It probably won't come as a big surprise to anyone, but it appears you won't be playing Final Fantasy XIV Online for free.
When the game was first unveiled at E3 earlier this year, there was some speculation as to the style and intent; was it only playable online (i.e., an MMORPG) and if it did qualify as a MMO, would we have to pay the now-standard monthly fee? Well, we've known for a while now that FFXIV is categorized as a MMORPG, and according to producer Hiromichi Tanaka, there will indeed be a subscription fee. "It's going to be a 30 days-based subscription," Tanaka told VG247 at GamesCom last week. Now, most of you know the game will likely end up on Xbox Live at some point, but SCEA president Jack Tretton has confirmed FFXIV will at least be a timed exclusive for the PS3. Tanaka added that "talks with Microsoft are held up for the game because of the policy of Xbox Live." So the update is fairly straightforward: we'll have to pay our monthly fees as we do with all MMOs, and although Xbox 360 owners will see it at some point, PS3 owners will be the first to get a crack at it.
We'll let you know if they can nail down a release date; it might happen at the Tokyo Game Show. As is, it's expected to launch some time next year…possibly close to Final Fantasy XIII in North America.
Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIV Online
I wonder if Bill Gates and Microsoft's arms ever get tired from throwing all that money around?
how many times does this have to be out BILL GATES doesnt work for microsoft no more, I knew it was going to be subscripition fees and Square Enix fails again
LOL.
He IS still the primary shareholder though. He just doesn't go into the office everyday anymore.
Well, I'm a fan of Bill Gates 😉
Lol, I knew I'd score a number of thumbs down.
I like Bill Gates as a person, not anything to do with the Xbox 360
er… subscription fees? No thanks. I just hope DC Universe Online has no subscription fees either. =x
Published by Sony, as is The Agency, so probably not. Expect microtransactions though.
So is Star Wars Galaxies, and Everquest and they do have subscription fees.
Yes. But they aren't console games published by Sony for Sony's PS3, which Sony is trying to sell.
I'm good with FF XIII and Versus, and KH3, so no thanks Sqeenix. Already breaking my pockets for all the kick ass games coming this and next year. Not interested in paying monthly fees for my $60+ games.
B3mike, I heard from somewhere that confirmation regarding final fantasy XIII's exclusivity was aimed at japanese readers. Japanese magazines interviewing japanese developers. Square enix confirmed final fantasy XIII's exclusivity with japan in mind. So basically they didn't lie. But they were sneaky.
That's just what I have heard. I'm not saying it's true by the way.
Boooooo! Subscription fees is what kept me way from FFXI and will keep ne away from this one. I understand the need to make money but I don't remember ever having to pay any fees to Steam to play Counter Strike. Maybe because it's not and MMORPG? don't know but paying a monthly fees to play a game you already dropped $60+ bones on isn't worth it to me.
As for it going to Xbox, I mentioned to my wife while we watched E3 that Squeenix would sell out on this one too. This just gives me more reason to believe vsXIII will also me announced as a multiplat after it was already announced as a PS3 exclusive. Anyone else see the trend with Squeenix here?(retorical question)
Also, if I recall correctly, didn't Trent tag this game with "Only Possible on Playstation". If so, who's lying? Did Trent lie to us or did Square lie to Sony? I assume Square are the liars here. I bet right after M$ watched Sony's E3 presser they immediately went to Square and said "hey, we bought you off before, name your price". I hate M$ but I think Square is more to blame.
It would make square enix blatant liars if they do make versus multiplatform. Even though "for playstation 3 only worldwide" appears at the end of the trailer. And that's a bold statement.
Last edited by Andysw on 8/31/2009 11:50:29 AM
They already are blatant liars. They kept marketing the original ff13 as a ps3 exclusive for the longest time until e3 last year. They cancelled the ps3 version of the Last Remnant after they said it was multiplatform and refuse to even acknowledge that it was canceled. When asked about the status of the game someone from SE said "well the pc version just came out." To SE the definiton of the word multiplatform means everything but the ps3.
B3mike, I heard from somewhere that confirmation regarding final fantasy XIII's exclusivity was aimed at japanese readers. Japanese magazines interviewing japanese developers. Square enix confirmed final fantasy XIII's exclusivity with japan in mind. So basically they didn't lie. But they were sneaky.
That's just what I have heard. I'm not saying it's true by the way
I believe Mike is correct. The heavy marketing g in japan didn't start until after they announced it as multiplat in the west. From my understanding it was 1st announced as an exclusive in the west as well until last years e3.
@Jawknee
Your wife watched E3 with you, RIGHT ON! Good lady from the sounds of it…
I totally agree about the subscriptions too. If it is that good I'd rather a ONE time $10 hike in the price tag, just don't be a leech on my wallet!
Tretten first said "Exclusively on Playstation 3" but later on SE went on record saying that wasn't totally the case. It was first confirmed for PS3 first but they were still on talks with Microsoft about the game.
why can't all mmo's be like guild wars and have a one time entry fee?
exactly. thats why i love Guild Wars. only MMO that seems worth the sub for me is Aion. i love that game
exactly!
and if you wanna get old school… RUNESCAPE ftw!!!!
that counts as my social activity for today
back to arkham asylum…. 😀
As a gamer, the fact that square enix is pro-microsoft disturbs me greatly.
