Today, Famitsu is reporting that in addition to a new video being uploaded to the official Final Fantasy XIV YouTube channel, there will be a new trailer released at E3.  Famitsu has one screenshot from the new trailer to share with their readers but no additional information about the contents was given.

They also share that FFXIV Producer Hiromichi Tanaka will be attending E3 and reporting from the event.

Click here to see the original article on Famitsu.com

Extra Info: 4Gamer has written up a post about the video posted yesterday with a lot of screencaps.  It states that the screenshot above is not pre-rendered but part of an in-game event scene created in real time by the game engine.

I’m back!  I’ve moved into a brand new apartment that is much nicer than my old place.  It’s also not flooded out and molding which is a plus.  Sadly, moving meant no Internet access for awhile.  I’ve been wondering about what’s been happening in the world of FFXIV and it seems like a ton of alpha news has been released through the Japanese media this week!

We’ll start with Weekly Famitsu who had a chance to sit down with Final Fantasy XIV Producer Hiromichi Tanaka and Director Nobuaki Komoto.  There is a lot of interesting information inside along with a startling picture!

What’s so startling about this picture?  I’ll leave that up to you to figure out. But before you run off to do your detective work, let’s take a look at what they had to say.

Beyond Expectations

A common complaint we’ve been hearing in reports from the Japanese media (like Famitsu or 4Gamer) is that it is difficult to log into the game and actually play enough to really test things out.  That’s the first topic they deal with in the interview.  Tanaka begins by explaining how the alpha test is currently being held.  Testers in Japan, North America, and Europe have scheduled separate login windows in which they can test the game.  Each group has an equal number of testers.  Based on the experience they had with testing FFXI, they figured about 50% of each group would be logged in at one time.  However, the number of people actually trying to log in is much higher.  This is especially true for the Japanese test times.  After April 15th, they adjusted it to where testers’ virtual place in line for logging in would be held for up to 10 minutes.  Testers are asked to try to log in once every 10 minutes.  Thanks to a version update, you can also see how many people are in line waiting in front of you.  Server stability issues might continue to plague testers for awhile but the staff at Square Enix is working to make things better.  They want to apologize to all the testers and thank them for all they have done so far to make FFXIV a better game.

Culture and Comments

Next, they get into the comments players have made about the alpha build so far.  The comments really help them make the game better from a player’s point of view.  As the developers, they already know what buttons to press, where to go, what to do, etc.  However, this information isn’t always relayed to the players in a way that is easy to understand.

It sounds like hearing the comments from the players has been refreshing for Director Komoto.  He says he’s been away from FFXI to work on FFXIV for a long time and it made him feel so far from the players.  Now he’s taking in the comments and checking in with staff on the floor for developers and the operations floor.  It makes him feel like saying “I’m back!”

As for the comments themselves, as they are still really just testing the controls and response times, they’ve asked for feedback and a lot of it is about the same sorts of things.  There is also no tutorial as of yet so many players say the controls are hard to understand.  For example, they published a manual on the tester’s site and immediately received feedback on it.  That forces the developers to look at things from a different angle, look at things from a player’s voice of view.  It makes them feel like they still have a lot of work ahead of them before they release the final product.

There are also cultural differences that have appeared in the comments so far.  As mentioned before, the number of testers is the same per group but the number of comments is completely different!  The Japan group has submitted around 5000 comments so far.  However, the European group is around 19000 and the North American group is around 25000 comments.  Komoto also remarks that a lot of the NA comments are more about ideas for things they want to see included versus feedback on what is already in the game.  In comparison, the Japan group gives off a more gentle feeling, as if they are warmly looking over the staff.  He was expecting harsher feedback but so far just getting in the game has been a huge problem for the Japan group especially so that may be part of it.

They really want the testers to send in their comments though.  Tanaka and Komoto both say that they are working hard to incorporate the ideas from the players and will continue to do so up until the official release and beyond.

Inside the Game

Have any of you seen Azagba Tanaka yet?  That’s the character Tanaka is using to log in during the test windows and experience the game with the players.  Komoto remarked that the staff is generally staying out of things because it is hard enough for the testers to get on the server.  Tanaka laughed and said he waits in front of his computer and keeps trying his luck in the “login battle”.

When asked about the alpha schedule, Komoto said their current goal is to have three stable testing runs per group per week.  They have to get things stable enough so that the testers can really play for a decent amount of time.  Also, they are thinking about changing how they currently run the tests.  The login windows are set for each group but there are people who can’t play during those times.  The alpha testing period is also likely to run longer than they had originally scheduled due to continuing server stability issues.

One interesting bit of information to come out of this interview was about how they plan on wiping character data many times during the test cycle.  Right now, there is a certain character growth pattern being tested.  However, there is another pattern they are considering as well.  At some point, they will wipe everyone’s character data and begin testing the second pattern as well.  Komoto says they will probably wipe character data during the beta and even right before the official release as well.

Once things are stable, they will move into the next stage of testing where testers are spread out across multiple servers.  They haven’t decided if they will call that stage Alpha 2 or Beta 1 yet though.  They also don’t know when they will introduce other parts of the game, bringing it closer to the final release version and making it what most companies would refer to as a “Beta build”.

Some people might also be curious to know when we’ll see the global servers FFXI has become known for.  Right now players in different regions are limited to separated play windows and can’t interact with each other.  Tanaka says that when the test servers are open for testing 24 hours a day, people will probably start playing together.

65%

The final batch of questions were about the overall progress of the game’s development.  The graphics are almost complete but they will still do touch ups here and there.  The planners and programmers are also working on their last batch of adjustments.  However, Tanaka says its hard to say how far along the game is.  He says a low-ball estimate might be 65%.  Also, what testers can currently access is less than 10% of what they plan for the final product.

PS3 users will have to continue to wait for their turn at testing.  While it is being developed at the same time as the PC version, all Tanaka will say is that they are continuing to work towards releasing both official versions as the same time.

That’s all for this time but be sure to check back later in the week for more information about the alpha test straight from Japan!

Information and the image for this article are adapted from the interview that ran in Weekly Famitsu No. 1118, published April 28th, 2010.

Surprise!  While Weekly Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation are the two biggest sources of information we have for FFXIV when it comes to magazines, there are a few other publications out there that cover FFXIV as well.  It is rare to see additional articles so close to some major announcements, but Dengeki Games decided to give everybody a little treat.

Dengeki Games is a relatively new monthly publication that started up last fall.  It runs gaming information for all platforms whether its handheld, console, arcade, or even your cell phone.  The 7th volume just came out with a 4-page summary of the information we’ve recently seen.  However, there are a few extra tidbits to enjoy that weren’t part of the other write-ups.  In this article, we’ll look at what Dengeki Games found out about the current user interface, different classes, and some interesting plans for transitioning from the beta to the official release.

What do all those little icons mean?

The latest screenshot of the alpha build is filled with different icons.  Let’s take a closer look at some of them.

In this closeup, we can see the selected command “Seismic Shock”, one of the Pugilist’s weapon skills.  Under that is the target information.  Destiny was attacking a rather large Peiste.  You can see the enemy’s HP gauge underneath the name.  Next to the name though is a small red icon.  What does it mean?

Question: What does that red mark next to the target name mean?

