I suppose it's possible, although I can't see why SE would take that course of action when the game still has a very healthy playerbase enjoying all facets of it.

I hope they don't shut it down tbh, it would be depressing to see one of the only remaining great mmorpg's go the way of the dodo bird.

Interesting development, thanks for posting Mike.

 I see this as good news honestly.

I think Square would not even think in closing down FF11 if they were not planning to release FF14 this year.

They will probably offer some kind of deal to FF11 players, like 2 or 3 free months to active accounts and ask them to migrate to 14.

If they are indeed closing this year the only explanation is the release of 14 and the migration of players, nothing else...

SE has stated before that FFXI would continue development after FFXIV came out. Whether this is true or not is unknown but they did say before that they were going to keep it going. I would be pretty amazed if they shutdown FFXI just because they started FFXIV.

It makes sense to shut down final fantasy 11 at the launch of 14, I mean who is going to stay behind and play 11? I suppose a few might but not enough to keep it profitable.

Originally posted by fanita

It makes sense to shut down final fantasy 11 at the launch of 14, I mean who is going to stay behind and play 11? I suppose a few might but not enough to keep it profitable.

Players who have played since launch, have multiple level 75 jobs and a have accomplished a great deal ingame are not likely to leave at all.

It is far more likely they will keep the FFXI account subbed and then purchase and sub to FFXIV along with it. The amount of time invested in this game by veteran players pretty much guarantees that, I've never met anyone who had played for any substantial amount of time and would just up and quit for another game.

FFXI players are some of the most loyal, dedicated players around.

Originally posted by Kost  I've never met anyone who had played for any substantial amount of time and would just up and quit for another game.

FFXI players are some of the most loyal, dedicated players around.

It's a game.  It's not a family, it's not a job, it's nothing more than a game (and a sub-par one at that *yawn*).  Many players leave after playing MMOs for years, hell, most have!  Just look at EQ1's, UO's, or DAoC's current subs.  FFXI will go the way of the dodo just like those.

Originally posted by Oyjord

It's a game.  It's not a family, it's not a job, it's nothing more than a game (and a sub-par one at that *yawn*).  Many players leave after playing MMOs for years, hell, most have!  Just look at EQ1's, UO's, or DAoC's current subs.  FFXI will go the way of the dodo just like those.

I didn't claim it was any of those things, I simply stated an accurate observation regarding players of the game.

Considering it has already outlasted every other game you have listed, I'm inclined to disagree.

Originally posted by fanita

It makes sense to shut down final fantasy 11 at the launch of 14, I mean who is going to stay behind and play 11? I suppose a few might but not enough to keep it profitable.

It doesn't make good sense to me to shut down Final Fantasy 11 just because they are launching 14. Game companies don't seem to mind alienating their customers, but it really isn't a good idea for them to do so. If it becomes unprofitiable, then I would understand shutting it down. In either case it would be really unwise to preemptively announce they are shutting it down.

SE already stated in a newsletter that they won't be shutting down ffxi because ffxiv is being released. They said this themselves a few months back.

<p>Funny but EQ1 still has a good community, even that EQ2 has been released for quite sometime now  =)</p>

i doubt it, SoE rarely cancel games. Look at EQ1, Vanguard, SWG....etc

It will be gone If it is EA or SEGA tho

i don't belive this, i will lose allot of respect for SE if they do.

Originally posted by xxlilDevilxx

i doubt it, SoE rarely cancel games. Look at EQ1, Vanguard, SWG....etc

It will be gone If it is EA or SEGA tho

WHat has SOE anything to do with FF11?

Originally posted by xxlilDevilxx

i doubt it, SoE rarely cancel games. Look at EQ1, Vanguard, SWG....etc

It will be gone If it is EA or SEGA tho

lol SOE? what are you on about

This

Seriously.

I can't figure out if people are that gullible, or just that fascinated by the idea of "games being shut down" - it sure seems to permeate a lot of games' threads around here.

FFXI *still* has a very healthy population and accounts for a large portion of SE's revenue.  FFS... even after 8 years in service, despite its "outdated tech", despite its "old-school" style gameplay... it still has a healthier population than many of the newer AAA MMOs manage to maintain a mere several months after their launch. It's been unshaken by WoW. They have yet to even do a single server merge... something brand-new MMOs are doing after a few months in service.

And people seriously think SE's going to take it offline to "make way" for a brand-new, unproven MMO?

/facepalm

@MikeB - seriously... WTF were you even thinking posting that? You're helping an unsubstantiated rumor spread needlessly, among a sea of people including many who are downright giddy at the prospect of running around telling all their friends that a major title is "dying". And you feed them this kind of unfounded fodder?

/double facepalm

Unless SE practally just say to the 11 playerbase look you've been with us this long switch for free or at least give a very good offer to do so, if they ARE in fact shutting it down to 'make way for 14', they've basically just killed any hope that they will have anywhere near the size of the playerbase they have with 11 for 2 reasons

1) One it's a big FU to their loyal fans with 11 basically nullifying all their hard work and saying now pay us more money to do everything again - Even SOE and Arena.net offered at least somthing that carried over with their sequels to at least show the loyal were in fact rewarded not just milked and dumpped.

