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FFXI's Vana'diel Gets Census, Re-Confirms 500,000 Players 49

Posted by simoniker from the fava-beans-and-nice-chianti dept.
Thanks to SirBruce for pointing to Square Enix's official Final Fantasy XI census survey, recently revealed since "May 16, 2004 marks the second anniversary of Final Fantasy XI's Japanese launch." The piece re-confirms that "the number of active Final Fantasy XI players (or, the number of paying customers with at least one character) has topped 500,000", and goes on to look at log-in distribution ("Japanese logins peak at around 11 p.m [but] the North American peak time occurs on a relatively smooth spread of 10 or 12 hours [largely due to] the 3-hour time difference that exists between North America's two coasts"), and job type distribution ("the warrior dominates the charts.") In a related story, Terra Nova discusses an economic research paper on Final Fantasy XI, which notes: "There is a pricing differential in exactly the same object depending on the time of day. This corresponds with the times that Japanese and North American users log on."
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FFXI's Vana'diel Gets Census, Re-Confirms 500,000 Players More

FFXI's Vana'diel Gets Census, Re-Confirms 500,000 Players

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  • Of course Warrior is #1 (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Isn't Warrior always the #1 choice in RPGs?
    • I was a warrior in FFXI, too.

      In SWG, the main professions are the Melee skills. I dont see many toting around ranged weapons anymore, its all swords, pikes and Vibroknucklers. Sad really, since it was supposed to be a space based RPG, and the most popular skills are beating people down with hand weapons.

      Must be the Jedi thing.
      • That's strange, my SWG experience was quite the opposite. I saw plenty of marksmen shooting at things with pistols and rifles, but not many people whacking things with melee weapons. Maybe that's because I played a marksman and was just looking for them more though. Either way I grew bored with the game because I didn't have 50+ hours a month to dump into it just to be able to do the cool stuff. Which was really too bad, it looked like it would be excellent once I got up to the right level.

        I also boug

    • In reality, yes. In theory (or in a perfect world), no. At least in FFXI, parties don't need so many meat shields (which is what Warriors really are. HONEST! Their most used ability is the ability 'Provoke' which almost always (another topic) causes a monster to target him. This way the Warrior (having the most defense and HP) is hit instead of the weak little mages or the more damage focused monk or ability attacking focused thief.)

      Naturally this leads to serious party forming issues.. Following the simple

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Economic Research... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by notamac ( 750472 ) * on Sunday May 16, 2004 @08:56AM (#9166356) Homepage
    I stopped reading the article about "economic research" right around the moment I noticed the word "coz."
  • May 16, 2004 marks the second anniversary of Final Fantasy XI's Japanese launch.
    And still no release date for Europe? that's nice of them (that's a sarcastic comment for those who can't tell).

    I could import the game, but that would make the game more expensive, I want to play it, but not that badly :/

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday May 16, 2004 @11:29AM (#9167135)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:Wow, bigger than EQ? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by ajutla ( 720182 )
      It's not really that surprising. FF has incredibly huge brand recognition, after all. Besides, EQ is getting kind of old/stale--at least, that's what people tell me. I don't play any MMO games myself (out of lack of money) but many of my friends have switched to FFXI simply because they've been playing EQ too long. Hell, if I could afford it, I would definitely be playing FFXI right now. The game looks really slick.

      • Re:Wow, bigger than EQ? (Score:1, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward
        i think the main reason that FFX1 is so popular isnt because its a better game per se, but because you can run it on a PS2--

        computer games tend to be less popular because of the hassle of maintaining a computer, upgrading the ram, etc etc. console games are more "no nonsense", you buy the console, then you buy the game, and unless you have that weird scanning head bug the game usually works.

        i dont know that many people with computers good enough to run SWG or run EQ optimally, but i know tons of people wi
        • Maybe, but--and I am in no way an authority on this seeing that I don't own the game--FFXI has relatively low system requirements, I'm pretty sure. Actually, I have a PS2 but I've never really considered using it to play online RPGs. How the would you talk to people? By spending extra money and buying a keyboard? And the game itself would likely run more slowly than if you were actually playing it on a computer. The cost would break down something like this:

          PS2 + network adapter ($200) + FFXI/hard d
          • As someone who plays FFXI, I can attest to the fact that you are way off on this. Sys requirements for FFXI are a lot steeper than you think, so that $200 eMachine won't cut it. Even if you build a machine yourself, which is cheaper, IMO, you're still looking at at least $500 just to meet minimum requirements. As for buying it for PS2, you can get a USB keyboard for $20 or less if you look around, and here in the next month or so, a PS2 with the network adapter will be dropping to $150, then $100 for the
            • I wouldn't say it's all that steep in terms of system requirements. Mine's an old clunker - 850mhz with 128mb ram and a GF4mx and I still managed to get fair performance from it.
            • Something must be wrong with your system then, because I run FFXI on an AthlonXP 2100+ (1.73ghz) with only half a gig of ram, and I have most of my graphics features maxed out. The only thing I don't have maxed is the shadows. Perhaps you need a better video card? Even then, mine is nothing special, just an ATI Radeon 9500 pro.
              • Nope, nothing wrong with it at all, as I told the other guy. Bear in mind that you have more horsepower, despite the fact that you're either blowing smoke up my ass about your processor, or are underclocking your system. My Athlon XP1800+ is clocked faster than your 2100+ is, and I'm not overclocking either.
                • nope... 1.73 ghz is the stock speed for a 2100+ Thouroughbred core Athlon XP. And you would HAVE to overclock an Athlon XP 1800+ to get it to go as fast as a 2100+. The nameing scheme for Athlon XPs does not denote their clock speeds, it is used convince consumers that they run as well as an intel chip at that speed. Read a little you'll learn that way.