Answer: It tells you the strength of the enemy party.  In FFXI, you would “Check” an enemy to learn its relative strength and the results would appear in your log.  However, in FFXIV, party versus party battles are more frequent, so the icon tells you the relative strength of the entire party.

That’s a handy feature!  In FFXI, the results of a “Check” would vary from person to person depending on their armor, weapon, the food they had eaten, etc.  This time, we see once again how the game design is focused on party versus party battles looking at the strength of your party as a whole when you go out into battle.

The new battle log has received a bunch of attention since we first saw it at Gamescom.  We’ve heard it would be customizable and that you would be able to move it around.  While FFXI had tabs for different chat modes, the FFXIV version divides logs into different customizable types.  In the screenshot we see General and Battle, but there will be more options for players who want more control over what they see.

Question: What is the difference between the General and Battle tabs above the log box?

Answer: The General log shows everything.  The Battle log is just for things related to battle.  So the tabs are like a filtering system.  For the official release, you’ll be able to add additional tabs and filter the log to your liking.  We are also thinking about making it where you can have 2 different log windows on your screen at the same time.

Question: How much of the layout will you be able to change?

Answer: The things that are a necessary part of the UI, like the HP and MP gauges, the mini map, and the log, can be moved around freely.

While having multiple windows might cut down on how much of the action you could see, there are definitely people out there that would like to be able to keep chat and battle logs separate but still be able to follow both.

The bottom icon bar layout might be old news to some people but let’s take a look at it anyways.  There are a lot of icons that weren’t a part of FFXI so it will be interesting to see how they are used in real practice.

In the middle are your various commands and your TP gauge bar.  Notice the little 1 to the side?  It isn’t mentioned in the article but perhaps this will be used to change command sets much like macro book pages in FFXI.  What we do know is the following.  The first icon on the left, the little sword, is the mode selection icon.  You click this to switch between Active and Passive Mode.  Next to that is the battle regiment button.  It describes this mode as the one you use if you want to pull off a move that requires multiple people.  They compare it to skillchains in FFXI.  Skip over to the right-hand side.  The dark brown bag icon is used to pull up your item menu.  Next to that is the icon that pulls up a list of different motions your character can do like wave goodbye or cheer.  Finally, the last icon pulls up your main menu.

Class Q&A Recap

Most of the following questions and answers were already published in Dengeki PlayStation.

Question: So far in the classes and weapon information, we haven’t seen anything about dual wielding weapons like you see in FFXI.  Will we eventually see dual wielding in FFXIV too?  Also, if that is the case, what classes will they match up with?

Answer: I can’t answer your question as to when but I think it is safe to say we will see it at some point.  As for which classes will be able to dual wield, all I can say is, please look forward to future announcements.

Question: We know you will be able to change your class at any time but will there be any restrictions as to the classes you can change into?

Answer: There aren’t any restrictions right now but that isn’t to say there won’t be in the future.

Question: Can you change your class in the midst of battle?

Answer: In FFXIV, there are two modes: Passive and Active.  In Passive Mode, your HP restores while you move around.  Active Mode is when you have drawn your weapon and are ready for battle.  You can only change your class when you are in Passive Mode.

Question: Can you freely change between these modes?

Answer: Yes, you can change modes anywhere.

Beta Testers Can Keep Their Names?!

One of the most stunning pieces of information to come out of this article is about the beta test.  It is common practice that everyone starts from scratch with the official release of a game regardless of their progress during the beta.  However, it looks like the FFXIV team is thinking about doing things a little bit differently.

Question: Do you plan on letting beta testers carry over their character names or anything else into the final release?

Answer: Yes, that’s the plan.  However, since the number of servers (Worlds) will be different from the beta, there might be a chance that somebody creates a character with the same name as you on the World you want to play on before you do your character transfer.  We’ll need to come up with some rules on how to handle those situations.

Question: Will PS3 beta testers and PC beta testers play on the same Worlds during the beta?

Answer: We have no particular plans to separate by version.  However, as the testing periods will be different, some Worlds might have more people playing on one particular platform than another.  We do plan on making things like FFXI where you can log in with the same account from any platform.

Question: Will the beta servers be separated by language?  Also, will some sort of auto-translator feature be present in the beta?

Answer: We haven’t decided anything yet about when to add the auto-translator function or if there will be language-separated servers during the beta.  However, for alpha testing, the testing time windows are separated for Japan, North America, and Europe.

So that’s the information we have at this time.  How do you feel about the answers?  In particular, how do you feel about the possibility of beta testers being able to keep their names into the final release?  We might be talking about this in the next episode of Aetheryte Radio so please leave your comments in the forums or send a message to the hosts at podcast@eorzeapedia.com.

Did you enjoy all the new information this weekend?  We had an official NA and JP site update and people on the forums have been sifting through the information and finding all sorts of interesting things.  I know some people have been busy updating the wiki as well.  Starting it all off though was a lot of translated information from magazines like Weekly Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation.

But wait!

We haven’t talked about the interesting stuff that was in Dengeki PlayStation yet.  This time we’ll be covering the long Q&A portion of their FFXIV coverage.  It covers general questions related to the upcoming alpha/beta test, character creation, and the various classes overall.  In another article, we’ll cover the shorter class-specific questions.

First, let’s talk beta.

[About the Beta Test]
Q: About how long do you expect the beta test to run?
A: It isn’t set in stone at this point.  We’ll have to see after we start making adjustments.

Q: How much of the game can people expect to be able to play around with in the beta?
A: It won’t even be half of what we think will go into the final release.  After all, the goal of the beta test is to refine  game balance and double check some of the very basic technical things.  For the alpha test, you could almost say there is next to nothing there.  However, we feel this makes it easier to take in people’s feedback and requests as we build up the game.

Q: Could you tell us the PC specs required for playing the alpha and beta test builds?
A: Well, we are in the process of optimization right now but it isn’t finished yet.  That means for the alpha build, you are most likely going to need a powerful CPU.  Your video card will need to be able to handle DirectX9 but if you’ve bought a card within the past few years you should be good to go.  Memory-wise you’ll want 512MB of VRAM or more.  We’ll be posting more specific details at some point on the official beta test site.

Q: Will the PC and PlayStation 3 beta tests begin at the same time?
A: The alpha test will be PC only.  No decisions have been made yet about the beta test, including the timing.

Q: You’ve said before that you want the FFXI community (in the form of friend lists and so on) to continue to be together in FFXIV as well.  Can you tell us specifically how you plan on making that happen?
A: The details haven’t be worked out yet but we’d like to make it where you can transfer to the same server as your friends so you can play together.

Q: Will the 9 classes you’ve released information for this time around also be playable in the beta?  Also, will players in the beta be able to pick a starting class from them?
A: They will be playable in the beta.  Perhaps not everything there is to each class will be included, but you will be able to play them.

Q: Will other classes be available in the beta test as well?
A: We’re not sure at this time.

Q: Say I’m a player that wants to play out a particular role.  Can you give us some advice on the role of each class?
A: In a very broad sense, this is the image I have for each class-
Gladiator– The hero who crushes the strong and defends the weak.  They are the guardian of the party.  An almighty fighter good for anyone.

Pugilist– You’re right on the front lines.  There is a thrill in the split second decision making you’ll have to do.  Do you change your stance or not?  This person is definitely a damage dealer.  I’d say it is also for people who don’t want to have to pay a lot of attention to detail.