2) With the above 'treatment' of the loyal playerbase already, would any 'newcommers' past the madly loyal players be willing to pick up the sequel knowing SE's 'reguard' towards their playerbase?

smells like AC2 all over again to me - I hope it is purly a rumour and/or misinterpation of the meaning

@WSI - it's purely so it's a 'you heared it here first!' comment later on, LOADS of sites post rumors in the hope they turn out to be fact

Originally posted by mrcalhou

Originally posted by fanita

It makes sense to shut down final fantasy 11 at the launch of 14, I mean who is going to stay behind and play 11? I suppose a few might but not enough to keep it profitable.

 

It doesn't make good sense to me to shut down Final Fantasy 11 just because they are launching 14. Game companies don't seem to mind alienating their customers, but it really isn't a good idea for them to do so. If it becomes unprofitiable, then I would understand shutting it down. In either case it would be really unwise to preemptively announce they are shutting it down.

The only reason I can think of why they would shut down a game that is still profitable and with a nice subscriber base, is that they need everyone working on FFXIV. 

Maybe they don't want to allocate 20-30 people to work on FFXI and would rather everyone focus on the new game.

But, it's a mistake, it seems like the money FFXI brings in outweighs any of the drawbacks, because at this point, there is no drawback to having a 7 year old "successful" game.

I love what you do for me, Square-Enix!

It seems like a pretty bad idea to shut down games to make way for sequels. Knowing a game company has a policy of shutting down online games after a certain shelf life would make me less likely to play their games in the first place. MMOs already feel like a lot of wasted time/effort. Knowing it's all going to get wiped in a few years kind makes it feel even more futile.

I doubt it will.

Originally posted by Oyjord

Originally posted by Kost  I've never met anyone who had played for any substantial amount of time and would just up and quit for another game.

FFXI players are some of the most loyal, dedicated players around.

 

It's a game.  It's not a family, it's not a job, it's nothing more than a game (and a sub-par one at that *yawn*).  Many players leave after playing MMOs for years, hell, most have!  Just look at EQ1's, UO's, or DAoC's current subs.  FFXI will go the way of the dodo just like those.

Except none of those MMOs have gone the way of the dodo. Dodos are extinct, dead, gone. Those games are still around and quite playable.

And frankly, your opinion of the game notwithstanding, I'm pretty sure FFXI after 8 years is still running far stronger than any of them were at that age... possible exception of EQ.

 

I doubt it'll be shutdown, they have said multiple times FFXI will continue to be supported after the launch of FFIV.

cool? no it wont shut down you know theyll keep at least a server or 2 up for people.

Thank God, I never liked FFXI the game was horribly dated even when it first came out. Dont get me wrong it had good features, but it was completely inaccessible to most people because of the horrible login/download interface.

pre-wow it was pretty good for awhile. besides the horrendous problems it had like a terrible at best login system and my server being 80% japanese. i learned hundreds of japanese words just to get into groups and stay for a few hours. still had massive lfg times. and then the games interface was crap. it was definetly dated when it came out wow didnt have much for competition. but my god ffxi addicts were addicts to the fullest extent of the word.

Originally posted by WSIMike

This

Seriously.

I can't figure out if people are that gullible, or just that fascinated by the idea of "games being shut down" - it sure seems to permeate a lot of games' threads around here.

FFXI *still* has a very healthy population and accounts for a large portion of SE's revenue.  FFS... even after 8 years in service, despite its "outdated tech", despite its "old-school" style gameplay... it still has a healthier population than many of the newer AAA MMOs manage to maintain a mere several months after their launch. It's been unshaken by WoW. They have yet to even do a single server merge... something brand-new MMOs are doing after a few months in service.

And people seriously think SE's going to take it offline to "make way" for a brand-new, unproven MMO?

/facepalm

@MikeB - seriously... WTF were you even thinking posting that? You're helping an unsubstantiated rumor spread needlessly, among a sea of people including many who are downright giddy at the prospect of running around telling all their friends that a major title is "dying". And you feed them this kind of unfounded fodder?

/double facepalm

 Never enjoyed the game to begin with bought it when it came out I lasted maybe 2 weeks and started havin forced gropupin lost xp EQ1 flash backs and ran as quick as I could away from it.

FFXI will not be shut down this year most likely, but I give it a 2 more year life cycle after FFXIV comes out and proves to be the major success it planned to be. FFXI is dying rapidly, Remora used to be a very high populated server, last time I was there I stood in town and didn't see a shout for over 10 minutes, then got a few shouts and then another 10 minutes passed by in silence, on a weekend night in Whitegate. That is unheard of, there are only a few servers that are really still kicking it, honestly I would say there is probably only about 30,000 subscribers, and when FFXIV comes out that number will drop a good 50% +

I got the level 45 and couldnt continue in my all japanese server. the level blocks were about as stupid as bombing my hawaiin island.I spent about a month at 8 hours a day trying to find a raid or people that would assist and quit vowing never to come back and never did. But i had fun up untill then.

Honestly, it makes sense. They should just let current subscribers transfer over and offer them benefits based on how long they played, the levels of their classes, and their gear. Maybe give them a free month for being such dedicated players.

I say leave a server up and let them manage their own. They shouldnt get any head start or advantage. A free month wouldnt be opposable

Originally posted by Rover64dd

I say leave a server up and let them manage their own. They shouldnt get any head start or advantage. A free month wouldnt be opposable

Moving all your support from FFXI to FFEleventiybillion just makes more sense. You got a huge crew of talented developers and shutting down the game completely may make a lot of long time players upset, but it makes a lot of sense. Though, I suppose it is like saying you should shut down Everquest because Everquest II came out.

