The latest episode of Radio Mog Station aired on January 9, 2022, and had a very special guest star from the Final Fantasy 14 production team. Naoki Yoshida, or Yoshi-P as he is lovingly referred to as, stopped by the Final Fantasy 14 news podcast to share some insights and make a plea to players.
Despite the stellar back half of 2021 that Final Fantasy 14 enjoyed, there are plenty of players unhappy with the state of the game. Due to several reasons, including a substantial free trial and other games missing the mark with their audiences, Final Fantasy 14 saw a huge spike in player count in the months leading up to the Endwalker expansion. Despite the positive reception from fans in general and critics, there is a very vocal community that is still unhappy with aspects of the game like the recent class changes, delay in the launch of the expansion, and continued issues with server login queues.
In the months prior to the launch of Endwalker, many new players flocked to Final Fantasy 14 courtesy of streamers popularizing the game to broader audiences and a free trial that included the base game and first expansion. They took the place of players that would otherwise be there in the lull between expansions. While the team at Square Enix planned to implement new servers to handle the recent spike in players and the projected returning players, a global chip shortage stood in the way. Compounding matters was the announcement that Endwalker would be delayed 2 weeks so the teams could finish testing the stability. Since the delay and subsequent release, the player count has spiked yet again and now, weeks after the launch, players are still waiting hours to log in and play during peak times.
Which is why...well, I mean there are new players who join this game and there are many players who come from other games and of course, this also means they are players who experience Endwalker as their first expansion, so it's a given that there will be mistakes and errors here and there, but after 11 years of journey with players up to this point it does make me feel that the language used ended up a little overboard there. I mean, I can take it, even though it doesn't make it less bad, but staff members will feel really down after getting those words when they gave their absolute best into trying to create something where everyone can enjoy, and this may end up making them no longer create things that are fun from there on. So I have only one request to every players out there - please imagine that you're speaking face to face with a developer whom you may not know his name nor face and imagine how they'd feel before sending your feedback over, and I'll be happy if people can do so politely.
The frustration is very real and understandable. Having to work all day and then looking forward to playing a favorite game only to be met with a login queue hours long is a terrible feeling. This can be compounded if the player is a DPS class trying to clear their daily roulettes and having to wait even more. So, what is there to do when one is forced to wait? For some, complaining online and harassing developers is the loathsome answer.
That's why, it will result in staff members getting gradually hurt and it's especially evident when the staff member worked so hard on it, and this doesn't help anyone, neither the staff members nor the players either. This will completely drain away their motivation and worse, they'll end up quitting because of it, which is why I hope that everyone can understand that. Considering things have been getting really extreme lately, and with staff members putting their all to make it work...I mean, of course I don't mean everything should be given praise. Mistakes are mistakes of course and they should be notified, but I’ll appreciate it if everyone can give careful thought in their thoughts and feedback before sending them over.
It is inferred that this "scolding" of sorts is directed towards the Japanese playerbase as many of the developers can't speak English and therefore wouldn't be reading the comments from that audience. And supposedly, players have been providing plenty of feedback to the developers prior to the most recent class changes. But, as everyone remotely familiar with game development and fan bases is aware, when they don't get what they want or feel that they're not listened to, gamers can be very vocal and toxic. The internet can be a cesspool, especially when the people swimming are naturally toxic and passionate about what they're complaining about.
...Really, it's just one thing here. Of course I'm thankful and grateful for players to tell us that "we should do this, or this should be that" and whatnot, but verbal abuses are...(something we wish it can stop). Well, I would like to think myself as having a strong mental level in Japan, but not everyone shares the same mental strength as I do so...
No developer is immune to this kind of treatment and unfortunately, Yoshi-P is spot on. These are people that put their heart and soul into a game. For some, it has been their passion for over a decade now. And to have to suffer abuse daily because some entitled player disagrees with a change that may have not been in their control? It's inexcusable. That's why it's important to be just as vocal when finding something enjoyable. Those kind words could be the bit of inspiration a person needed after a long and stressful day, and the world would be so much better for it.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
Source: Immersed Gamer