Veteran players often lament all of these crazy new games that have tossed out everything that worked before in place of something new (i.e., everyone flies, FPS-gameplay, card decks, and other weird stuff).

And now we have a game franchise that people have loved, and with a new announcement the excitement is high.  It could be the old design elements were true and that all some folks wanted was everyone reset to level 1, a new map and some new gloss upon traditional fantasy MMO design basics.

I haven't read too much about FFXIV but why would we assume that its going to be an old school game?

I think the bigger effect is the fact that it's something that Square-Enix is making and with a treasured IP.   Also reporting crews know that people will be very interested for the previous reasons so they'll "play it high" for that reason.

An mmo exclusive to the PS3, according to Sony.  Don't see any info pertaining to it being an MMO, but just an online game.

Doesn't sound so promising if they are limiting an online game to one device.

It'll support Windows as well

PS3 and PC according to their site:

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/

Also confirmed (PC) on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIV

And yes, I for one am tired of the 'streamlined' mmorpg. If I wanted one, I would play Progess Quest.

Originally posted by Aganazer

I haven't read too much about FFXIV but why would we assume that its going to be an old school game?

Why would we assume otherwise? 

A new entry of a tried and proven franchise with no specifics on new elements (other than nice graphics).  At this moment, the only thing tangible that folks can get exicited about is the name Final Fantasy, so I have to guess that people are fond of tried and proven elements from the previous Final Fantasy games.

Now, the designers are sure to throw a twist or two in there, something new may be tried, but the excitement seems to be around another entry in this beloved series.

Originally posted by pencilrick

but the excitement seems to be around another entry in this beloved series.

I think thats a fair assessment - too early to get any other impressions beyond loving FF games

FFXI borrowed from many ideas from existing MMORPGs at the time it was released, but it is still a unique MMORPG to this day!  I expect SE to send us something different that will make an impact on the MMO community.

And by the looks of the home site it looks like FFXI-2, even if it is a new world.  As a FFXI player myself, I'm very excited!

No forum actiivity on one mmo site doesn't prove anything. For one FF11 has over the years cut a lot of its old-school grinding and forced grouping, and its likely that this trend will continue. Secondly, there are a lot of Final Fantasy fans out there who tried FF11 and where dissapointed with its outdated graphics engine and its archaic forced grouping and asian grinding, many of whom still love the franchise and hope that the new game will have learned from its mistake and be a lot more modern. 

Aside from that, there where basically only two major MMO's announced on E3, SW:ToR and FFXIV. It's logical that both games will have a lot of excitement. Just as the excitement over SW:ToR doesn't necisarrily prove that players want a modern SF MMO, excitement over FFXIV doesn't prove players want an "old school" MMO. 

I think FFXIV will do well, especially in the east, with Japan as one of its major markets. The improved graphics, the grown MMO market and hopefully SE's valuable lessons in game design might also mean it will do better then XI. But at the end of the day how well it will do will depend on the gameplay. The proof after all, is in the pudding. 

I really wonder why people keep saying Final Fantasy XI has "Asian grinding".
Has none of you ever played Everquest? Heavy grinding has been a part of mmorpg for a long, long time. Final Fantasy XI was designed to be like Everquest at the time.

Originally posted by paulscott

I think the bigger effect is the fact that it's something that Square-Enix is making and with a treasured IP.  

Amen, I peed a little when I saw a new FF MMO was happening. I just really like the franchise. FFXI wasn't too fun for me, but the artwork and feel of it was great, I hope to play with friends in the new one.

Originally posted by Gameloading

I really wonder why people keep saying Final Fantasy XI has "Asian grinding".
Has none of you ever played Everquest? Heavy grinding has been a part of mmorpg for a long, long time. Final Fantasy XI was designed to be like Everquest at the time.

I don't know that it directly relates, I played UO, EQ and AC all at launch and loved them. I didn't enjoy FF XI, there was definetly differences.

To be brutally honest, this along with many other indicators about upcoming games shows especially one thing: That the playerbase can be excited for MANY game concepts, as long as its presented well, and is naturally fitting into the game as a whole.

This focus-group design bullshit of getting ever more easy, accessible and smaller by the year is not the holy grail people make it out to be, and its about time people realized that. There is a reason that aside from WoW, you dont strike gold with that sort of design.

The sooner MMO companies realize there is not that bottomless well of untapped player potential which you can access via making things, basically, stupid and narrow, the less MMO corpses we ll leave along the road. Aion, EVE, FFXIV, these games are, or look to be, popular and successful, and they arent the shallow easymode crap you get sold these days as the best way to make a good game.

There is a reason why Tetris works, there is a reason why CoD4 is popular, and there is a reason why american football, despite a rather complex ruleset, is fun for the masses: Its not all about the lowest common denominator, its about a game concept that clicks.

Nothing that happens here on these forums is reprsentative of the larger MMO market.  I'll bet you a million dollars that the majority of MMO players dont know FFXI exists.

Voodoo Extreme just called it an "action-based massively multiplayer role-playing". That doesn't sound very old-school to me. I wouldn't call FFXI "action-based" so that means its something different.

Originally posted by Gameloading

I really wonder why people keep saying Final Fantasy XI has "Asian grinding".
Has none of you ever played Everquest? Heavy grinding has been a part of mmorpg for a long, long time. Final Fantasy XI was designed to be like Everquest at the time.

So we can expect FFXIV to be designed like... WOW?  Let's hope not.

Imagine the horror...

Can't really say what's going to happen with this title, but its nice to see a new chapter in the series and who knows, I might even give it a try this time around.

Originally posted by qweniden

Nothing that happens here on these forums is reprsentative of the larger MMO market.  I'll bet you a million dollars that the majority of MMO players dont know FFXI exists.

^ This. Saying the excitement over FFXIV proves players wanted old school is an exaggeration. Most that are excited have played it before. It's not indticative of the market in the least. Most of the folks I know don't even know the game or ever played it every time I mentioned it was my first MMO. The current market is not made up of mainly players from old school no matter how much we wish to believe it is. WoW changed that whether we like it or not.

The playerbase flunctuates. It was all excited over AoC...it was all excited over WAR...it is all excited over Aion...The Old Republic...and on and on. This excitement over FF is no different than any other game we have seen though I would say it won't be as strong as some are believing because as I said....this game isn't that well known outside its inner circles.

I think players are excited because its Final Fantasy.

Having said that, are players sure that this is going to be an mmo?

Because it says its online. But that doesn't mean that it will be an mmo.

This entire thread assumes that Does FFXIV will be "old school".

I have money this will not be the case, this franchise deserves more than someones rose colored glasses view that old, backwords not for the casual game play is fun.

My bet, it will be an attempt to not only bring the IP to new players, but new players to the MMO genre as well.

Catass need not apply.