They can still make some money off ffxi players. As long as they arent taking a huge hit, and with very few servers up and probably an end to patching and player support it wont have much overhead.

Originally posted by Kost

Originally posted by fanita

It makes sense to shut down final fantasy 11 at the launch of 14, I mean who is going to stay behind and play 11? I suppose a few might but not enough to keep it profitable.

 

Players who have played since launch, have multiple level 75 jobs and a have accomplished a great deal ingame are not likely to leave at all.

It is far more likely they will keep the FFXI account subbed and then purchase and sub to FFXIV along with it. The amount of time invested in this game by veteran players pretty much guarantees that, I've never met anyone who had played for any substantial amount of time and would just up and quit for another game.

FFXI players are some of the most loyal, dedicated players around.

As an old FFXI player i pretty agree with this statement

Sigh. I really wish people would read other interviews regarding this before making comments on why it would be "good" for FFXI to shut down.

As it was said many times before, FFXI is meant to co-exist with FFXIV. To put it simply, SE has stated they are keeping FFXI for the hardcore, while FFXIV is for the casual crowd. Another quick and easy to understand aspect: SE chose not to use the traditional Final Fantasy jobs because they are being used in FFXI (The game FFXIV is supposed to co-exist with.)

There's more, but this should obviously be sufficient.

Also, the blog post would have been pulled if it was true or false. If it was true, SE does not need the current subs for FFXI to plummet. If it was false... same thing, really.

I don't believe it at all,however it does make business sense.Square Enix is a HUGE developer,they would rather move employees into new ventures rather than support an older game.

Now if I was running Square Enix,witch i am not lol,i would admit to the public that the game will remain open but not be supported anymore.I would also migrate and flood servers,so that every serve would have a constant around 5000,so that way many servers could be shut down.

IMO FFXI will fall badly in subs when FXIV is released,probably as low as 50k,is it worth it to keep servers running?I guess only Square knows that answer.That would mean folding most of the servers,you would only need 3 or 4 servers to continue with 50k subs.then if they no longer support the game,what would be a fair subscription cost?Personally i feel Square has exhausted every idea they could come up with in FFXI,further content would be extremely diluted.

As logical as this sounds, I think FFXIV hype might have the "nostalgia" effect on the die hard fans.

I remember when Diablo 3 was starting to get hyped. Diablo II:Lord of Destruction was #1 played video game on Xfire.

With the multi-console community still managing to hold their own, I think there is still profit to be made.

Probably gonna have their hands full with the side and Main MMOs

*points to the game list* Click on Fantasy Earth Zero

but FFXI --> FFXIV makes perfect sense to me

 IF  SE does decide to shut down FFXI, it would imply (imho) that FFXIV is more of a huge expansion than an entirely new game. With such huge similarities I am not sure why they had to change the names of the races/etc . Either way, as long as they fix the few things wrong with XI and keep the good, I know I will be on board! I'm done trying to find an MMO to hold me over, I'm just console gaming until it releases.

 It might be refering to the fact that SE said they would stop development on FFXI when FFXIV came out. I will have to find out where they said that give me 10 min. 

 there we go.

Q: What happens to FFXI now that we're moving to FFXIV? Are you going to phase it out or continue to publish new content for XI? How will the development team be split?

A: The development for FFXIV started four or five years ago with primary ideas. Development started a few years ago, while FFXI was still being supported. FFXI will continue to be supported. There is another year of content planned. There are no plans in the near future to stop development on FFXI.

So might be just refering to the fact that they decided not to continue development, and not add new content. 

Why the hell would SE cancel FFXI when it's now to the point where it's like pure profit for them?  I'm sure the servers are long paid for, and now that the game is ramping down as far as development goes, the only overhead SE will have is a bare bones "maintenance" crew to keep things from falling apart completely.  Eventually FFXI will end, but I am sure there will be much more evidence then some random rumor when it will actually come to pass.  I mean, they have 20+ servers to merge before they even think about cutting it off completely.  Personally, I kinda wish they'd get on with that (although most endgame shells would probably heartily disagree) but most servers could use a population boost for lower end stuff.

If anything, they're probably going to be using FFXI's revenue to subsidize FFXIV for a while.  Hell, FFXIV could completely flop for all we know.  All in all, dumping a proven money maker with a dedicated subscriber base for an unknown would be a completely retarded business decision.  Not that SE hasn't done that in the past (*cough* PS2 Limitations *cough*) but canceling FFXI would be, like, spectacularly retarded.

The post on that blog doesn't even say they're shutting the game down. All it says is that it's going to 'end' which is just referring to the launch of XIV rendering XI obsolete. SE have already stated multiple times that XI is not shutting down.

 If this is true SE will be in a ****storm with FFXI players. Honestly I would never buy another SE product if the game I play is still going strong and they just cut the cord. If FFXIV is going to be what pretty much every game since WOW is then I would much rather stick with FFXI then move on. I have played it since PS2 launch and judging by the amount of people I still see on(believe I'm on one of the lowest populated servers) they could keep the game open for another 2 years+ the only thing that will make it lose players as of now is no more content being added. 

