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A Growing Subscription Base to Rival WoW's Heyday & F2P 'Could' Happen - Final Fantasy XIV - MMORPG.

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
edited October 2017 in News & Features Discussion

imageA Growing Subscription Base to Rival WoW's Heyday & F2P 'Could' Happen - Final Fantasy XIV - MMORPG.com

Final Fantasy XIV News - In a new interview at GamesIndustry.biz, Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida has revealed some interesting tidbits about the game's player base and its overall health. While no firm current subscription numbers are stated, Yoshida does say that "our active subscribers is the largest it's ever been". Additionally, the launch of Stormblood saw FFXIV cruise over the 10M player mark, only 2M shy of World of Warcraft at its highest ebb, though this number also includes free trial players.

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Comments

  • ForgrimmForgrimm Member EpicPosts: 3,059
    Good news to hear that another mmo is doing well. When I tried it the combat felt too slow and the world seemed too closed in. Might give it another shot though.
    KisaMisaOctagon7711deniter
  • urbanmechurbanmech Member UncommonPosts: 200
    "this number also includes free trial players"

    Then no, your 10 million number doesn't count.
    KyleranThupliFrodoFraginsPhryLucienRene
  • zanfirezanfire Member UncommonPosts: 969
    From everything I've seen and heard (and I know 2 people who play the game) they sure as he'll don't feel like the game is the biggest its ever been by any stretch. Also the 10m players is not active subs and will never even touch WoWs hight of active subs...likely no game will ever come close.

    I still find it surprising that they are so proud of their "most players ever" yet won't even hint at the actual active number and just push the "player" mark which really means very little to active players.
    NephethKyleranOctagon7711LucienReneZalgotas
  • AvarixAvarix Member RarePosts: 665
    Glad to read it's subscription is healthy. Couldn't care less for the exact numbers, just that it means continuing with the excellent update/expansion pace they have set.

    That's always my major concern with player population, outside of having enough players to group with. If it's making them money they will continue investing into it, which I then feel comfortable investing my time. Quickest way to get me to drop an MMO is to make it's future uncertain.
    zanfireZalgotas
  • DragnelusDragnelus Member EpicPosts: 3,503

  • CoolitCoolit Member UncommonPosts: 661
    It's an amazing achievement regardless of the trial accounts, it says spades about the game and development team.
    gervaise1LucienRene
  • pantaropantaro Member RarePosts: 515
    omg everything is F2P how do we keep our subs??? maybe stop worrying about all the trash F2P games and make a better subscription mmo for the long haul eh!
    PhryGdemami
  • MickyknoxMickyknox Member UncommonPosts: 61
    I would check it out if it goes B2P if not ESO and GW2 have more then enough things for me to do
    Octagon7711Thupli
  • darkrain21darkrain21 Member UncommonPosts: 383
    I'm glad the way it is. I don't play non stop but I don't mind paying the sub to have it there for me on raid nights and when I'm just in a 14 mood. If it went f2p we would probably see a big incline in purchased content and a slower roll put of actual gaame content and I'm just not about that.
    Gdemami
  • Jimmy562Jimmy562 Member UncommonPosts: 1,158

    Coolit said:

    It's an amazing achievement regardless of the trial accounts, it says spades about the game and development team.



    It's a pretty good achievement but I wouldn't stretch to amazing. GW2 has 11 million, ESO had around 8 million and WoW has 100+ million. I'm sure many more MMO's can boast of such numbers when talking about accounts.

    I will say the subscriptions are amazing, didn't think another P2P MMO would make it to be honest but it's doing very well.
  • gervaise1gervaise1 Member EpicPosts: 6,919
    edited October 2017
    urbanmech said:
    "this number also includes free trial players"

    Then no, your 10 million number doesn't count.
    As per here: https://press.na.square-enix.com/releases/1007/final-fantasy-xiv-online-exceeds-10-million-players-worldwide

    which gives the actual press release! So it is something to take into account. SE did however say that subs were at "record levels" and since last year they issued: 

     LOS ANGELES (July 19, 2016) – SQUARE ENIX® today announced that the critically-acclaimed,  FINAL FANTASY® XIV has now drawn in over six million cumulative players globally--excluding free trial—in under three years.

    source: https://press.na.square-enix.com/releases/742/final-fantasy-xiv-cumulative-players-exceed-6-million

    this means they still have over 6M subs. And even if that was only a peak number due to the expansion etc. I am impressed.

