Final Fantasy XIV is one of the most important MMOs of the present. It has managed to capture the essence of Final Fantasy while being an excellent MMO. Its popularity and success place it among the great MMOs. And with good reason. That’s why neither its longevity nor the fact that later Final Fantasy games look up to it is surprising. Because no other Square Enix game is such a safe bet, every time. Final Fantasy XIV, simplified, but with the same essence. Now Square Enix and Tencent have announced the development of Final Fantasy XIV Mobile. This is […]
Final Fantasy XIV is one of the most important MMOs of the present. Somehow, it has managed to capture the essence of Final Fantasy while being an excellent MMO. Its popularity and success place it among the great MMOs. And with good reason. That’s why neither its longevity nor the fact that subsequent Final Fantasy games look up to it is surprising. It’s because no other Square Enix game is such a safe bet, every time.
Final Fantasy XIV, simplified, but with the same essence
Now Square Enix and Tencent have announced the development of Final Fantasy XIV Mobile. This is a half surprise. We already knew about the existence of this mobile MMO since it was leaked last August, when it appeared on the list of games approved for release in China. The ones in charge of bringing the game to mobile will be LightSpeed Studios, who have previously handled PUBG Mobile, with great experience in the field of mobile development.
While the intention is for it to be as similar as possible to the PC and console version, including fishing, Chocobo racing, and the Triple Triad card game, it will be independent from the other versions. It’s aiming to recreate the grandeur of the original story and combat mechanics on mobile devices.
Although the developers are LightSpeed Studios, Naoki Yoshida is in charge of supervising this version of the game. Yoshida has been the director and producer of Final Fantasy XIV since the A Realm Reborn expansion, which was released fourteen years ago and completely revamped the game from scratch – so no one knows the game better than him. It ensures that this version, although with certain compromises, will be an experience as similar as possible to that of PC and consoles.
Although it does not have a release date yet, Final Fantasy XIV Mobile will be launched for both iOS and Android. And before the worldwide release, a series of tests will be conducted in China. Once these are concluded, the game will be released shortly thereafter on a worldwide scale, much to the delight of fans of this incredible MMO.
FINAL FANTASY XIV Online is a premium role-playing game that has gathered a global player base of over 27 million adventurers. Developed by Square Enix, this captivating MMORPG has stood the test of time since its initially troubled launch. With its rich story, immersive gameplay, and a devoted community, it has become a benchmark in the MMORPG genre.
Another will come who will make me good. This popular saying, little used according to the Centro Virtual Cervantes, applies very well to Shawn Layden. Not very well-liked during his tenure at the helm of Sony, he is experiencing a sort of redemption arc. Without the burden of having to lead a multinational company, it seems that his opinions are very different from those he had when he was at the helm. Or at least, much more sensible than those who are now steering that same ship. Because once again, the former executive and leader of the Japanese brand has decided […]
Another will come who will make me good. This popular saying, little used according to the Centro Virtual Cervantes, applies very well to Shawn Layden. Very little liked during his tenure at the helm of Sony, he is having a sort of redemption arc. Without the burden of having to lead a multinational forward, it seems that his opinions are very different from those he had when he was at the helm. Or at least, much more sensible than those who are now at the helm of that same ship. Because once again, the former executive and leader of the Japanese brand has decided to speak with a sensibility we did not expect from an executive.
As an executive at Sony for 30 years, he knows all the ins and outs of the company well, something that has earned him his current job as an advisor for numerous companies, including the Chinese giant Tencent. Where, currently, he is recommending doing exactly the opposite of what the entire industry is doing: reducing the scale of projects, teams, and thus, alleviating the budget issues.
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In Layden’s view, it is necessary to return to making games with more modest budgets. Perpetual growth does not work. And he has reasons for this. Arguing that, “when a game costs 5 million dollars to make, you can charge 59.99 dollars, but when it costs 125 million dollars, you charge 59.99 dollars, so the math doesn’t work.” Saying that, by pure logic, it is impossible to maintain the current costs of video games. Not when, “the gaming community has said they don’t want to pay more than 60 dollars for a video game.”
This is something we have seen in recent years. With the growth of budgets, the leap with each new generation has also meant a leap in the base price of games. From 60 to 70 dollars, and currently making a gesture to reach up to 80. But the reality is that by doing this, games sell less at launch, inviting players to wait for the inevitable discounts to purchase the games.
That is why, according to Layden, the industry is hitting a wall. If 150 million is spent on making a triple-A game, then they are obligated to make a sequel. This is because all the risks are defined through mathematics that simply do not align with the material reality of things. What CEOs and finance chiefs see is that the price of a game does not match its cost and that, if it works, it is not worth trying to take a risk with something different. It is better to continue exploiting what is already known to work.