It makes sense, if the only game competing with your new shiny game is your old game, why not shutting it down and forcing everybody to buy your new one. I dont think its a good idea from a players perspective, in fact I think its a bad idea, but from the suits perspective, it makes perfect sense.

Yes, I do think FF11's population is going to have a large population drop. Yes, I do think they'll cut down to 3-4 servers, possibly less to try and keep the population at least looking capable of completing content. Yes, I do think FF11 will be placed on the back burner and will see very few content patches, and little to zero expansions after FF14 is released.

I do not however think that SE would be willing to take down an IP like FF11 that is almost all profit. SE is still a company, and a fairly brainy group of folks who are looking out for their pocket books.

The real question will be is if FF14 actually lives up to hype at release. Thus far I can not remember any company who came out with a 2nd MMO that almost failed out of the gate, or did fail. EQ2, WAR, AoC, AC2 all 'successors' to the previous names, and while after a time, they did get much better, they were almost all wiped away in horrible word of mouth (AC2 was the only one to actually die due to it's slow ability to turn around) for one reason or another. Even Lineage 2's population barely scratched that of Lineage 1, although still a large following. That will be really what will decide how much support FF11 will continue to garner once FF14 is released.

Now I have heard the rumor of the one year of content past the release of FF14, then at that point the FF11 servers would come down, that seemed pretty reasonable as that would give SE the average time to see just how successful FF14 really is. This new one really seemed to try and turn up the clock a bit more then I would believe even for a rumor.

Seems like SE is going for the Wow crowd with FFXIV.  I've tried Wow and the Wow clones, and if I wanted them, I'd be playing them.  I'd hope there could be room for both still. 

I'll try FFXIV, and I hope I'm wrong about it being more geared to Wow types.  I hope it does have the same appeal FFXI has, but if it doesn't, I'd hate to lose FFXI.  I enjoy it now as much as I ever did, perhaps more.

Tried to play FF again recently.  After just 8 days, my account was banned.  Not sure what for.  I think I logged in like 2-3 times total, didn't get into any combat or quests, didn't even level.  Just funny, funny stuff there. 

I loved FFXI, played it since '04 and when WoW came out i tried that but didn't enjoy as much as FFXI.

truly sad to see it go, the story and the places stuck with me. met alot of great people playing FFXI.

There is no way this could be true.

About chances, SE has made up an expectation so high that a launch in 2011 will be most unlikely.

About the rest I read in upper posts, maybe "shutting down" was intended for any further new development after launch of XIV, and some special title or vanity item or "startup boost" armor/weapon/whatever may be a good reward to all loyal XI subscribers who will do the transfer, but I am OT right now.

Originally posted by Erhun

SE already stated in a newsletter that they won't be shutting down ffxi because ffxiv is being released. They said this themselves a few months back.

And SE has never recanted?

Originally posted by Kost

Originally posted by Oyjord

It's a game.  It's not a family, it's not a job, it's nothing more than a game (and a sub-par one at that *yawn*).  Many players leave after playing MMOs for years, hell, most have!  Just look at EQ1's, UO's, or DAoC's current subs.  FFXI will go the way of the dodo just like those.

 

I didn't claim it was any of those things, I simply stated an accurate observation regarding players of the game.

Considering it has already outlasted every other game you have listed, I'm inclined to disagree.

not to mention UO STILL has players, at one point you just don't quit

 I just do not see this happening. FFXI was like your second job or life. I can see someone hopping out of a tall building in an asian country over it if they do.  Not trying to be funny but to shut down something successful just because you release a new product does not make a lot of business sense.

Originally posted by Kost

Originally posted by fanita

It makes sense to shut down final fantasy 11 at the launch of 14, I mean who is going to stay behind and play 11? I suppose a few might but not enough to keep it profitable.

 

I've never met anyone who had played for any substantial amount of time and would just up and quit for another game.

Allow me to introduce myself then, I accomplished pretty much everything there is to do in this game in the space of 1.5 years (multiple 75 jobs, all missions / quests (yes all 500+ of them) expansions, and well i would be here all day listing every area of this game you can spend time in but suffice to say i did it all (8000+ hour play time, yes i no-life'd it) and i had no qualms uninstalling it when i was done and the time came to move on. I don't get the whole 'you quit XI, what MMO did you move to?' idea either, i played no MMOs before or after XI personally.

I also disagree with your comment that veteran players who still play will feel a need to keep their accounts, as i understand it (friends still play) the general feeling in most servers is that people can't wait for XIV to be released as they are tired of the game.

About the original topic though, of course they aren't going to shut down XI as soon as XIV is released, it'll go on for a while yet.

Posting internet rumors as news now?

I can't believe MMORPG would be so irresponsible. Do you care about the ramifications this report will have on current subscribers? Would you continue to invest time in a game that is closing soon?

If your report is true, kudos for breaking it. I'm not sure that its ethicly the right thing to make this publc. I think SE has a right to make this known, and you should have approached them first. If they refused to respond, then weigh your choices.

If your report is false you just caused a lot of undue grief for players and SE, and possibly set yourself up for a lawsuit.

Originally posted by Oyjord

Originally posted by Kost  I've never met anyone who had played for any substantial amount of time and would just up and quit for another game.

FFXI players are some of the most loyal, dedicated players around.