Lancer– You’ll need the ability to make judgment calls and make the most of your weapon range.  The lancer is the party’s last defense.  Play lancer if you like tactical fighting.

Marauder– This is a macho and massively powerful attacker.  The trump card of the party.  The marauder is a good class for people who like getting in those last blows and stuff.

Archer– A cool sniper who scans the battlefield, looking for their chance to strike, rather than staring off into the distance.  If you were talking baseball, this is your team’s shortstop.  It is also a good class for people who want to play solo or are kind of a loner.

Conjurer– This is a support member who changes roles depending on how the battle is going.  They could attack, add to the party’s defense, or cure.  This is a good class for somebody who wants to put their hands in everything.

Thaumaturge– The Thaumaturge is your party’s strategist, using their enfeebling magic to control the battlefield.  Good for someone that has the capacity for forethought.

Miner– Metal is an indispensable part of making almost any piece of armor and the miner is the person that goes out, finds it, and brings it to the marketplace.  This is a class that knows how to make money fast.  It is also for people who are persistent.

Blacksmith– The blacksmith is a crafter who makes and repairs weapons, tools, and other things that have some metal component to them.  You’ll always have customers so this job is suited for people who like doing business with other people.

[Character Creation]
Q: Previously we were introduced to the idea of clans within different races, like the Seekers of the Sun and Keepers of the Moon for the Miqo’te.   Will people be able to choose their clan during character creation?
A: For the beta test, you’ll be able to choose from a subset of the races and clans.

Q: I get the feeling that rather than being able to choose freely, you’ll have to choose things that fit with a particular clan’s special characteristics.  Like, you could choose from different shades of brown if you were a Seeker of the Sun but because Keepers of the Moon are nocturnal, they have to be fair-skinned.  Am I right?
A: Kind of.  Except rather than just the lightness of your skin, there are different themes and you’ll be able to choose from a wide variety of skins that follow those themes.

Q: How much of the character creation system will be present in the beta?
A: There will be a small subset of faces and hairstyles to choose from.  After that, you can select the color of your hair, skin, and eyes.  You won’t be able to change your facial features or anything at this time.

Q: Are there any special bonuses for matching the right city-state with the right race?  And if so, will there be differences depending on clan as well?
A: Right now we aren’t planning on doing anything like that.  However, if we get a lot of feedback from people who want that sort of thing, we’ll take it under consideration.

[About the Classes]
Q: So far in the classes and weapon information, we haven’t seen anything about dual wielding weapons like you see in FFXI.  Will we eventually see dual wielding in FFXIV too?  Also, if that is the case, what classes will they match up with?  For example, is it something a Gladiator would be able to do with a dual wield-use sword?  Or would it be for an entirely different class?
A: I can’t answer your question as to when but I think it is safe to say we will see it at some point.  As for which classes will be able to dual wield, all I can say is, please look forward to future announcements.

Q: We know you will be able to change your class at any time but will there be any restrictions as to the classes you can change into?  For example, is there going to be a restriction where you can only carry 3 different weapon types as one time?
A: There aren’t any restrictions right now but that isn’t to say there won’t be in the future.

Q: Can you change your class in the midst of battle?  And if it is limited to only when you aren’t in a battle ready mode, would it be possible to change weapons if you put your other weapon away first?
A: In FFXIV, there are two modes: Passive and Active.  In Passive Mode, your HP restores while you move around.  Active Mode is when you have drawn your weapon and are ready for battle.  You can only change your class when you are in Passive Mode.

Q: In general, how many people do you think will be in a party?  Also, will we see alliances?
A:  We think that 6 to 8 people will be the norm for parties.  However, we want to make the system flexible.  Even if 6 to 8 is the norm, there will be times where you have more people or times when you have less.  You might just want to play solo or play with a small group of friends.  There will also be challenges adventurers will face that will require an alliance.

Another thing to consider is that when it comes to battle, we are thinking of “party versus party” dynamics.  You’ll be fighting for the best position and there will be a lot of planning and strategic thinking required to win beyond just who is doing the most straight damage.  First, you have to think of the best fighting range for your weapon.  You have to think about damage and accuracy, but also what position is best to get in some of those extra effects.  For example, there is a lancer move where you can keep the enemies from moving for a short period of time.  The magic users especially have to think about things because they have so many AoE spells.  The area is also different depending on the class.  You see donut-shaped spells for the Conjurer and fan/cone shaped ones for the Thaumaturge.  Also, sometimes you are the center of an ability or weapon skill, sometimes it is your target.  There are many different types.

Direction will also have an affect on things.  You might try to slip into an enemy’s blind spot or make them face in a different direction.  If you want to be a better fighter in FFXIV, you’ll need to master distance, area of effect, and direction and use these to the best of your advantage.

Q: In some of the abilities it says “get the enemy’s attention”.  Does this mean to increase enmity?
A: In FFXIV, we call it the Hostility Ratio.  That is what will increase.  [Translation note: We don't know if the terminology will change for the English version as well.]

Q: Are there differences between the Gladiator’s Rousing Provoke and the Pugilist’s Mocking Provoke?
A: They are the same type of ability but they are a bit different from each other as well.  The way you get that attention changes.  And even if it is the exact same ability, there might be other things that factor into how well you get the enemy’s attention.  Controlling the Hostility Ratio will be a very important part of the game.  You have to look at the situation and decide what is the best ability to use.  We hope people will have fun doing trial-and-error and finding out what works best for them.

Q: Is guarding a defensive command?  Or is it something that occurs at random?
A: Both.  There is a command you can use to guard with a shield.  However, the more proficient a character is with using a shield, they might just deflect an attack with their shield without you having to use any commands.

Q: How is the Pugilist’s range different from a very close fighting range?
A: The range is nearly identical.  However, the difference is enough to show off the different characteristics of those classes.  For example, let’s look at defense.  A very close ranged fighter has a shield or other protective gear for physical defense.  A pugilist is more focused on evading attacks.  The way they attack is different as well.

Q: Do enemies have TP as well?
A: They do.  Enemies can earn TP in a variety of ways.  There might even be some enemies that could put your life at risk if you don’t defeat them quickly.

Q: For the most part, do you have to be still in order to cast a spell?
A: We plan on including a number of spells that can be cast while moving as well.

Another day, another article.  Today’s information is also courtesy of Famitsu.  Along with the developer comments they had for the various classes, they also had a short one page interview with the three developers.  Once again, let’s take a look at what Battle Director Atsushi Okada, Planner Sei Sato, and Planner Kenichi Iwao had to say about their game.

Famitsu: For starters, could you give us a basic idea of how combat works?

Okada: While you can play solo as well, the general idea behind combat in FFXIV is “Many versus Many” where the enemies are also in parties.  We’re also building it under the assumption that people will be moving around while fighting rather than staying at one particular camp and having somebody bring the enemies in.

F: So basically people will move to where the enemies spawn and heal between battles?

Okada: That’s right.  However, one of the things that makes FFXIV special is that, in general, your MP will not recover.  This isn’t to say that there are absolutely no ways to get MP back.  For example, once a player has grown in their class they’ll learn abilities to help them recover MP.  Also, if you stop by an Aetheryte location, you can recover both HP and MP.

Iwao: Classes with MP have to think of MP as something to use carefully and learn how to make it last over a number of battles versus using it all during just one battle.  That’s a part of how FFXIV works.