    Irrespective of SE's sleight of hand and what exactly is a sub (not always 30 days etc.) pretty safe to assume that FFXIV is ahead of WoW today. And with no WoW expansion announced and FFXIV dropping regular content updates this will probably continue for a while. 

    Edit: Probably worth stressing that the release does say 10M players currently. So even if it only - only! - has 6-7M subscribers that also means it also has 3-4M free trial players. Although how far off 10M subs we don't know.


    vespar555Gdemami
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,498
    Yes, clearly they are succeeding however it's not possible to say they are anywhere close to WOWs peak sub number which back in the day did not include trial accounts if memory serves me correctly.
    vespar555

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • rodarinrodarin Member EpicPosts: 2,611
    edited October 2017
    LOL people still trying to mix words and still get it wrong.


     LOS ANGELES (July 19, 2016) – SQUARE ENIX® today announced that the critically-acclaimed,  FINAL FANTASY® XIV has now drawn in over six million cumulative players globally--excluding free trial—in under three years.

    Read more at http://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/468538/a-growing-subscription-base-to-rival-wows-heyday-f2p-could-happen-final-fantasy-xiv-mmorpg#e69IdSqyK4X4GIOF.99

    That game isnt full PC so they count PS3 numbers as well, and I am sure some of the generic subs they require get counted. Not to mention there is a loop hole there, the 30 day free trial was actually extended so its not hard to think that even if it were technically a free trial due to that extension Square Equinox counted anything over 30 days as a non free trial period.

    There is always marketing spin when people throw numbers around like this.

    But considering what a disaster it was at release it has rebounded well. But its still an Asian grinder and when people start discussing numbers they should really break it down into regions. Because US players (NA) really dont care, they barely care about Euro players. And if you start talking about Asian playerbase they tune right out.


    Also the 6 million they cite is CUMULATIVE not CONCURRENT. HUGE difference.
    zanfire
  • gervaise1gervaise1 Member EpicPosts: 6,919
    zanfire said:
    From everything I've seen and heard (and I know 2 people who play the game) they sure as he'll don't feel like the game is the biggest its ever been by any stretch. Also the 10m players is not active subs and will never even touch WoWs hight of active subs...likely no game will ever come close.

    I still find it surprising that they are so proud of their "most players ever" yet won't even hint at the actual active number and just push the "player" mark which really means very little to active players.
    FFXIV's growth in numbers has followed its release in China. Same thing happened with WoW. Given the size of the Chinese market - coupled with increased access to tech - I think it premature to say that WoW's 12M won't be surpassed. It might not be as you say and even if it was this would in no way detract from WoW's success especially as FFXIV has a cultural edge when it comes to China.
    KyleranGdemami
  • VrikaVrika Member LegendaryPosts: 7,888
    @SBFord

    The number for FF XIV is 10 million cumulative accounts, with trial accounts included.
    https://press.na.square-enix.com/releases/1007/final-fantasy-xiv-online-exceeds-10-million-players-worldwide

    WoW had more than 100 million accounts back in December 2013:
    http://media.wow-europe.com/infographic/en/world-of-warcraft-infographic.html

    You should edit the WoW comparison in article accordingly, or remove the comparison completely.
     
  • AlbatroesAlbatroes Member LegendaryPosts: 7,671
    edited October 2017
    Ok, here's the deal. The 10 million is global. The korean and chinese version of the game are f2p with a cash shop there. So technically, its already f2p. But honestly, a large part of their revenue never came from the subs but the cash shop. Their cash shop is one of the most egregious things I've seen in a good while. Most of the items are not account-wide (probably about 80%). On top of that, they charge you per gender, even though there's a gender swapping npc for gear in the game (which they purposely do not utilize). To make it even worse, outfits are gender locked but some weapons that come with outfits are not. So you'd essentially have to buy an entire set just for one thing you want instead of getting it separate (i.e. the Edda set just to get the scythe). As far as I'm concerned, they already have the cash shop ready to go for a f2p transition if they really "wanted one" because they already update the cash shop as often (if not more so) as a f2p game. I mean even BnS lets you send items off with a cheap thing you can get from the cash shop instead of having to buy the entire outfit again just so another character can have it /smh. Its honestly more likely that they'll introduce a token system similar to how WoW's works before going f2p since Yoshida was saying he'd like to do that around the same time he was talking about the idea of implementing jump potions.
    Phry
  • KalebGraysonKalebGrayson Member RarePosts: 430
    The game's very busy.  There are a LOT of players in game, most of them Samurai...lol.  I enjoyed the game.  The character models are great, and I LOVE the flying in game (the flying AND how it's obtained), but the game's a little more challenging than I'm interested in.  I turned 40 this year and I play games for fun more than for challenge now.  I don't care that I'm not leet...lol  I'd be healing dungeons and was pretty stressed.  But hey, whatever floats your boat...you play for a challenge, more power to ya.  I wanna unwind from working 10 hours a day, not gear up for more work in a game...So I rolled a brand new character this summer and played the story and all quests all the way up.  It was nice and easy and relaxing.  The translations are a bit...quirky...at first, but you get used to it.  I watched a documentary on the game earlier this summer that was EXCELLENT.  The developers really care about FFXIV and it shows in game.  I don't know what the sub numbers are but I am happy the game is succeeding.
  • KnightFalzKnightFalz Member EpicPosts: 4,166
    They have a long way to go to beat WoW's heyday, but it is more feasible that they eventually would than most other MMORPGs.
    Gdemami
  • gervaise1gervaise1 Member EpicPosts: 6,919
    edited October 2017
    Vrika said:
    @SBFord

