NEW Roadmap of XIV and the Beta testing info!

[Malacite]

Re: NEW Roadmap of XIV and the Beta testing info!

3 months for beta testing isn't short at all, especially since we're not talking about a completely new game from scratch. I'm sure they will delay release if they find that the game isn't up to par, which is what Yoshi-P promised, so I'm not worried one bit. I'm kind of curious, though, that Blizzard chose to release HotS at around the same time as FFXIV, and I wonder if they're trying to keep WoW players from defecting to other MMOs with these "side games".

The beta starts in Feb, and goes on for 3~4 months max time... HotS is out March 12th, hardly at the "same time" and not even the same genre. So no, you're being paranoid.

[Aeni]

Re: NEW Roadmap of XIV and the Beta testing info!

The beta stars in Feb, and goes on for 3~4 months max time... HotS is out March 12th, hardly at the "same time" and not even the same genre. So no, you're being paranoid.

LOL your ignorance amuses me. The timing of Blizzard's release is aimed at retaining WoW players, which I'm puzzled as to why you think WoW isn't in the same genre as FFXIV. When ARR goes through beta as well as it moves forward to release, many players will be occupied with SC2:HotS.

The WoW playerbase tends to skew quite alarmingly "Blizzard-biased", which means that the players tend to buy Blizzard products, regardless of genre. What helps to foster this relationship is the fact that (a) Blizzard tends to add incentives for players in the form of discounts or virtual items (b) the one account, multiple platform system of Battle.net makes it very easy for players to transition from one gaming experience to another within the Blizzard Universe.

Yoshi-P is going to get his word cut out to try and "spread the gospel" of ARR. Because there is already a strong disincentive in place for players to even bother giving a slice of their attention to a "reboot' of a game that failed miserably in the marketplace and coupled with the fact that there are just too many other things "worth doing", this release date will no doubt impact ARR in some way. How much of an impact remains to be seen, but you'd have to be lobotomized and on the short bus to think that there's no impact at all.

[Etra]

Re: NEW Roadmap of XIV and the Beta testing info!

LOL your ignorance amuses me. The timing of Blizzard's release is aimed at retaining WoW players, which I'm puzzled as to why you think WoW isn't in the same genre as FFXIV. When ARR goes through beta as well as it moves forward to release, many players will be occupied with SC2:HotS.

The WoW playerbase tends to skew quite alarmingly "Blizzard-biased", which means that the players tend to buy Blizzard products, regardless of genre. What helps to foster this relationship is the fact that (a) Blizzard tends to add incentives for players in the form of discounts or virtual items (b) the one account, multiple platform system of Battle.net makes it very easy for players to transition from one gaming experience to another within the Blizzard Universe.

Yoshi-P is going to get his word cut out to try and "spread the gospel" of ARR. Because there is already a strong disincentive in place for players to even bother giving a slice of their attention to a "reboot' of a game that failed miserably in the marketplace and coupled with the fact that there are just too many other things "worth doing", this release date will no doubt impact ARR in some way. How much of an impact remains to be seen, but you'd have to be lobotomized and on the short bus to think that there's no impact at all.

The impact will be almost negligible. Like Mal pointed out, the beta period will be taking place over the release of the new SC2 expansion. Most of these games have a one month, uh, "play life" for most players. They'll be played for a month and then forgot about, even without a sub. By the time they go back to WoW, they'll be bored and looking for something new: ARR.

Not to mention, just because they play SC2 doesn't mean they play WoW.

[jenova_9]

Re: NEW Roadmap of XIV and the Beta testing info!

FFXIV ARR's newness is an advantage Blizzard's dated mmorpg does not have.

plus its familiarity with WoW could convince WoW veterans to give it a try and perhaps like it even more, mew.

plus Blizzard lost a lot of respect due to the DIII case. And some people argue SC2 is worse than SC1.

[Aeni]

Re: NEW Roadmap of XIV and the Beta testing info!