Sato: When you start on a particular objective, everybody is going to go out to the location together.  At that time, it’ll be important for you to start thinking about how you will manage your MP.  There is even a class built around the idea of managing a party’s MP usage.

Each class has a different range.

F: Looking at the image you’ve provided, I suppose it’s safe to say that each class has their own best attack range.

Sato: Yes.  For battles in FFXIV, where you are standing and which way the enemy is looking is going to have a big impact on things.  So the natural extension of that is an appropriate attack range for each class.

Iwao: The enemies themselves also have different classes assigned to them so you’ll see enemies playing out different battle tactics as well.  You’ll need to fight over the best positions and sometimes you might need to change locations when you fight.  That’s one thing that makes the “Many versus Many” battles so exciting.  You aren’t just fighting in the same location all the time.  You really have to think about where the enemy is in relation to you at all times.

Sato: It’s not an action game but it does have some of the elements of one.

F: With the need to move around, it sounds like the classes with very short attack ranges will have an easier time of things.

Iwao: Well, the classes that are right up close have to really worry about their position and direction while those fighting from farther away will be more concerned about distance.

Sato: For close range fighters, the effectiveness of your attacks will vary depending on the direction you are facing, so it isn’t particularly easier than the classes that fight from farther away.

Iwao: There is one other element to take into consideration: range.  This is really obvious for magic users but other classes have abilities with different ranges as well.

Sato: Think of where you are fighting as a space you share with all of your party members.  We’ll continue to refine and develop more of these ranged attacks.

Iwao: There are different types of these moves as well.  For example, there are ones that radiate from you and other ones that spread out around your target.  These will be very tactical battles where you are thinking about range, distance, and direction as you fight.  I hope people enjoy this style of play.

F: It looks like we’ll see different “elements” in FFXIV.  Can you tell us more about them?

Okada: There are 6 elements for FFXIV: fire, ice, wind, earth, thunder, and water.  They are interrelated to each other as well.  Water is strong to fire but weak to thunder, etc.  Each element has something they are strong to and weak against.

Iwao: There are many components in the game, both involving the player and the enemy, where elements will have an influence.  There are also other properties beyond the 6 elements.  For example, on Earth we have magnetism.  In FFXIV, we will have two properties “Star Pole” and “Spirit Pole”.  (Translator’s Note: It’s hard to say what the English equivalents will be.)

F: How will these different elements and properties affect the player when they play?

Okada: We are working on making it so that each player is strong to and weak against a different element.  For example, maybe one particular player would find themselves strong against fire.

F: Is this something the player can decide during character creation?

Sato: No.  Just like HP or other things, it is something that a player grows into over time.  Depending on how you grow, you might become a specialist of sorts in one particular element.

Okada: As an example, if you are strong against water and you are attacked by an enemy with water magic, it won’t hurt as much.

Iwao: Let’s say there are two Conjurers.  Even still, they could have two different roles where one is better at things involving ice and the other fire.  There will be a natural division of labor.

F: It sounds like a player can really show off their individuality.

Iwao: You could level all things equally and be able to deal with a variety of situations.  But that would come at the cost of not being able to specialize in any particular element.

F: I think it would be interesting if mini communities formed around specializing in a particular element.

Sato: Like a Fire Lover’s Club.  (laughs)  That kind of thing might be possible.

Going between two languages, it is easy for things to get lost in translation.  Not only that, but for Final Fantasy XIV, the sites for each region are also presented in entirely different ways.  That means sometimes there can be pictures or text in one that doesn’t show up in the either.

At the moment, we have extensive text on the NA site about some of the monster families like Aldgoats and Antelopes.  However, the Japanese site does not contain any additional text, just the pictures that were released to the Japanese media.  For those in Japan, they have to get their information from the magazines released this weekend or one of the several gaming news websites like GAME Watch or 4Gamer.

Let’s check out what was in the magazines that isn’t on the NA site as well as what things may have been lost along the way.

WEEKLY FAMITSU
FFXIV is down in the Weekly Famitsu ratings, from 12 to 21.  It seems to follow a pattern though.  The week or two after new info it rises, but after a lull it falls back down.  That’s to be expected at this stage in the game.

In this issue, there are seven pages dedicated to the new information released by SE as well as some short Q&As as well.  Let’s start with the Q&As first.  For the most part, I will only cover things that haven’t already been discussed in other articles.

World Overview
There will be a tavern-like places in the game similar to what we saw in the Tokyo Game Show trailer.  These places will be an important part of the game.  Also in previous trailers as well as the TGS trailer, there have been scenes of a group of adventurers taking on a large number of enemies.  SE says that this kind of giant battle will not be the norm but this will happen on occasion and is one of the new game play features for FFXIV.  The GAME Watch interview also confirmed this but the music in the second half of the trailer is one of the many battle themes as well.

Weapons and Tools
Each weapon will vary in what the best attacking range for it will be.  Some may be closer than others, or farther than others.  One example is the polearm mentioned in the official text for Lancer.  Confirmed in the Q&A as well, polearms allow you to attack outside of the melee attacking range of your opponent.  They also confirm that Lancers will be able to use both the two-handed polearms and the throwing javelins.  The javelins will be treated as throwing weapons rather than as the main weapon you walk around with.  This was how throwing weapons worked in FFXI as well.  They would like to add other throwing weapons to other classes as well.

The Q&A talks about the weapon degradation as well.  As your weapon wears down, its functional ability will decrease, requiring you to get it repaired.  Tools will also need to be repaired from time to time too.

There are some interesting responses to the Q&A about crafting.  The interviewer asks if the ability to use a particular tool or use particular materials could be limited to a set race.  The nameless respondent from SE replies this could happen.  However, they will strive for balance so that no race is dominant over the others.  They also ask what will be needed to craft things.  You will need the proper tool or tools.  Preparing good tools and proper armor will be key.  You will also need the proper materials and a crystal.  Many times you will need to choose the right equipment as well.  We can see one example of that in the Lifestyle report on the Culinarian talking about how she could use the equipment at the Culinarian’s Guild.  To craft some things, you might also need to meet certain additional requirements as well.  They mention the possibility of needing assistance or having to wait for a particular type of weather or other natural phenomena.

Finally, eating food will have an effect on player’s stats.  They don’t want your party to be affected too much by what you eat.  Instead, they want to make it so that people are free to eat what they want and have the ability to eat lots of different things.  It sounds like they are still in the planning stages for how food will work in game.

After you have crafted a lot of things, it’s only natural to sell them.  In previous interviews, they said they were working on a new system different from the Auction House used in FFXI.  SE has now given us a name for this new system, the Market.  However, I’ll talk more about what we know about the Market later.

Famitsu Ideas
As part of the Japanese media kit, sites were given a story to go with the pictures that describe the crafting process from the point of view of a Culinarian.  You can see examples on GAME Watch or Gpara.  Weekly Famitsu decided to write their own speculation based on the story instead of running the original text.  Here’s what they came away with:

• The tool you use will have a large effect on your results.  For example, the same ingredients prepared with the skillet or with the kitchen knife could result in different dishes.  The amount could change as well.
• Guilds will have equipment available to assist your crafting efforts.  Sometimes it will be necessary to use them.
• You need a crystal to craft.
• After making a recipe once, it will appear in a personal recipe book.
• There is a chance that the amount will increase.  (This is similar to HQ’ing in FFXI for some recipes.)
• There will be a way for crafters to set prices for something they want to sell.