That’s why there are so many clones of the same game. So many DLCs, microtransactions, and battle passes. Because it’s a way to make money while minimizing risks in an economy that doesn’t work. But then, what does Layden propose? Literally, to de-escalate. To make cheaper games.
In his own words, “it’s time to make a radical reset in the business model, a radical reset of what a video game is.” The immense budgets, games over 50 hours, hyper-realistic graphics, are unsustainable in an industry that increasingly struggles to sustain itself. And that requires changing how video game production is approached. But also how we think about video games and what they should be.
Is what Layden proposes possible? Only time will tell. But when the former president of Sony says that the current model is unsustainable and that we are heading towards a cliff, perhaps these are not apocalyptic speeches. Perhaps it’s time to start rethinking the video game industry. And what a video game should be, in general.
Obviously, they want to make the most out of ‘Elden Ring’ and have already begun its development, although, according to Reuters, it’s progressing excessively slowly.
It is one of the best-selling games of the decade with over 20 million copies, and it continues to be recommended by everyone. In fact, it would be rare if they didn’t prepare a good bunch of remakes and remasters, in which the changes are minimal and only an expert could find the differences. ‘Elden ring’ is one of the spearheads of FromSoftware, and today we have learned that Tencent, owner of 16.25% of the company’s shares, is already preparing a version… for your mobile.
Tencent may go unnoticed as we constantly hear news about Activision Blizzard or Nintendo, but it is the most powerful video game company in the world, especially after acquiring Riot Games and their ‘League of Legends‘ a decade ago. Obviously, they want to make the most out of ‘Elden Ring’ and they have already started its development, although, as reported by Reuters, it is progressing too slowly and no one knows how it will fit on a phone screen or how to monetize it without causing painful microtransactions.
It is also possible that they end up completely erasing it from existence: that’s what happened, for example, with its mobile version of ‘NieR’, which had monetization issues and was removed from all app stores. Apparently, Tencent has been struggling to find its next success since it launched the mobile version of ‘League of Legends’ (‘Wild Rift’) in 2020. It’s not that players are not used to mobile ports like ‘Resident Evil 4’ or ‘Death Stranding’. The only question is… How much are they willing to pay to play on the screen of their iPhone or Android? That’s where Tencent can make a difference.
Should Reddit users be worried about a multimillion-dollar investment from a Chinese company?
Chinese tech empire Tencent recently invested $150 million in American social forum Reddit. Fearing oncoming censorship, the website’s users flooded the front page with pictures of Tiananmen Square’s Tank Man and Winnie the Pooh.
Pooh is banned entirely in China after Chinese internet users jokingly said President Xi Jinping looked like him
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has said that Tencent’s involvement in video games was what primarily brought the two companies together. Gaming is one of the most popular subject matters on Reddit, whose user base is primarily made up of tech-savvy men in their early 20s. Through its investments, Tencent is the largest video game company in the world, owning or partially owning the world’s most popular games like Fortnite, League of Legends, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
Reddit has a notoriously outspoken community that is largely supportive of free speech and open communication. Like most large social platforms, Reddit is banned in China. Over the summer, Reddit users protested the repeal of net neutrality in the biggest campaign the site had ever seen. Given China’s long history of censorship, both online and off, it should come at no surprise that the community is angered with such a large Chinese investment to the site. Tencent’s largest social media platform, the Chinese superapp WeChat, has been plagued by government-imposed censorship, leading to many unhappy users.
The greatness and danger of WeChat: China’s Super App
Reddit is far from the only western social media platform that has gotten a large investment from Tencent. Snapchat, Spotify, Discord, Tesla, Kik, and more have received large investments from Tencent, whose extremely diverse holdings rank the company as the fifth most powerful brand in the world. This fifth place position outranks Facebook and is only beaten by Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
In fairness, companies that Tencent have invested in have received little-to-no changes to their policies or structures. There is little chance that Tencent will be able to censor any platform that doesn’t fall directly under Chinese jurisdiction. With this in mind, it isn’t censorship that Reddit users should worry about, it’s data collection. Tencent makes billions of dollars from gathering user data across its hundreds of services, data that is sold to and profited from by the Chinese government. Having your data from nearly every major social media platform in the hands of the world’s most powerful oppressive government regime is certainly cause for concern. Don’t worry Redditors; you’ll be able to upload pictures of Tiananmen Square to the front page at your leisure. Just be careful about managing your personal information, as through Tencent’s growing tech empire there is a good chance it’ll land in the hands of the Chinese government.