The impact will be almost negligible. Like Mal pointed out, the beta period will be taking place over the release of the new SC2 expansion. Most of these games have a one month, uh, "play life" for most players. They'll be played for a month and then forgot about, even without a sub. By the time they go back to WoW, they'll be bored and looking for something new: ARR.

Not to mention, just because they play SC2 doesn't mean they play WoW.

This happened before with FFXIV 1.0 release and the timing of the release of the Cataclysm expansion. Last year, it was D3's beta release with I believe was SW:ToR and again with the beta for MoP and GW2. The timing of these releases, both "WoW account exclusive" beta and live Blizzard titles, and "big name" or "hyped" MMO titles are what seems to be the driving force or motivation behind the scheduled release. I remember there was a time where Blizzard adopted the, "if it ain't ready, we won't ship" philosophy. However, things appeared to have changed, with the negative feedback D3 was given by players (not the majority, to be sure, but quite a contrast to D2's release), as well as the complete and utter let down Cataclysm was according to many long time WoW players I've chatted with (as well as those I've read interviews of elsewhere online)

It is not just mere coincidence. The timing is too deliberate for me to not take notice and I'm not the only one. If you also look at Activision release schedules as well, you'll notice a similar trend.

[Etra]

Re: NEW Roadmap of XIV and the Beta testing info!

This happened before with FFXIV 1.0 release and the timing of the release of the Cataclysm expansion. Last year, it was D3's beta release with I believe was SW:ToR and again with the beta for MoP and GW2. The timing of these releases, both "WoW account exclusive" beta and live Blizzard titles, and "big name" or "hyped" MMO titles are what seems to be the driving force or motivation behind the scheduled release. I remember there was a time where Blizzard adopted the, "if it ain't ready, we won't ship" philosophy. However, things appeared to have changed, with the negative feedback D3 was given by players (not the majority, to be sure, but quite a contrast to D2's release), as well as the complete and utter let down Cataclysm was according to many long time WoW players I've chatted with (as well as those I've read interviews of elsewhere online)

It is not just mere coincidence. The timing is too deliberate for me to not take notice and I'm not the only one. If you also look at Activision release schedules as well, you'll notice a similar trend.

...You didn't really reply to what I wrote at all. I never said anything about the release dates not being coincidental.

[Aeni]

Re: NEW Roadmap of XIV and the Beta testing info!

...You didn't really reply to what I wrote at all. I never said anything about the release dates not being coincidental.

My reply was more in regards to what Mal said and has nothing to do with what you were saying (although you quoted Mal in the last and the previous) It's not about how long people will be "entranced" with a game ... this is not just "a game". MMOs are time sinks and require investments. If people perceive that to be true, then you're less likely to get people to shift or change games. There are still people playing FFXI, and while they may not be engaged in as fully as they used to, they still commit time to it. Same goes for Everquest. Same goes for some of the old school MMOs that they still run servers for, like iRO. This is still true of WoW, where players will take breaks by playing other games, but not necessarily MMOs. Many have gone on to Rift and to SW:TOR and GW2. Some have returned after MOP was released, dissatistifed with the other offerings. Do you think they will care if those titles announced xpacs? No. The only people that care about xpacs, updates or re-releases are those already playing the game.

If you heard that players from 1.0 will get a leg up on others in ARR because they get to keep their characters, monies and achievements, you will think twice in playing the game. For many, that thought process might only be a few seconds, then they'll either just shrug and will actually try the game or turn away from it, probably voicing their opinion on the official forum or some nasty tweets or FB posts. Then there's a few that will really think about it, about how much time they want to devote to the game, or if its worth doing so. And I know many friends, both online and IRL, that are doing the latter. I've already been pressed by a few of them, not for actual information of ARR: Alpha, but more along the lines of, "do you think its worth it?""Should I quit GW2/Rift/SW:TOR/FFXI/WoW/etc for this?" Not, "Hey, I wanna play this game simultaneously alongside the other MMOs". Notice the difference between MMOs and single-player, smaller online type of games, like D3 or SC2 or COD or Halo.