DENGEKI PLAYSTATION
This week FFXIV comes in at 5th in Dengeki PlayStation’s Anticipated Titles poll.  Last issue it made it all the way up to 3rd.

Dengeki PlayStation also ran the newly released information and pictures, however, they kept it to a short 4 pages.  1/3 of one of those pages was dedicated to their own speculations:

• There will be multiple markets.  Each market will have a different name.
• They feel the stands will be player-run as well as named by players.
• Food will spoil over time.  Because of this, you will be able to check on the status of an item when you look at it.  Another option would be to have a skill or ability that lets you check the status of items/armor/food/etc.
• It will be fairly costly to use equipment at the various guilds.
• The various aetheryte points will be named Camp ________.  This is actually the second time we’ve seen “Camp _______” used at the aetheryte points.
• The Miqo’te Kabobs will increase attack power.
• Gil is the currency of Eorzea.

DIFFERENCES
The speculations we make are completely based on what we can read.  In general, the Japanese versions are very straight-forward.  The English versions are much more colorful.  It makes for great reading in English but harder to tell what is important.

For starters, the picture of the kabobs.  In the English version of the site, they are only referred to as “crispy kabobs”.  However, they have an actual name in the Japanese version.  ミコッテ風山の幸串焼　Literally translates as “Miqo’te style Mountain Foods Grilled on Sticks”.  This is nearly identical to what is used in FFXI for Meat Mithkabobs, swapping Mithra for Miqo’te.

How about the names of places?  In the English version, the market is named Glutton’s Alley and the stand is called The Scratching Post.  In Japanese, they have がつがつ横丁 which can easily turn into Glutton’s Alley.  However, the name of the stand is completely different.  The Japanese “Totoya” doesn’t turn into anything specifically outside of “Fish Store”.  In fact, there are some seafood restaurants named Totoya.  However, the people at Dengeki PlayStation took it to mean that maybe the stand was run by a person named Toto (with the ya part meaning store).  Thus, from their point of view, the stands could be named after the player or perhaps even freely named.  In the English version, with “The Scratching Post”, it is clearly not a player’s name.  However, it fits the player, a Miqo’te, that was selling their goods.  The speculations we can make are very dependent on the version we are reading.  The words “Market” and “Stand” are also highlighted in the Japanese version to make it clear these are important keywords to be remembered.  The English version is much more casual about how they are used and requires people to read into things a bit more.

Finally, there are a few pictures not used on the NA site.  These food items don’t have names yet but their shapes are very familiar to foods used in FFXI.  Perhaps we will be seeing a lot of old favorites?  Only time will tell.

That’s it for this week.  See ya later!

Now in Tokyo!  Very tired but I can’t turn off the computer until I tell you some of the nifty things from this week in the magazines.  For example….  where does the music for the trailer come from?  Tanaka reveals the answer in the full length version of the interview done with Enterbrain’s Hamamura.  And as always, where does FFXIV sit in the weekly ratings?  Click to find out.

No images this week because….  I’m not at home!

Weekly Ratings
Final Fantasy XIV recovers slightly in the Anticipated Titles ranking, coming in at 19.  Three Square Enix titles are in the lead this week: FFXIII, Dragon Quest X, and the DS remake of Dragon Quest VI.  Titles around FFXIV include Metal Gear Solid for the PSP and the newest Professor Layton game for the DS.

Extras
There are a couple of interesting extras in this week’s Weekly Famitsu.  This week has the last part of Weekly Famitsu’s 4 part series on gaming.  This time the focus is on the past and future of hardware.  In one of the sections, they talked about networking.  In the current generation of consoles, internet access is a given for updates and extras.  How will this change in the future?  One interesting idea involves mobile networks.  Currently in Japan, the network used for cell phones is fairly slow, slower than regular wireless internet.  There are people who think that within three years this could change to where cell phone networks could support high speed connections.  The next step would be to include the same pieces in gaming devices.  Then you could connect from nearly anywhere.

Farther down the line, we might not have to worry about lag during online games either.  The expert they asked said the current way we sent and receive data online leads to lag.  His group is looking into ways they can use light to send and redirect data.  Right now they are hoping to make it a reality in 20 to 30 years.  

Full-length Interviews
Remember the little chat Elmer and I did about the interviews from Famitsu Wave DVD?  Full length versions were released with the latest volume of Vanatsuu.  Vanatsuu is a FFXI mook that comes out every so often and covers what’s going on in Vana’diel along with whatever research they’ve done in game.  It often has special interviews with the developers and other staff as well.  

Since we covered a lot of the information already, I’ll just give you the highlights from the full version.

Tanaka and Hamamura

• Vana’diel and Hydaelyn are completely different worlds.  Interviewer Hamamura tried to weed out exactly what connection could be between the two.  For example, it makes the joke that Hydaelyn is way in the future and adventures could dig up fossils from Vana’diel but that isn’t the case.  The two worlds are completely separate from each other.
• No word on if Goblins will be in FFXIV or not.  However, a Cid character will probably make an appearance as he is a standard for the Final Fantasy series now.  Tanaka also says there is a chance we could see Yagudos or Orcs as well.
• We mentioned it before but he compares the world of FFXIV with FFVI in terms of setting.  It’s not a world of swords and magic, but “high fantasy” according to Tanaka.
• The graphics and techniques they can use have changed quite a bit.  For example, what they can do with light and shadows.  Tanaka says they’ve put a lot of effort into that this time around.
• Hamamura tried a couple times to get Tanaka to say if there would be more than the 5 playable races we currently know about.  No luck, sadly.
• He says they are looking to include some kind of feature that allows your entire linkshell from FFXI to be on the same server together.  Also directed at FFXI players, Tanaka says there is about another year’s worth of stuff for the Altana storyline.  They plan to keep doing version updates about every three months.
• I want you to go watch the FFXIV trailer right now.  No, really, turn it on.  That music you are listening to?  Tanaka says it is the theme music for Limsa-Lominsa!  The music currently playing on the official site will be used somewhere else in game but he doesn’t reveal exactly where.  Tanaka says the game will probably start with around 100 different tracks.

Director Komoto

• No update on how many different “weapons” there will be, largely in part because they aren’t sure how broad to define the word.  Certainly there are swords and axes, but can you include a needle or blacksmith’s tools as “weapons”?  That is one of the things they face with the new Armoury System for FFXIV.
• One of the things driving the Armoury System is the idea of learning abilities on a particular weapon.  Of importance is the fact he says their idea was you could learn an ability on one weapon but still use it when you switch to another.  He’s not sure how much it will be possible due to balance issues but that’s the goal.  You can compare it to subjobs in FFXI.  An ability you learned while leveling another job can also be used if you have a high enough level while its your subjob.
• They might try to add ways to make it more appealing to help out other players even if you’ve already finished a certain quest or defeated a certain monster.  This reminds me of the keys system they are currently trying out with the add-on scenarios for FFXI.
• At the end of the interview, he says that it’s important for online games to continue to change and for the players to realize that as well.  He also wants to assure everyone that it’s possible to be a FFXI player and FFXIV player at the same time and to look forward to its release!

That’s all for this week in the magazines.  See ya later!

