Final Fantasy

The developers at Square Enix who are working on the troubled MMO Final Fantasy XIV have announced that it is re-evaluating the merger process that was set to hit the game on March 27, mainly because of the negative reaction from the player base.  

We speak to Final Fantasy XIV Online's producer Naoki Yoshida about how he thinks the controversial game will fare this year, plans for the game's subscription model, and what will happen for the MMO on console. Q: Do you feel this is the year we'll see Final Fantasy XIV at its best?Naoki Yoshida: I believe this is going to be the year for Final Fantasy XIV and the whole of Square Enix has supported our tireless efforts to work and ensure...  

Hybrid business model may be used in future. Speaking to VideoGamer.com, the game's producer Naoki Yoshida stated the studio is interested in looking at numerous alternate business models to potentially follow in the future, including free-to-play."We keep a very close eye on all of the different business models and options available to us, and a subscription model is the business strategy that makes the most sense for FFXIV in the current...  

Among all the cues that Final Fantasy XIV took from Final Fantasy XI, there was an obvious omission -- housing. Players have been forced to live without private rooms thus far in the game, but in patch 1.21, that's going to change. The first ...  

Is this the year of Final Fantasy XIV? Q: Do you feel this is the year we'll see Final Fantasy XIV at its best?Naoki Yoshida: I believe this is going to be the year for Final Fantasy XIV and the whole of Square Enix has supported our tireless efforts to work and ensure this is going to be the case.Q: What is one specific aspect of version 2.0 that you are specifically looking forward to?NY: As we announced back in October, there are so...  

After the ups and downs of MMO Final Fantasy XIV Online, producer Naoki Yoshida states it's essential to win back its old userbase. Speaking with VideoGamer.com, producer Naoki Yoshida stated that while the Final Fantasy brand is itself a draw, the studio doesn't want to rely on that solely in order to bring back its audience."We think it is essential to recapture players that we lost at the initial launch of the game and, in order to do...  

Final Fantasy XIV's foods and medicines have always been a major part of the game -- after all, both Culinarians and Alchemists focus on producing precisely those items. Unfortunately, the items have been awkward to make, unwieldy to use, and ...  

Final Fantasy XIV Online producer details what we should expect to see in the next big patch this month. According to Yoshida, patch 1.21 will finally feature the Job system, as well as UI improvements, housing, two new instanced raids, and an overhaul to food and medicine.Initially the patch was scheduled to launch the second week of February, however it will now be delayed by two weeks due to the amount of new content being introduced...  

Final Fantasy XIV Online finally allows users to pay for their monthly subscription directly using a credit or debit card. Originally the game offered a stunningly complicated system where players were required to buy a currency called Crysta which was then spent on their monthly subscription. This often caused issues where players would buy more Crysta than necessary.According to Square Enix, the addition of the new credit card-based...  

Emily looks at why embracing a subscription model might actually be the right decision for this MMO on the edge. Enter stage left, Final Fantasy XIV Online.This month FFXIV became the only free-to-play MMO to ever decide to make the arduous journey back to using a subscription model. The question is, why would a developer do that?At a time in the industry when "successful subscription MMO" is one of the least-heard phrases in journalism...  

For a limited time only. The new mounts have been featured in a video on the official site, however it states they will only be available for a limited time prior to the release of version 2.0.Final Fantasy XIV's major 2.0 update will begin this year. In anticipation of this the game's subscription fee has been re-instated, however it has dropped from £8.99 to £6.89 per month and will be offered at this monthly discount rate until Version...  

Square Enix has teased character specific Final Fantasy 13-2 DLC episodes. These will release following the launch of the game, director Motomu Toriyama and producer Yoshinori Kitase said in an interview printed in the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania guide books (spotted by Andriasang). They refer to XIII-2 as the game's "Noel and Serah Volume." We can also expect a Lightning Volume, a Snow Volume, a Sazh Volume, and more. Read more…  

It's been a little quiet on the Final Fantasy XIV front since the new year, but the team behind the game has been hard at work preparing the launch of patch 1.21. And it's going to be quite a massive patch, as outlined in Naoki Yoshida's most ...  

Final Fantasy XIV players will want to work to get their Goobbue mount as it will only be available in game until the cataclysmic events that will usher in v2.0 later in 2012. To show off the mount, the team has released a new trailer. Check it out!  

The Final Fantasy XIV team is reminding players that subscription billing will resume on Friday, January 6th. Players have been able to play the game for over a year without a subscription due to the difficulties experienced on FFXIV's launch.