 

It's a game.  It's not a family, it's not a job, it's nothing more than a game (and a sub-par one at that *yawn*).  Many players leave after playing MMOs for years, hell, most have!  Just look at EQ1's, UO's, or DAoC's current subs.  FFXI will go the way of the dodo just like those.

regardless of what you think about the game, i think Kost has a point. SE has done a great job keeping subs. they have a huge playerbase ( 2 million last i heard) and the fans love it. No matter if its your cup of tea or not, there are people out there who have goals set in that game they havent reached yet, and probably will stay to play until its done. I do however think that the guys in ffxi that have done it all, will probabaly be the first to jump over to ffxiv if its there cup of tea. There is still alot to be announced about this game! So if they end up liking it, i can see them jumping over for a fresh new challenge

 They have already stated many times that they will not close FFXI in the near future.  it still has more subs then most of the mmos out there.  plenty ffxi players have said that they will stick with ffxi even after ffxiv is out.  it still makes money, so why would the shut it down?

Allow me to introduce myself then, I accomplished pretty much everything there is to do in this game in the space of 1.5 years (multiple 75 jobs, all missions / quests (yes all 500+ of them) expansions, and well i would be here all day listing every area of this game you can spend time in but suffice to say i did it all (8000+ hour play time, yes i no-life'd it) and i had no qualms uninstalling it when i was done and the time came to move on. I don't get the whole 'you quit XI, what MMO did you move to?' idea either, i played no MMOs before or after XI personally.

I also disagree with your comment that veteran players who still play will feel a need to keep their accounts, as i understand it (friends still play) the general feeling in most servers is that people can't wait for XIV to be released as they are tired of the game.

About the original topic though, of course they aren't going to shut down XI as soon as XIV is released, it'll go on for a while yet.

I've played since 2003.  I have many 75 jobs, many friends, and I still love and enjoy the game.  You said you didn't quit to go to another game.  You were just done because you apparently had all the time in the world to play.   I have a family, a job, friends, etc, so  I'm not done.  My friends are pretty much like me.  Casual but reliable.

My friends talk about trying FFXIV as do I, but we don't want to lose FFXI.  We still enjoy it.   I'm curious about the 1.5 years you played and did 'everything'.   There are still expansions/missions being added.  New and different quests and opportunities, things like Nyzul, Einherjar, synergy, etc. 

Just because you're done, doesn't mean everyone is.   When FFXIV was first announced, it was more exciting than it has been recently.  For the most part, the people I know are happy/content playing FFXI, not anxiously awaiting FFXIV at all. 

From a business perspective....this doesn't make any sense, and therefore, my conclusion is....it's simply GOSSIP.

Think of it this way....

Do you think Blizzard would "shut down" WoW because they have a new MMO coming out?  Seriously.  If you had a functioning cash cow, would you kill it so that you could "force" (hahahahahaha....as IF) gamers to play your NEWER game?  No.  That's just fucking stupid. First of all, you have NO assurance that people will move on to the new game. Some people don't have the newer technology to PLAY the new game, you're going to piss off a LOT of people that have invested years of time, etc., etc., ad infinitum.

It makes MUCH more business sense to let the "conversion" be a natural thing. SOME people will leave and come to the new game, others will stay with the older game, SOME.....will sub to BOTH, and some "new blood" will enter the scene with the new release.

Honestly....I can't believe anyone would buy a rumor like this. It's utterly ridiculous on every level. FFXI will "shut down" when, and ONLY when, there are not enough subscribers to support the daily running OF the game itself, and not before then. Same as with WoW, EQ (original flavor), UO, etc. You don't "shut down" things that are paying for themselves and making a profit....ANY profit.

Originally posted by girlgeek

Do you think Blizzard would "shut down" WoW because they have a new MMO coming out?  Seriously.  If you had a functioning cash cow, would you kill it so that you could "force" (hahahahahaha....as IF) gamers to play your NEWER game?  No.  That's just fucking stupid. First of all, you have NO assurance that people will move on to the new game. Some people don't have the newer technology to PLAY the new game, you're going to piss off a LOT of people that have invested years of time, etc., etc., ad infinitum.

 It makes MUCH more business sense to let the "conversion" be a natural thing. SOME people will leave and come to the new game, others will stay with the older game, SOME.....will sub to BOTH, and some "new blood" will enter the scene with the new release.

 Honestly....I can't believe anyone would buy a rumor like this. It's utterly ridiculous on every level.

 

But lets look at past history shall we.  Not that we have many examples, but by an large, every attempt to create a sequel has pretty much tanked.  EQ 2 never reached the heights of EQ 1.  AC2, well, we know how that turned out.  UO2....never got off the ground.

In every case, the original games were left alone, and all sequels failed. Is there a relationships? Perhaps. 

It might very well make sense to shut down the original game to help ensure the success of the new one. Since FFXIV will have game play quite a bit differently than anywhere else, players would be faced with a choice, play FFXIV or play a WOW clone.

I'm betting they'll stick with FFXIV no matter how much they dislike changing games.

SE said it won't be shutting down.

Originally posted by Kyleran

But lets look at past history shall we.  Not that we have many examples, but by an large, every attempt to create a sequel has pretty much tanked.  EQ 2 never reached the heights of EQ 1.  AC2, well, we know how that turned out.  UO2....never got off the ground.

In every case, the original games were left alone, and all sequels failed. Is there a relationships? Perhaps.