We are now just one week away from Tokyo Game Show, the biggest video game expo of the year in Japan.  A trailer will be shown in the Open Mega Theatre but we won’t know until the event starts whether it’s just an old one or not.  Japanese fans are likely to feel slighted if there isn’t anything new though so I’m hoping for at least a little something different from what has been shown at E3 or gamescom. 

In the meantime, I finally got some breathing room in my schedule to read the most recent Dengeki PlayStation magazine.  Oerba from Final Fantasy XIII graces the cover this week and there is another fairly large article for the highly anticipated game inside.  The unexpected treat (prior to online leaks anyways) was a 2 page interview with Final Fantasy XIV Producer Hiromichi Tanaka and Director Nobuaki Komoto in a font so small it makes your eyes hurt.  No new game play pictures for the interview but the two looked happy in their picture, Komoto wearing shorts as usual. 

Let’s check out the rankings and info in this week’s Dengeki PlayStation magazine.  Many of you have probably already seen the information on other sites so let’s make this a little special with some other Japanese magazine extras.  Curious?  Read on!

Weekly Rankings
Pop Idol group AKB48 enters the Japanese CD singles chart at #2.  My friend described them as being more about quantity than quality but I think the idea is unique.  Pop idols you can see almost any night of the week in a small concert hall, versus the mega stadiums where you can barely make out the faces of the performers. For DVDs, 20th Century Boys Part 2 tops the charts.  The 3rd part of the trilogy is currently in theatres and ends one of the largest projects ever attempted by the Japanese movie industry.  Large blockbuster videos are normal for Hollywood but not so much for Japanese movie makers. 

Wondering why I’m talking about a Japanese pop band and movie?  It’s true they have nothing to do with Final Fantasy XIV but I’m hoping to see both during my trip to Tokyo next week.  The shared coverage currently being planned with Elmer from ZAM won’t just be about Tokyo Game Show but our mini adventure in general.  We’re hoping to entertain you guys a bit leading up to the event as well.  More information on how to follow the coverage later this week.

As for game rankings, Final Fantasy XIII got knocked off the top spot this week!  It slips down to second place, a few thousand votes less than received by a game being released today in Japan: the PS3 port of Tales of Vesperia.  Final Fantasy XIV fell down to 13th place, sandwiched between two PSP games: Ys Seven and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.

Looking at the rankings of games currently on sale is also pretty interesting.  The top 10 in the list are all PSP or PS2 titles.  The first PS3 title to rank in is a baseball game made by Konami.  Only 3 of the top 20 on-sale now games are for PS3.  Hopefully the release of Final Fantasy XIII gives the system a lift like some experts are predicting.

Intermission
There are hundreds if not thousands of weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly publications in Japan.  You can find some kind of publication for nearly every hobby you can imagine.  Like to obsess over Japanese voice actresses?  There are several magazines you can choose from.  1st year in elementary school?  There are specialty magazines for you too.  And don’t worry about getting older.  You can just jump up to the 2nd grade specialty magazines next year.  Love kimono?  Check out the magazines on the latest trends in design and fabric.  I think one of the oddest magazines I’ve seen was one for people who like pictures of girls in skimpy outfits holding guns.

With such a variety of magazines, it can be hard to choose the right magazine for you.  In addition to a wide variety of gaming magazines, I also buy computing magazines from time to time.  There are some pretty straight forward ones but lately I’ve grown attached to Weekly Ascii magazine.  They tend to have some female model on the cover but never particularly attractive ones.  That isn’t the point though.  This magazine is about computing but with a definitely geeky spin.  There are articles on pop culture and maps for Akihabara.  There are also articles on video games and consoles, like their coverage of the new slim PS3 a couple weeks ago.  And at only 390 yen an issue, it’s not a wallet breaker like some of the gaming magazines I buy.  (The magazine is done by the same publisher as Dengeki PlayStation which might explain a few things too.)

So!  A few little tidbits and trivia from this week’s Weekly Ascii:

• This is the first year since Square and Enix merged that a Dragon Quest series game and a Final Fantasy series game have been sold in the same year.
• People are attempting to write 140 character novels on twitter.  Search the hashtag #twnovel for examples.  Also interesting is twittermap.jp which ties profile information from twitter with maps.  Finally, while a lot of people are used to live blogs now, using both special tools or twitter, some Japanese users refer to the concept as “Tsudaru” (“Tsuda’ing”) in reference to Japanese journalist Tsuda Daisuke’s use of twitter to do event reporting.
• There are some odd USB memory sticks on the market in Japan.  Some of the ones they cover this week:  a thumb, cat ears, USB memory wristband, the smallest USB drive on the market which is barely bigger than the metal part you insert into your computer, and USB memory sticks shaped like pose-able people.  You can check out some of these odd creations at solidalliance.com.

The Interview
Ever wonder if Japanese interviewers waste questions on stupid things like the western press does from time to time?  They sure do!  This interview was probably conducted by the head of the Dengeki FFXI Lightning Brigade or one of their members.  In it, they ask if we will be able to ride Roegadyn using emotes.  Apparently the leader of the group would like that to be an option.  And before your mind goes too far in the gutter, the leader is a Tarutaru in FFXI and probably means riding on a Roegadyn’s shoulders.  Unfortunately, the two big men for FFXIV let him know he’ll have to keep dreaming because it’d be too difficult to implement.  Other things they mentioned:

• Miqo’te only have the ears on top of their head.  They don’t have extra ears hidden anywhere.
• Roegadyn were designed for the world of FFXIV so they have no tails even if they are similar to Galkas in FFXI.
• Not every character will have voice acting.  It would be impossible to keep up with regular updates and have things fully voiced.  However, any voice acting there is, like for important scenes, will be done in English.  Oddly enough, the reasoning for this is they want people to focus on the graphical aspect of the scenes rather than just a box with text.
• They haven’t decided exactly how chocobos will be used in FFXIV yet.
• Komoto says playing with a controller won’t feel much different than it does in FFXI.
• They haven’t had a chance to think about any events specifically for FFXIV, like the recent party thrown for FFXIII, but Komoto says he’d like to do something.
• You will need a Square Enix ID to play.  You will not be required to use the security token.
• The game will be windowed from the very beginning so you can take advantage of other things, like community sites, at the same time.
• The next system Komoto would like to show off is the Armoury System.

The majority of the interview was pretty straight forward stuff.  A lot of it we have heard before but they did clarify a few things from other interviews as well.  Unlike some summaries posted online, they did not bash the western media, so people who were concerned about that can relax. 

Comparing FFXI and FFXIV – Aetheryte versus Mog House
They’ve said before that one of their target markets is current or former FFXI players.  That said, there will be some people who are curious about what’s new and what’s different.  Also interesting is how the game is being made differently from FFXI.  One of the most obvious differences is in game play.  Guildleves will be a large part of FFXIV.  Where as FFXI had a lot of grinding in groups for long periods of time, it sounds like most guildleves will be on the short side, as short as 30 minutes, and have different goals that must be accomplished.  Some players are already comparing it to the Assault system from FFXI.  There is also a big difference in how you change jobs or roles.  In FFXI, you had to talk to your house moogle or a nomad moogle to change jobs.  In FFXIV, you can change classes freely without needing to return to any particular spot.  The Armoury System was a concept they originally had for FFXI but now are able to make it a reality in FFXIV.

