this game since it's announcement and people took it seriously when it was mistranslated and re-translated again by Sankaku Complex. It wasn't even assumptions, it was flat out mis-information (the original news story made the claim you could only exp for 2 hours before needing a week's 'rest').

It won't hurt XIV in the long run and plenty of people playing it now love the game despite it's faults. XIV won't fail and no one at SE wants it to.

As for the new director, with the old stubborn asshat who would "tell" people how to play gone, it's obvious the new guy listens and makes the game based on how people want to play. XI will see a long healthy life still if this guy can keep this up, however once things reach cap and all that shiney new AF/Magian upgrade stuff finishes up, we'll probably see a return to a less exciting state of the game.

[Shadowneko]

Re: New Director for Final Fantasy XI (09/01/2010)

yea but isn't FFXI dying, unless they make something that link FFXIV to FFXI, i don't see any future for FFXI.

Every time someone says something like this I want to kick them. I can even give you examples of MMOs that have survived their successors.(Everquest and Linage come to mind) Also I have no interest in FF14 right now and I'm not quitting FFXI(sorry one MMO at a time please) and I know I'm not the only one because my friends aren't leaving...but I can't speak for everyone...