 

EQ2 had serious performance problems when it was realised ,even high-end systems were having trouble (It is still  cpu bound more than everything else )  .AC2 i have no idea  i did not watch  it but people still complain from  client problems/constant nerfs and broken core .Blaming sequels for failure is wrong i think ,blame half-baked products.

On-topic : There is no way this rumour is true .

Im sure alot of you cant imagine how many people playing mmos on old hardware and/or notebooks .You can bet there will a lot of players happy with FF11 and dont want to upgrade for FF14 .They can keep FF11 just for this group and can be still profitable

Originally posted by jagd1

Im sure alot of you cant imagine how many people playing mmos on old hardware and/or notebooks .You can bet there will a lot of players happy with FF11 and dont want to upgrade for FF14 .They can keep FF11 just for this group and can be still profitable

I'm sure there are a ton of people playing FFXI on older hardware that either can't or won't upgrade to play FFXIV.  I know peeps that are playing on linux boxes under WINE.  From what I'm told LOTS of JP players are playing on the PS2 to this day.  Unless, of course, that's just the excuse so S-E doesn't have to do any graphical updates to the game, but I digress...

I know a lot of hardcore players that are ready to just move on, that much is a given, but what they're moving on to isn't necessarily going to be FFXIV.  WoW will always be the elephant in the room as far as MMO's go, that much is certain, but there are plenty of other MMO's out there that are not FFXIV.  Aion, for instance.  Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Hell, I know people that quit for EvE.  I if S-E thinks that the bulk of FFXI subscribers are automatically gonna move to FFXIV they're mistaken.  People aren't playing FFXI to hold them over until the new MMO comes out, at least, nobody I really talk to is.  People are playing FFXI because they genuinely like the game and have the investment of years in it, not because they don't have anything better to do.

Anywho, I'm honestly a little skeptical of FFXIV myself.  I want a realistic free trial first and foremost.  They've been really tight lipped with actual in game content, and the stuff I have seen honestly didn't impress me much (the clip I saw where they were fighting giant chickens or whatever, looks like FFXII more then anything).  But you know what bothers me most of all?  The fact that it is launching on the 360 and PS3 as well.  I don't know for sure if they're planning to have cross-platform interaction like they did with FFXI, but if they DO, then they're really retarded.  I know I'm heartily sick of the excuse that S-E can't improve this, that, or the other thing because of "PS2 LIMITATIONS", and if they build FFXIV with the same inherent problems I'm not even gonna waste my time at all.  I want a game that will give me YEARS of content and scale according to the power of modern computers without having to play around with registry files and use third party tools.  I know the JP's are all about their consoles, and that's cool, but let them play on a PS3 server and deal with their own crap, I don't want their hardware limitations making my game look like a bag of S--T 2 years down the road.

If they consider to shut down. I expect them to making offline game similar to Phantasy Star Universe. I'm very disppoint in this game due people are selfish not help CoP and Zilart. They too much focus on Dyna, in game and farming many more. It's disguise. What the waste of time. I love Final Fantasy series. I pray hard if they reconsider to have offline game beside online. I would buy!~

I just close account last night and decide to await new FFXIV much better than FFXI.

Originally posted by mike4fantasy

If they consider to shut down. I expect them to making offline game similar to Phantasy Star Universe. I'm very disppoint in this game due people are selfish not help CoP and Zilart. They too much focus on Dyna, in game and farming many more. It's disguise. What the waste of time. I love Final Fantasy series. I pray hard if they reconsider to have offline game beside online. I would buy!~

 

I just close account last night and decide to await new FFXIV much better than FFXI.

Well, you gotta understand, Mike, FFXI has been out since 2002.  CoP was released as an expansion in fall of 2004, almost six years ago.  Any game, as time goes on, starts getting more and more skewed towards endgame as the population starts getting more established.  Although some shells are more lenient then others, most are pretty hard core and have high expectations.  When you have a 6 day per week schedule of end game events (Dynamis, Einherjar, Nyzul, Farming Sky, Farming Sea, HNM's) you don't really get a lot of side time to do other things.  It's why I haven't really gotten into the endgame stuff yet, even though I have multiple 75's.  Sure, I may not have the uber gear from those events, but I'm happy meriting in Campaign and camping NM's.

I don't begrudge people for not wanting to do the Promy's for the 80000th time for a new LS member, but S-E really needs to either merge the servers so that there's some new blood to do it with or relax the restrictions on that stuff, like the level caps.  I know people that had to do it the hard way may bitch, but seriously, anyone that's ever shouted for a Promy run anytime recently knows that the crap IS getting ridiculous.  I spent 6 hours shouting once as 4/6 and didn't get anybody, and all we needed was DD's, ANYONE could have come.

Originally posted by DCUOFAN

I loved FFXI, played it since '04 and when WoW came out i tried that but didn't enjoy as much as FFXI.

truly sad to see it go, the story and the places stuck with me. met alot of great people playing FFXI.

I do not think there is any reason to be sad since the likely hood of a company closing down a game that is making them profit is very unlikely.  Now if FFXIV comes out and so many people leave that they are losing money by keeping the servers open then it will shut down.  As long as it keeps enough subscribers to keep turning a profit it is pretty much a given that the game will continue to be supported.

Hey, I know! Let's make a report that WoW is shutting down!