This change in how and where you can change classes also changes another part of game design.  One of the nice features in FFXI was the Mog House, a semi-customizable homebase.  The entrance was shared by everyone so no worries about getting lost or forgetting where your home is.  In addition to item storage, it was the place to change your job as well.  This feature is no longer needed for FFXIV.  The Mog Houses were also in cities.  You could log out quickly in your Mog House and then walk into the city to look for other people to play with.  This was largely the case for big cities like Jeuno or Whitegate.  However, in FFXIV, they want people to gather at Aetheryte and log out or in around there without having to go back into town often.  In other words, you don’t really need a base camp in town either.  Komoto goes so far as to say the Aetheryte replaces the need for Mog Houses.  When asked if there will be regular homes, he says he expects that kind of thing will be gradually added. 

How do you feel?  Do you think it is necessary to have some kind of personal home in an MMO?

Comparing FFXI and FFXIV – Customization
The level of customization for playable characters is also different.  Tanaka says they took ideas from FFXI to make it easy for FFXI players to move into FFXIV but the level of customization you can do is so high that you can end up making something very different from what was available in FFXI.  The interviewer asks if characters will age due to the fact that weapon and armor degradation is included in FFXIV.  With a smile, Komoto says they won’t age but it will probably be able to change your hairstyle in game.  This is an option FFXI players have wanted so it’s nice to see that it might be included in FFXIV.  He says that they want to grant the requests of players as they develop the game.  One thing they don’t plan on letting people do is change their face.  If you can change even that, you lose something that allows you to recognize somebody. 

There will also be some level of armor and weapon customization this time around.  We had guessed this before but they now confirm that there will be different colors available for equipment that have the same stats. They already have a wide range of colors planned and the number of items that can be colorized will increase.  In the future, Komoto says it would be nice to even allow people to add emblems to items as well. 

Graphics and the Landscape
At this point in time, the game graphics are only 50% completed.  Tanaka says they will probably change quite a bit so people should look forward to even greater things.  We know parts of the UI are customizable.  The interviewer asked if we will be able to adjust the text size as well and Tanaka says he thinks it will be something they can add in in the future.  Character graphics are getting a lot of attention.  They are still looking into things but there is a chance that more equipment will be visible this time around.  For example, neck pieces or rings.  However, nothing is set in stone yet.  They are still talking about the best way to go about things and how much should be made visible.  They are also not sure about how to show weapon degradation status.  For example, they could change the way the weapon looks on screen or make a gauge.  Komoto says they will try out lots of different things and go from there.

One of the first things we learned about was the inclusion of weather effects.  People started to wonder what kind of effect they would have on the players.  For example, would certain clans be affected in different ways.  Komoto talked a little about the weather with the interviewer from Dengeki.  The weather effects will not be related to elements like they were in FFXI.  It doesn’t sound like weather effects will have a specific effect on players.  He explains the reasoning behind this by saying that while that might be interesting at first, eventually it would get to the point where people wouldn’t want to go to certain areas.  Instead, they will think about how to use the weather effects in other ways.  

At gamescom, the team showed off some of the emotes players will be able to use in game.  The detail is much higher than FFXI, in part because they decided to use motion capture this time around.  Komoto says it would be difficult to implement motions that involve multiple people but it would be nice to think about as they could be used as one form of communication.  For people curious what this means, think about having an emote where you could hug another player and they could hug you back at the same time.  Both character models would be involved with the emote.

As for the general landscape, they say the game will not be entirely seamless.  This was mistranslated (but they don’t say by who or where).  The area you can move through seamlessly will be about the size of a region in FFXI.  This doesn’t mean there won’t be area divisions though.  Monsters will not follow you for the entire length of a zone for example.  There will be towns and the areas around Aetheryte as well.  However, you can generally divide areas by if there are monsters there or no monsters there.  Either way, you will be able to draw your weapon anywhere you want thanks to the fact there is no auto-attack.

Move, Fight, Fix, Move, Fight
As mentioned several times before, they want people to gather at the Aetheryte.  From there, people will start guildleves or help with other people’s guildleves.  Its main purpose is to act as a gathering point for players.  For example, not only could you find other people to do guildleves with but perhaps craftsmen that can help fix damaged armor or weapons.  The second function is as a method of transportation.  Komoto says you can also use them to go from town to town, not just to a battlefield. 

Speaking of the craftsmen, they give a little bit more information about that too.  They may or may not add personalized shop signs in the future, i.e. a way to advertise your services.  Even if a craftsmen fails to fix something, the item will not break.  They are also considering adding regular shops that people can use to get things fixed in the event they can’t find another player to fix something for them.  If you need to find somebody, you might be able to search players’ personalized comment areas, developed out of the search comment feature in FFXI.  They also have other ideas in mind.

There are a few new details about fighting too.  For example, your position and the position of other people and enemies will be an important thing to keep track of.  We’ve already seen this in action at gamescom with people getting attacked from the right hand side by Dodos.  Differences in height will not be as important.

Some people have also wondered if the more craft-oriented classes will still be able to attack things in battle.  Komoto tries to reassure players by saying they will have at least the minimum stats they need in order to fight but they will naturally be weaker than classes more geared towards fighting. 

Guildleves
You start off by going to a player’s guild, which is almost like a tavern.  There you can accept guildleves, which are like plates more than cards, and go off to the Aetheryte.  You can think of the guildleve as a pass or permission slip.  It allows you to do a certain set activity or perhaps travel in a certain area.  The rest of the information has been covered in previous interviews like how it works well for casual players because it doesn’t eat up a lot of time to do a guildleve or how some of them will involve monsters like the NMs from FFXI.  After you finish your guildleve, you can go back to the Aetheryte and then start a new one or even logout there.

That’s it for now.  See ya later!

For this week’s issue, we’ll have two parts.  Today, part 1 with the interesting little bits pulled from Weekly Famitsu.

The other day, Gahoo linked to an article on 1up.com featuring opinions on online gaming from three different Japanese game makers.  What was available there was actually just a small portion of a big feature printed in this week’s Weekly Famitsu.  Interested in seeing what was left out?  That and more after the cut.

Weekly Rankings
Final Fantasy XIV fell a little, now at 24 and back to where it was two weeks ago.  Jumping up in the list are the newest game in the Professor Layton series for the DS and the new Kingdom Hearts game for the PSP.  A surprising jump this week for another Square Enix game too:  Last Remnant for the PS3, going from 21 last week to 14.  Things haven’t looked good for a Sony console version of the game for a long time but it looks like player support is still out there!  The top three this week are all from Square Enix: FFXIII, Dragon Quest X, and a DS remake of Dragon Quest VI.  As for actually released games, the only SE title is Dragon Quest IX coming in second after Nintendo’s Friend Collection and just above the newly released Dream Club for the Xbox360.

Final Fantasy XIII
It’s safe to say a lot of the people that play FFXI now and want to play FFXIV in the future are fans of the Final Fantasy series in general.  The next numbered edition to hit retail shelves will be Final Fantasy XIII.  Each week new information is released in the magazines with beautiful half to full page color pictures.  On Tuesday, Square Enix held a release date party at a museum in Odaiba, home of the Fuji Television Building and Tokyo Big Site.  Final Fantasy XIII will be released in Japan on December 17th.  They are still aiming for a Spring release elsewhere. In other words, barring major delays, the release of XIII shouldn’t have much effect on XIV.  