                  And don't get so abrasive/offensive on /., it makes you sound like a fuckwad.
        • Remember, the Japanese are a lot more interested in FFXI than EQ too.

          Rob
    • NCsoft has reported that Lineage has more than four million subscribers, most of them in Korea.

      I read an article recently that stated that the profit per sub on Lineage is about 1/4 that of EQ. Still, they are making at least 2x that SOE is on EQ.

  • Census is good, but live feed? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by pat_trick ( 218868 ) on Sunday May 16, 2004 @01:04PM (#9167698)
    The census is awesome information, but it seems that the live feed at http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/multimedia/wind/ [playonline.com] is a little bit...broken?

  • Time + Money Commitment (Score:3, Interesting)

    by hiei ( 104179 ) on Sunday May 16, 2004 @03:37PM (#9168488) Homepage
    I'd love to give FFXI a try, as well as City of Heroes, but the time and money involved to even try out the game is quite discouraging. $50 for either game on PC, and on PS2, FFXI costs $100, (more if you need the network adapter) PLUS the monthly fee. It also seems that any mmorpg game requires a greater time commitment than any other type of game, and with school, work, my own projects, and the desire to actually sleep regularly, I just don't have time to check them out. Anyone think that mmo-games will eventually move to design that will allow people to enjoy the game without sinking in massive amounts of hours? And as far as try-before you buy, I really like what they did with the Guild Wars test this week during E3, it'd be awesome if more companies could arrange for test sessions like that (segregated from the actual online world if they wanted) that would allow you to get a feel for the game before sinking in the time and money investment and then deciding 2 weeks later you don't like it.
    • Sony is already toying with the idea of allowing people to buy items and powers in their online games. Laying aside the arguement that it would destroy the feel of the game, it would certainly be a way to see all the game has to offer.

      They are planning this for their online PS2 titles, but I think it could happen in their PC titles in the near future.
    • Many do offer an "open beta" at the ending of their beta cycle to allow just about anyone to participate. Only problem is if you miss the month or so long window, there goes your chance to try it out. I wish more companies would offer their games downloadable online. Where the download is free, but you have to pay for an offical key, or request a temporary 'test' key. That way if you just want to give it a try, your not out of pocket $50+.
  • I don't play the game but... I am curious, are the Japanese/North American players in the same realm? Can they interact? Do the Japanese speak English to talk to NA players, and vica versa(or at least attempt to)?
    • yep, you are in the same realm. there is a fairly decent auto-translator built into the game, which is pretty good for in game i.e. gameplay related usage, but not so hot for general social interaction. i've been in a few mixe parties and had a great deal of success and fun in them.
    • That's actually a good point, I had just assumed that they played in different realms, but after asking a friend who plays it, apparently they are mixed but depending on when you play you will run into more of one or the other. Too bad I don't have a PS2 or run windows, this might be a good way to practice my japanese.

  • Monthly prices! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Mukaikubo ( 724906 ) <gtg430b@NosPaM.prism.gatech.edu> on Sunday May 16, 2004 @06:41PM (#9169389) Journal
    My big hangup with MMORPGs is and always has been the price. I simply refuse to play a game where I might end up paying 200$ for a year's enjoyment as opposed to a nice strategy game where I might pay 50$ for a year's enjoyment. If it weren't for that, I'd be so deep into FFXI that it would take mole-men to dig me out.

    • Re:Monthly prices! (Score:3, Insightful)

      by jaredcat ( 223478 )
      so...

      14 cents per day - strategy game is ok
      54 cents per day - mmorpg is too expensive?

      i guess Christian Children's Fund is really wasting their time advertising towards you...

      • Re:Monthly prices! (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Mukaikubo ( 724906 )
        Oh, go on, please reduce it even further. I'm whinging about having to pay a bit over 2 cents an hour! How crude, how thrifty, how parsimonious I must be!

        So, say I have 200$ a year for entertainment. Either;
        A: I buy and play an MMORPG
        B: I get two regular games (100$), a few DVDs (20$ each), and maybe go the the movies or the bookstore.

        I think Option B gives more entertainment bang for the buck.
        • Well, I sort of agree with you, but I found it works a little different. I play FFXI and have found that it prevents me from buying other games just because there is so much to do that I really don't have time to put in to another game. So it is actually saving me money. By the time I am done with the game, all the hot games I would have bought will be 30 dollars cheaper. I don't understand why so many people are resistant to monthly fees. It's not like there isn't a good reason for it. Every month ne
    • Then again, would you rather pay 50 bucks for a game you could beat in a weekend? I've played FFXI for over 20 straight in-game days - 480 hours over 5 months. It works out to be 12 bucks for every 96 hours of playtime as number of months -> infinite - and I'm by no means a hardcore FFXI player.
      • If it's a game I finish playing in a weekend, it's a game I made a mistake buying. I rarely buy games, and when I do I'm pretty certain they're going to give me months if not years of entertainment- Europa Universalis 2, Alpha Centauri, Unreal Tournament for those times when I just wanna Blow Stuff Up... I make very few game purchases, but I make them last.

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