Playstation 3 would've been the only console where you would be able to play final fantasy XIV. But nope, square enix just had to make it available on the xbox 360 too.
Last edited by Andysw on 8/31/2009 11:49:39 AM
What I've seen the game looks good and I would like to give it a try but I don't think I could dedicate myself to a mmo…
That sucks I'm staying with SoE the games look & play better than that Final Fantasy bulls**t anyway
I dunno bou tou guys… but… well… i want to see SoE's Planet Side go ps3 with a graphics overhaul… Thats a mmofps worth the ¢oin/month…
Amen… not enough SoE fans around unfortantly… all my EQ friends went to WoW when I went to EQ2
This pretty much assures me that vs 13 will be multiplat, all we can hope for is that people who own the xbox don't buy final fantasy 13. If the game doesn't sell well on the xbox square will see that people on the Xbox only care about their "run and gun" games and hopefully won't give VS the multiplat treatment.
This continues the trend square enix has been going for, they ditched Nintendo for Sony becuase Sony was outselling Nintendo with the playstation, now after a couple of years with Sony, microsoft outsells the playstation so Square goes and cuddles with Xbox.
Dont underestimate the capacity of Xbots to do something stupid like buy a game they aren't even interested in just to gall PS3 owners with sales numbers. And don't forget, they pretty much have no games coming out so they will want anything new.
It is as if Xbots have been hypnotised.
Square Enix moved to Playstation because they wanted more space for their games. Understandable. SE's move to xbox seems more to do with money. Like metallica.
Thats put it at a dead end for me, i refuse to pay for a game and still have to pay further, im the same with DLC.
At least with DLC you can't still play the game with out it. There's an element of choice involved. With Squeenix MMORPG's you MUST pay fees. Lamecore.
Oops. I meant you CAN still play the games if you choose to avoid the DLC.
Stupid spell corrector on the iPhone can cause more errors then it fixes at time.
Ultimadream – I agree 100% with you. Monthly fees on a game allows a developer to keep charging you for the same game. DLC allows a developer to cut out packaging and media type costs for them, but never are those savings passed on to the consumer who are left with nothing tangible in their hands. Both trends are rip-offs which I avoid like the plague they are.
The developers do provide a constant stream of content for those fees. I'm not interested in paying each month, not for an MMO or for XBL, but it's not like you're paying for nothing. I might play an MMO if the new content was a la carte, rather than subscription-based. It'd be like buying a new module for a table-top RPG.
true, dlc does cut the packaging but it also allows developers to lock items on the disc and you pay for the unlock code. Remember soul calibur 4. We all know yoda and vader were already on disc. hell, there was an empty spot when you got "all characters". That i dont approve of.
Great job Square!!!! I really hope your next big announcement at the Tokyo Game Show is a remake of FFVII….for 360!!!!!!!
/sarcasm
My head will explode. FFVII is a playstation only game and it should stay that way. Me thinks if it is ever remade it will stay exclusive. Sony still obviously has exclusive rights to the game. What's stopping Square from porting it to work on the 360?
Perhaps SE is waiting for those rights to expire? That's the only explanation.
Not likely. Can't imagine exclusive rights being temporary for 20+ years. Anything FFVII that's been released has been done through Sony. Crisia Core, PSP exclusive, Dirge of Cerberus, PS2 exclusive, Advent Children, pusblished by Sony, FFVII PSOne and PSN exclusive. I'm not 100% certain, and of course there's a chance your right but chances are Sony owns a piece of the FFVII pie and any remake is likely to remain exclusive. If I am wrong ill eat my words. Ha!
I wonder if Sony at the time forsaw the success FFVII would have and thought there might be a chance they could profit from it I'm the future.
It's an MMO of course it got monthly fee. If you are shocked or think SE fails because of this then, well maybe this game wasn't for you.
MMO's with sub-fees are becoming a thing of the past. Micro-transactions is where new MMOs prosper.
After having played FFXI online, I'm very wary of this game. FFXI online sucked for many reasons, including competing against 1000 people to claim an NM and then having a 24 hour respawn time with a 2-8 hour spawning window. Many items were only attainable in this manner. Having a life, this made me unable to procure a lot of items.
No one should be surprised by the subscription fees, if their other online game had it, so would this one.
You just described the original 3D MMO that started all this nonsense: Everquest.
I just want to say that I was right, and that someone else was wrong. That's all I'm gonna say.
S-E fails again. Sub fees aren't gonna cut it now. If Star Wars: The Old Republic and MAG is free to play…then FF14 can do it too. I bet the fee is high too. Like $15-$20.
Fail. S-E, fail.
MGO is free to access too. Squeenix taking pointers from M$ since XI's launch on Xbox.
thats news to me that MAG will be free to play, guess i never paid any attention to it other than how the game its. Metal Gear online is free but its a pain in the ass to sign up or buy dlc. Hows that for a MGS4 Game of the year edition, MGS4, MGO, All MGO DLC, and Trophy patch.
Does MGO support more that 250+ players?