    The number for FF XIV is 10 million cumulative accounts, with trial accounts included.
    https://press.na.square-enix.com/releases/1007/final-fantasy-xiv-online-exceeds-10-million-players-worldwide

    WoW had more than 100 million accounts back in December 2013:
    http://media.wow-europe.com/infographic/en/world-of-warcraft-infographic.html

    You should edit the WoW comparison in article accordingly, or remove the comparison completely.
    @Vrika ;What the press release says is 10M cumulative players as of today - which includes those playing using a trial account.
     
    It doesn't say they have passed 10M total accounts - that number is presumably higher.

    So the comparison with WoW's 12M is accurate-ish. Except FFXIV's includes trial acounts (but as I pointed out in my post above includes at least 6M subs) whereas WoW's 12M doesn't include people on a trial to level 20.

    The equivalent ESO number, for example, would be 7M - as last announced. (Unless someone has seen them give out a higher number).
    SBFord[Deleted User]PhryGdemami
  • NanfoodleNanfoodle Member LegendaryPosts: 10,617
    They are also one of the few MMO I would call fair with what they ask for their customers. You can even play a single char for 9.99 a month and you can do everything on a single char. Would still be playing this if it was more friendly with playing with friends. Leveling my wife and I kept being forced to play solo to play the story that is required to advance your class. With my wife's arthritis she does not solo well.
    [Deleted User]
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,498
    gervaise1 said:
    zanfire said:
    From everything I've seen and heard (and I know 2 people who play the game) they sure as he'll don't feel like the game is the biggest its ever been by any stretch. Also the 10m players is not active subs and will never even touch WoWs hight of active subs...likely no game will ever come close.

    I still find it surprising that they are so proud of their "most players ever" yet won't even hint at the actual active number and just push the "player" mark which really means very little to active players.
    FFXIV's growth in numbers has followed its release in China. Same thing happened with WoW. Given the size of the Chinese market - coupled with increased access to tech - I think it premature to say that WoW's 12M won't be surpassed. It might not be as you say and even if it was this would in no way detract from WoW's success especially as FFXIV has a cultural edge when it comes to China.
    You should look up the history of China and Japan to better understand there's still no love lost between these two nations.

    Start with the Nanking Massacre and go through WWII.


    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • FilburFilbur Member UncommonPosts: 254
    Stormblood was a nice addition storywise, but has no lasting appeal. At least on PC they lost most of the players that joined or returned for SB. I subbed for two months and then canceled again, because everything got boring and tedious so fast. I guess XIV is mostly played by FF fans or console gamers with no MMO experience whatsoever.


    RexKushman
  • MargraveMargrave Member RarePosts: 1,362
    If it goes F2P, which I heavily doubt it ever will, I would be all over playing the crap out of this!
  • zanfirezanfire Member UncommonPosts: 969
    @gervaise1 please stop saying it has 6 million current subs...it doesn't have nearly that many.
  • SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
    edited October 2017
    I miss the old days when publishers gave out subscription numbers. I get why they don't any more, preferring "engagement" stats and "registered accounts" because it looks better. With 10M players, I wonder how many are currently subscribed. I bought the game when it was re-released but haven't subscribed past the first couple months after.
    Thornrage[Deleted User]Octagon7711zanfire


    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


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