Final Fantasy Xiv version 2.0 trailer won’t be at E3 after all
Just as Square-Enix is on the verge of releasing a “flood” of new information about Final Fantasy XIV’s much-anticipated version 2.0, the studio says that the players’ most wanted video will be missing from next month’s major convention. That’s right: The FFXIV 2.0 trailer will not be shown at E3 after all.
Square-Enix’s Naoki Yoshida wrote of the trailer’s completion in a recent producer’s letter but shared that the company is withholding it from E3 in order to package it with a larger marketing campaign. “During our most recent global PR planning meeting, we came to the conclusion that the most effective way to introduce version 2.0 to the world would be with a flood of new material rather than just a trickle,” Yoshida said.
Final Fantasy XIV 2.0′s public debut is still scheduled for E3, however. The trailer, along with the info-flood, is slated to be revealed this August. Version 2.0 will be a relaunch of the title alongside the PlayStation 3 release. It will feature overhauled graphics, server architecture, multiple in-game improvements, and additional racial/gender choices.
comments
Space Cobra
I would disagree with some of the comments that this was a “bad thing”.
It seems “hype” is still misunderstood; it can come from a company fanning it, but it also comes from fans and those expecting it (and the company fanning those expectations).
Here is the thing most of the Negative commentors are not taking into account: The game has a bad rep already in many circles, including in some of your eyes. Slow drips of info is fine, but that type of thing builds up expectation/hype: If there is no hype, which there is not, among those that have heard bad things about the game or do not like it, then the slow drip is not going to change their minds. In fact, they probably couldn’t care enough to keep up with any new info because, they do not care. That’s human psychology. You get “burned” and you are not wanting to go back to the place/person that you think did you wrong.
Now, if they overwhelm you with new features, that’s sorta like walking into a surprise party at work (at the job you hate) and just being taken aback that you didn’t even know that they knew or cared it was your birthday (analogy is analogy). It’s better to bring out all your guns at once and answer all your critics at this point in time. The game is out. It has bad press. Time for advertising akin to car advertising in that here you have a “brand new model” for the new year with features not in the old model and things corrected. You need to bowl over the critics.
Of course, some critics will never get bowled over, but those on the fence with open minds might give the game another chance. This is best done with all the info being made available at once. It’s a pretty standard tool in advertising and one that I think is warranted here. The devs have been at work for almost a year on this game and have left the game truly free-to-play for at least that long (with a Tsunami during the interm, I might add). There isn’t any “hidden agenda” or big “mystery conspiracy” at work here.
And they will be judged soon enough when 2.0 comes out. They seem to have a number of surprises up their sleeves (like the new races and classes) already.
sosuperstuck
I don’t know why people love to hate on this game so much. The game has come a long way from what it was at launch and yes, there are quite a few people out there playing and enjoying it. It’s not as immediately accessible as the Wow type game, but once you spend a little time it has a subtle beauty that can pull you in. Like any relatively young MMO, there are things that need to be improved. It just irritates me that people still dismiss it as a total crap. If it’s not your cup of tea that’s fine. Move on. Anyways, if they can’t get the full marketing campaign together for E3 then I agree this is the right move. Better to wait than underwhelm. Especially when so many people want to piss all over it.
TymCheong
I cant understand the logic behind not showing trailer in E3. And I can certainly see that they may be running behind schedule.
But based on the way Yoshi has been doing thing, I can’t help but trust him. He manages with such transparency not only is it rare in game development, but in all project development.
And to all haters…. I suggest try out the game with the recent updates before sounding like a complete fool.