History of Online Gaming
Recently, Famitsu switched from being sold on Fridays to Thursdays, the day most new games also go on sale. To commemorate the change, they are doing special reports for a month.  I talked about the special on RPGs before.  This time they delve into the history of online gaming.  For this article, online gaming refers to any game that has some online portion to it, broken down into three major categories:  MMOs, PvP games, and games with downloadable content.  While not yet released, they used a picture from the playable alpha build of FFXIV as an example of MMORPGs.

They start with 1988 when a modem set was created for the Japanese Famicom.  They say the modem was used for trading stocks or home banking but not gaming.  However, it was the start of connecting gaming machines online.  Later, in 1995, the Satellaview was released as a satellite modem for the Super Famicom.  Over time, with computers and other gaming systems, we saw the birth of MMORPGs.  They point out Phantasy Star Online and Final Fantasy XI.  They end with the current state of things in 2009, with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, PlayStation Network, and Xbox LIVE.  

Next up was their small player survey.  About 85% of people said they’ve played some kind of online game for competitive or cooperative play.  Within those two genres, players voted heavily for the Monster Hunter series games and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.  Outside of competitive or cooperative play, they named games like Little Big Planet, Pokemon, and Dragon Quest IX.

Talking about the Future
Next, they spoke to Kaname Fujioka of Monster Hunter fame, Satoshi Sakai who worked on Phantasy Star Online, and Nobuaki Komoto who we know as the director for FFXIV.  I’ll only be focusing on Director Komoto’s remarks.

The first part was covered by 1up.  Komoto talks about how games have changed to become more user friendly with their in-game hints and tutorials.  Next, he talked about Dragon Quest IX.  It’s just his opinion, but after looking at the game, he feels the team that worked on it must have taken a good long look at MMORPGs.  It has online components to it but nobody would really call it an online game.  This kind of falls in line with how he thinks about online gaming and MMORPGs.  People shouldn’t feel bound by labels.  The idea of “online gaming” will fade away as games with online parts will just become an everyday thing.  

What was not covered by 1up has to do with Komoto’s ideas for FFXIV.  He thinks the next thing in online gaming will be making things to be used on cell phones or the iPhone.  There is still a lot of research that needs to be done, but he thinks in the future, even a game like FFXI could be made mobile-friendly.  However, it’s not just about making mobile-friendly games.  It’s about mixing both the console/PC version with the mobile functions.  Not everything needs to be available on both.  The goal is to make something that fits into your lifestyle.  Or even changes your lifestyle.  He talks about Nintendo’s Nintendogs and how it makes you want to play it everyday.  It becomes a part of your routine.  He says he’d like to include things like that in FFXIV.  When making online games, it’s not just about including a lot of new ideas, but including things that build upon each other.  

After comparing all the interviews, the people at Famitsu conclude that portability is key to the future of online gaming.  

Corinth’s Thoughts
There was a mobile project planned for FFXI many years ago but nothing ended up being released for users in the end.  Players have made various mobile applications themselves, from clocks to camp location databases.  It would be nice to see some kind of mobile tools for FFXIV as well.  If Square Enix did make a mobile application for FFXIV, what would you like to see it in?

Early next week we’ll talk about what Producer Tanaka and Director Komoto had to say to the people at Dengeki PlayStation.  Until then, see you later!

Have you seen the pictures that came out this week?  Thanks to information released through Weekly Famitsu and Famitsu Online, we now have pictures of three more monsters that will feel the business end of our swords in Final Fantasy XIV.  Players of FFXI are familiar with Puks and Opo-opos, despite major changes in appearance.  The Antelope is a new-comer to the FF Online series.

More about the three of them later as we dig through the collection of clipped out pages scattered on my floor from Japanese magazines over the past two weeks.

Ranking Report
As expected, the more people hear about FFXIV, the higher it climbs in the “Anticipated Titles” charts.  It is currently at 22 for Weekly Famitsu, rising from 24 last week and 30 the week before.  It’s dropped a bit in Dengeki PlayStation going from 5 to 11.  Titles beating it out include FFXIII, FF Versus XIII, Kingdom Hearts, and Bayonetta.

While not part of the weekly rankings, Weekly Famitsu also had a all-time top ten list for RPGs last week.  Square Enix rises above the rest with 7 of the top 10.  1st place went to Final Fantasy X, 2nd to Dragon Quest 3, 3rd to Final Fantasy VII.  They also asked what people want to see in an RPG.  60 people said they want to see some online option but most people want a good story, a fun battle system, and a character growth system that’s enjoyable.  So far FFXIV is looking to meet all three of those main desires.

Gamescom
Most of the coverage was kept short and about what we’ve already heard about from last month’s gamescom.  Square Enix released high quality pictures of four more classes: Weaver, Marauder, Pugilist, and Archer.  In order to switch into these jobs, you have to equip the appropriate weapon.  

Weavers require a needle, the Marauder uses an axe called Bhuj, the hand-to-hand specialist Pugilist uses Baghnakhs, and the Archer has a Short Bow.  It’s still unclear how the classes that are more crafting oriented, like Weaver or Blacksmith, will participate in a party out on the battlefield.

Dengeki PlayStation and Weekly Famitsu also went over the Guildleve system as seen at gamescom.  A lot of the same information can be found in Fusion’s report on Guildleves or the other interview summaries on the site.  To quickly sum things up, you start at the Aetheryte and confirm which leve you want to take part in.  Once you are out on the battlefield, you can use your map to guide to you where your target monsters are.  As you defeat your enemies, an on-screen counter will show your progress.  For some leves, there will be a puzzle element.  At gamescom, the leve involving puks required players to kill the dodos first before the puks would appear.  It is not possible for other players to attack or be attacked by monsters for your guildleve.  After you finish, a mini warp appears that will take you back to the Aetheryte.

High quality images of 5 monsters were released around gamescom.  The three new ones for this week are Puk, Opo-opo, and Antelope.  The Puk looks a lot smaller and bulkier compared to his FFXI counterpart.  The Opo-opo is very similar.  The only major change in appearance seems to be the tail, which has a thicker base and is shorter than the ones in FFXI.  Antelopes weren’t a part of FFXI.

Player Opinions
Connect! On magazine started doing monthly FFXIV surveys a short while ago.  In this month’s edition, they printed some of the responses.  By and large, the people who wrote in feel the same way we do on the things that have been released so far.  For example, one person said they were impressed by the graphics and other people said they are looking forward to the new battle system.  For a more complete look at what they said, check out Elmer’s write up on the magazine over at ZAM.

By and large, there wasn’t anything we haven’t heard or seen elsewhere besides the three new pictures.  This will probably continue until Tokyo Game Show or until even later.  While Tokyo Game Show will be the last major game show for awhile, there is still the possibility of information being shown at a future FFXI Fan Festival.  Dates haven’t been set yet but hope is high in both countries for some kind of event before year’s end.

Some people may have noticed that this week’s report is later than normal.  September is a very insanely busy month for me, even outside of Tokyo Game Show preparations, so updates from the Japanese magazines might be a little slow.  Real life responsibilities have to come before anything else.  Hopefully most of you can understand that.  If there are any super amazing articles that come out though, you can be sure that we’ll let you know.

See ya soon!