A week ago Microsoft revealed that their new console would require a perpetual internet connection. There are very few topics upon which all of gamer-dom agrees, and one of them is that a constant internet connection is a load of bollocks. Microsoft knew that full well going into E3, but made the policy anyway. One of their executives even said that if gamers want to play offline, they can buy an xbox 360.
Fast forward one week, and the PS4 is outselling (in pre-orders) the new xbox 2-1, and Microsoft decides to say JK about the always online feature of their new machine. They've also backed away from the feature that would prevent gamers from buying and selling used games. While this is certainly a victory for anyone who enjoys video games, it got me thinking about Final Fantasy XIV.
When Square Enix released a product that tanked, they threw a tremendous amount of time and resources behind fixing that product and keeping their customers happy at all costs. They got a whole new team and rebuilt that product from the ground up, then decided to give it away for free to people who'd bought the first one. Those who stuck it out and supported the company in the interim even get a handfull of extra goodies.
Now think about what would have happene if EA had been the helm of FF14. The dev team would have been whittled down to a skeleton crew in weeks, and the game would have shut down in a few months. They'd put the project in a box and never speak of it again. Â
I know Sony isn't perfect, and neither is SE, but I have to say, recently they've been doing pretty well in my book.
Fast forward one week, and the PS4 is outselling (in pre-orders) the new xbox 2-1, and Microsoft decides to say JK about the always online feature of their new machine. They've also backed away from the feature that would prevent gamers from buying and selling used games. While this is certainly a victory for anyone who enjoys video games, it got me thinking about Final Fantasy XIV.
When Square Enix released a product that tanked, they threw a tremendous amount of time and resources behind fixing that product and keeping their customers happy at all costs. They got a whole new team and rebuilt that product from the ground up, then decided to give it away for free to people who'd bought the first one. Those who stuck it out and supported the company in the interim even get a handfull of extra goodies.
Now think about what would have happene if EA had been the helm of FF14. The dev team would have been whittled down to a skeleton crew in weeks, and the game would have shut down in a few months. They'd put the project in a box and never speak of it again. Â
I know Sony isn't perfect, and neither is SE, but I have to say, recently they've been doing pretty well in my book.
