Naoki Yoshida Apologizes For FFXIV Launch Issues


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If you’ve tried playing Final Fantasy XIV in Europe or North America, you are likely fully acquainted with the extended length of downtime and maintenance period on the related server clusters. A large number of players were completely unable to log in on Sunday, and the problems with heavy loads continue to plague FFXIV’s servers. FFXIV’s producer, Naoki Yoshida, has posted an apology on the official forums in response to the ongoing issues, noting that while many of the login bugs have been fixed, there is still problems related to heavy traffic that must be attended to. Unfortunately for eager players, it looks like the login restrictions will not be going right away.

Although we have successfully addressed a number of serious issues in the past several days, we have nevertheless decided to implement login restrictions for the time being due to the extremely heavy load being placed upon the servers. In this way, we can ensure that the maximum number of players can play the game without risking a server crash. I know no one wants to wait to log in, but I hope you all understand why we believe this precaution is necessary.

(Source: FFXIV Forums)

Server Control Is A Necessary Evil


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If you aren’t aware of the server locks on Final Fantasy XIV, chances are you either picked a low population server or you aren’t coordinating with a clan/group of friends. During the open beta phase 4, a large number of servers were locked down in order to keep the population in check. With the launch of early access, Square Enix has once again begun locking servers in order to disperse population and prevent servers from being overloaded. The general reaction has been mixed, leaning toward negative, with complaints mostly related to being cut off from friends/clans.

As usual, both sides have a point. Gamers want to be able to log in and play with their friends with as little impediment as possible. Square Enix want to disperse the population more evenly among the servers available to prevent players from congregating on one or two servers, overflowing them while leaving the other servers empty and abandoned. To meet Square’s goal of not having unbalanced server population and ensuring that players on the more popular servers don’t experience heavy instability, server locks are a necessary evil. It is similar to NCSoft implementing faction locks on Aion servers to keep the sides from becoming any more unbalanced.

The server lock idea, however, will live or die in the court of public opinion based on whether or not Square Enix plans on allowing players to easily transfer over to their intended servers once the launch population levels out (unless we see the rare case where the population continues growing).

Surprise! Microsoft Behind No FFXIV On Xbox


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Gamers will be able to enjoy Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn on Playstation 3, Playstation 4, and their personal computers and in fact many of them have been thanks to the MMO’s numerous beta weeks. But why isn’t there an Xbox360 or an Xbox One announcement? Bad news, chief, there won’t be. As was the case with RuneScape and a number of other MMOs, FFXIV will not be showing up on Microsoft’s console until the company changes its stance on cross-platform titles.

In an interview with RPGsite, Naoki Yoshida explained that Microsoft would require FFXIV to be on its own platform-specific servers, a request which the developer refuses to accommodate.

“For example, one player might be on the PC version, another might be on the PS4 version, and I’m playing the Xbox version – but we’re not able to join the same game servers. That is just… I just don’t like the idea. I disagree with it.”

Since the question gets asked in every article: Final Fantasy XI was released on the Xbox360, however the story goes that Microsoft merely made an exemption for the title. Why they can’t do it again is anyone’s guess.

(Source: RPGsite)

MMOrning Shots: A Menu Reborn


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Today’s MMOrning Shot comes to us from Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and shows off a bit of the new user interface and menu design. When Final Fantasy XIV did its first run, the game was criticized for a poorly implemented menu. Chief among the redesigns for A Realm Reborn is a new menu that is easier to navigate with a mouse and keyboard.

MMOrning Shots is a (mostly) daily line of screenshots from various MMOs. Most are taken in-house or come to us in press releases, but if you would like your screenshot featured, send it over to contact[at]mmofallout[dot]com with the subject “MMorning Shots.”

FFXIV: A Realm Is Reborn On August 27th


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You remember Final Fantasy XIV, right? It’s that game that a few of our old website logos used to be based on. It’s been a while now since Final Fantasy XIV shut down to the public, with the promise of an upcoming relaunch in the form of A Realm Reborn. Well wait no longer! While the beta for Realm Reborn has been trucking along for a while now, with the third phase to come sometime this month, Square Enix has been rather quiet on the exact details. Now we know thanks to a press release from Square that FFXIV: A Realm Reborn will launch August 27th.

Players are able to pre-purchase the title on PC or PS3 and receive early access to the game, as well as other item perks. The collectors edition includes a number of extra perks including a FFXIV themed authenticator. You can check out the entire details of the pre-purchase packages at the link below.

(Source: FFXIV)

MMOrning Shots: That's Wakfu


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One day someone will say “Omali, I saw this game on MMOrning Shots and now I am a happy customer,” and maybe, just maybe, those fine fellows who develop games at [redacted] will stop beating me up and stealing my lunch every day. Maybe, I can always dream.

MMOrning Shots is a daily line of screenshots from various MMOs. Most are taken in-house or come to us in press releases, but if you would like your screenshot featured, send it over to contact[at]mmofallout[dot]com with the subject “MMorning Shots.”

MMOrning Shots: That’s Wakfu


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One day someone will say “Omali, I saw this game on MMOrning Shots and now I am a happy customer,” and maybe, just maybe, those fine fellows who develop games at [redacted] will stop beating me up and stealing my lunch every day. Maybe, I can always dream.

MMOrning Shots is a daily line of screenshots from various MMOs. Most are taken in-house or come to us in press releases, but if you would like your screenshot featured, send it over to contact[at]mmofallout[dot]com with the subject “MMorning Shots.”

Square Enix Shows Off FFXIV and Gamepad


If there was ever an MMO in line for “Best Comeback,” Final Fantasy XIV would be it. In the latest video, Square Enix shows off the custom built gamepad, as well as showing off a good deal of combat and controls.

Wakfu Publishing Changing Hands In North America


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New news, Wakfu players. As of March 1st, Square Enix will no longer be handling the publishing of Wakfu in North America. In an email to account holders sent out today, Ankama Games will be taking full responsibility of publishing in the region. The good news is you won’t have to do anything, unlike in most other transitions. If you have an account on Wakfu, you already have an Ankama account. Ankama Games is the developer and international publisher of Wakfu, meaning players will be dealing directly with the source instead of a third party publisher when it comes to game issues.

We’d like to reassure you that this decision was not made lightly, and that this process will not have any impact on the game itself, your characters and progress, or the delivery of new content; we will do our utmost to ensure that the transition will be as seamless as possible and without interruption of service.

This may be the easiest publisher transition in MMO history. Characters and accounts will make the transition with no input needed from the user, subscriptions that overlap the transition date will not be affected at all, and accounts will have the same amount of Ogrines as they did under Square Enix. There won’t even be any server downtime associated with the move (planned).

(Source: Wakfu News)

Video of the ____: FFXIV: End of an Era Extended Cut


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Square Enix has released an extended cut version of the End of an Era video released last November. The first five minutes are the same End of an Era video you saw just a few months ago, with the addition of new video showing what happened to the adventurers after they were teleported away at the end. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is current in closed testing.

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