/sarc

 This rumour is not only absolutely false, but also mildly hilarious. SE have stated multiple times that they will NOT be shutting FFXI down simply "because of FFXIV". Leave it to a site like this to jump at rumours such as this without showing both sides of the story. If anyone believes this, they need a serious lesson in using their head and learning how to do research. And by research, I mean look at any recent statement by Tanaka or anyone else on the Dev team have stated regarding the current and future state of FFXI when speaking about FFXIV. Google is your friend.

Originally posted by jiveturkey12

Thank God, I never liked FFXI the game was horribly dated even when it first came out. Dont get me wrong it had good features, but it was completely inaccessible to most people because of the horrible login/download interface.

 

Wouldn't "thank God" just yet.

FFXI isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Not sorry to disappoint you.

Originally posted by braingame007

FFXI will not be shut down this year most likely, but I give it a 2 more year life cycle after FFXIV comes out and proves to be the major success it planned to be. FFXI is dying rapidly, Remora used to be a very high populated server, last time I was there I stood in town and didn't see a shout for over 10 minutes, then got a few shouts and then another 10 minutes passed by in silence, on a weekend night in Whitegate. That is unheard of, there are only a few servers that are really still kicking it, honestly I would say there is probably only about 30,000 subscribers, and when FFXIV comes out that number will drop a good 50% +

Remora isn't one of the most populated servers to begin with. I moved my character there for a short time and then went back to my home server - but not because of the population. On Pandemonium, on a weeknight, before the "crossover" between US and JP playtimes, Whitegate is non-stop shouts for mission runs, Dynamis groups, Nyzul Isle, Assault runs, Linkshells, etc. etc. etc. As of right now (I'm in-game) a /sea all returns 1190 people online - that's about the same as it's been for at least the  past few years. That's during a weeknight. It's significantly higher on the weekends.

I actually had to find alternate spots on my lowbie job to level last night because the starting areas are over-camped by new people coming to the game. No exaggeration.

That said...
Would you like to share with us where you get the "probably only about 30,000 subscribers" from? Or did you pull that out of the same place the whole "FFXI being shut down" rumor came from?

As recent last year, SE reported about ~500k active subscribers in FFXI. So, by your figuring, they dropped 470k subscribers since then?

Really?

...

I ask again.. What the hell is wrong with people?

Originally posted by Esther-Chan

Originally posted by Rover64dd

I say leave a server up and let them manage their own. They shouldnt get any head start or advantage. A free month wouldnt be opposable

Moving all your support from FFXI to FFEleventiybillion just makes more sense. You got a huge crew of talented developers and shutting down the game completely may make a lot of long time players upset, but it makes a lot of sense. Though, I suppose it is like saying you should shut down Everquest because Everquest II came out.

It's actually a very, very bad idea. Many EQ1 players resent that a EQII even exists, much less would they play it. Ask some AC1 fans what they thought of AC2. And so on.

Think about it...
Many of the so-called "AAA" titles to come out in the past few years, with all the flashy graphics and "casual-friendly", "accessible gameplay" and all that have found themselves leveling off at around 150-200k players... Some have had to merge servers only a few months out from launch.

FFXI - after 8 years - still has in the ballpark of 500k players. SE still has yet to merge servers and sits at 34 (corrected). SE still is adding content. Still creating new in-game events. Still holding live events (Fan Fest 2010 - a FFXI-centric event - is coming up this week, I believe). There is a huge, and very active community surrounding FFXI. And so forth.

That's not me being a "fanboy". That's fact.

Why in the hell would you shut something like that down, especially when you're telling people that your new MMO is going to cater more to a different segment of players?

I think some people get so caught up and giddy with the idea of seeing a major title "fail", that they completely fail to stop and think about the completely obvious.

All game fail, they need to made the standar higther graphic, new idea, and amaze us... We always ask as a human BETTER ! FASTER ! HARDER ! ( u see)

Originally posted by mike4fantasy

If they consider to shut down. I expect them to making offline game similar to Phantasy Star Universe. I'm very disppoint in this game due people are selfish not help CoP and Zilart. They too much focus on Dyna, in game and farming many more. It's disguise. What the waste of time. I love Final Fantasy series. I pray hard if they reconsider to have offline game beside online. I would buy!~

 

I just close account last night and decide to await new FFXIV much better than FFXI.

The linkshell I'm in are actively helping people complete CoP as well as other "earlier game" content. I've helped several groups through their Promys already and am going to do whatever fights I can help them with. I actually find the fights fun, and enjoy helping people out.

I don't disagree that there are people only concerned about end-game stuff (that's genre-wide pattern), but there are definitely those who are still going through the older content.

Hmm, funny how Etra's post back on page 4 got completely lost in the furore... Kost refers to FF11's loyal fanbase; I would alter that to read 'rabidly loyal'. WSIMike notes that FF11 has been 'unshaken by WoW'. FF11 players are some of the hardest-core, rabidly fanatic mmo-ites out there who consider themselves more elite than Saxe-Coburg & Gotha/Windsor; and are more snobbish than those Nouveaux Riches, the Rockefellers and Carnegies, combined.

If Etra has the right of it, then there is no WAY that the FF11 player-base will migrate to a casual-experience FF14. Realise that when WoW first came out, the /sh channels all across Vana'diel were full of scoffing and utter CONTEMPT for what we felt was an imminent failure. So WoW was a brilliant success, in the event. That doesn't change our PEREMPTORY DISMISSAL of such plebeian affairs. Casual is beneath us. When FF14 comes out, I am sure we will accept it with a patronising smile and a regal wave. It is our duty under Noblesse Oblige; but, to actually consort with it by migrating to it and abandoning our Pedigree? I dare say not! For we are the Peers, the Elite, the Royalty.

We are FFXI.

We are Rex.

Originally posted by Stalinfalcon

Hmm, funny how Etra's post back on page 4 got completely lost in the furore... Kost refers to FF11's loyal fanbase; I would alter that to read 'rabidly loyal'. WSIMike notes that FF11 has been 'unshaken by WoW'. FF11 players are some of the hardest-core, rabidly fanatic mmo-ites out there who consider themselves more elite than Saxe-Coburg & Gotha/Windsor; and are more snobbish than those Nouveaux Riches, the Rockefellers and Carnegies, combined.

If Etra has the right of it, then there is no WAY that the FF11 player-base will migrate to a casual-experience FF14. Realise that when WoW first came out, the /sh channels all across Vana'diel were full of scoffing and utter CONTEMPT for what we felt was an imminent failure. So WoW was a brilliant success, in the event. That doesn't change our PEREMPTORY DISMISSAL of such plebeian affairs. Casual is beneath us. When FF14 comes out, I am sure we will accept it with a patronising smile and a regal wave. It is our duty under Noblesse Oblige; but, to actually consort with it by migrating to it and abandoning our Pedigree? I dare say not! For we are the Peers, the Elite, the Royalty.

We are FFXI.

We are Rex.

I guess it can't just be that some people just enjoy ffxi...  We have to be rabid elitists.  

I play with my sons and friends who also play with their families.  We enjoy the missions, crafting, teamwork, endgame, etc.  We've played other games, we just prefer this one.   It's more fun to laugh at the stupid things we've done together.  We enjoy the times we finally succeeded, often after failing miserably many times.   Not because we're elite or skilled, but because we're stubborn and just keep trying till we get it.  We enjoy gaming  together in fffxi.

But no, we must just be some kind of insane elitists who don't play because we enjoy it.  We play so we can say we're better than other people we don't even know.   Makes so much sense.

If FFXIV appeals to us, we'll play.  If it doesn't, we won't, and I hope FFXI will be there to enjoy.    Why does everyone 'have' to like what you do or they're just elitist snobs?

Why are unsubstantiated rumors being reported at all.  Especially ones that are being denied by the company and make no sense. 

Please have some journalistic integrity. 

Also why are people giving this any credence at all? 

Originally posted by Dave08

Originally posted by Stalinfalcon

Hmm, funny how Etra's post back on page 4 got completely lost in the furore... Kost refers to FF11's loyal fanbase; I would alter that to read 'rabidly loyal'. WSIMike notes that FF11 has been 'unshaken by WoW'. FF11 players are some of the hardest-core, rabidly fanatic mmo-ites out there who consider themselves more elite than Saxe-Coburg & Gotha/Windsor; and are more snobbish than those Nouveaux Riches, the Rockefellers and Carnegies, combined.

If Etra has the right of it, then there is no WAY that the FF11 player-base will migrate to a casual-experience FF14. Realise that when WoW first came out, the /sh channels all across Vana'diel were full of scoffing and utter CONTEMPT for what we felt was an imminent failure. So WoW was a brilliant success, in the event. That doesn't change our PEREMPTORY DISMISSAL of such plebeian affairs. Casual is beneath us. When FF14 comes out, I am sure we will accept it with a patronising smile and a regal wave. It is our duty under Noblesse Oblige; but, to actually consort with it by migrating to it and abandoning our Pedigree? I dare say not! For we are the Peers, the Elite, the Royalty.

We are FFXI.

We are Rex.

I guess it can't just be that some people just enjoy ffxi...  We have to be rabid elitists.  

I play with my sons and friends who also play with their families.  We enjoy the missions, crafting, teamwork, endgame, etc.  We've played other games, we just prefer this one.   It's more fun to laugh at the stupid things we've done together.  We enjoy the times we finally succeeded, often after failing miserably many times.   Not because we're elite or skilled, but because we're stubborn and just keep trying till we get it.  We enjoy gaming  together in fffxi.

But no, we must just be some kind of insane elitists who don't play because we enjoy it.  We play so we can say we're better than other people we don't even know.   Makes so much sense.

If FFXIV appeals to us, we'll play.  If it doesn't, we won't, and I hope FFXI will be there to enjoy.    Why does everyone 'have' to like what you do or they're just elitist snobs?

 

This. Absolutely QFT. There are definitely more people than "rabid elitists" in the game. If Stalinfalcon considers himself one of those, that's great, but don't go assuming that every single other person in the game is just because you and/or your community of people that you play together with are.

Originally posted by MMOman101

Why are unsubstantiated rumors being reported at all.  Especially ones that are being denied by the company and make no sense. 

 

Please have some journalistic integrity. 

QFT this as well. Seriously >_>; I see articles like this on this site all the time and it really turns me off.

It would be real sad if they do decide shut it down. I don't think they will. This was probably the best made MMO I have played(not just being an avid FF fan). I was actually thinking of getting back into it, until14 came out and giving that a try. Anything is possible with it being shutdown. But I hope it will not be.