The former CEO of Square Enix gives the controversial titles Fallout 76 and Diablo Immortal a tip: They should take a cue from Final Fantasy XIV and start over. In this situation, radical solutions are the only way forward, believes Mike Fischer.
Who is speaking? It is Mike Fisher speaking in a guest article on Venturebeat.
Fischer has been active in the gaming industry for thirty years. He is now an investor and consultant and also works at a university in California. Between 2010 and 2013, he was the CEO of Square Enix America. His tenure included the catastrophic initial launch of Final Fantasy XIV.
Blizzard and Bethesda should take a leaf from Square Enix’s handling of Final Fantasy XIV, says Fischer.
How bad was Final Fantasy XIV in 2010: Fischer explains that when the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV was released on PC in 2010, the reaction was catastrophic. The game received 49% on Metacritic. A disaster.
Square Enix realized that Final Fantasy XIV could kill the franchise that defines them.
This is the parallel: Fischer believes that Bethesda with Fallout 76 and Blizzard with Diablo 4/Diablo Immortal are now in the same situation as Square Enix was back then.
Bethesda is in a similar situation due to Fallout 76 and Blizzard due to the announcement of Diablo Immortal, similar to Square Enix because of the botched launch of Final Fantasy XIV back then.
Therefore, Fischer suggests a similar solution.
How Square Enix reacted: Fischer then explains how Square Enix responded to the crisis:
- Square Enix first publicly and honestly apologized for the way Final Fantasy XIV was released. This apology came directly from CEO Yoichi Wada.
- Then they expanded the option to play the game for free.
- Square Enix replaced the head of the MMORPG – Naoki Yoshida took over.
- There were lengthy interviews and blog posts about the problems.
- Square Enix committed internally to rework the game and rebuild it from the ground up.
- Final Fantasy XIV was then relaunched as “Reborn” and rewarded legacy players with a hefty discount on the purchase.
This is what Fischer now recommends for Fallout 76 and Bethesda: Fischer says Bethesda and Blizzard are in a similar situation with Fallout 76 and Diablo Immortal.
They now need to admit their mistakes and then listen extensively to loyal players about what concerns them. They should also look in forums outside their own sites.
The suggestions and requests for changes from loyal and engaged fans should then be implemented. Reactions like “Do you not have phones?” at BlizzCon only made things worse.
This is not a PR problem that any community manager can solve; rather, the players’ problems require a direct response from the CEO or the chief creative officer. It concerns lost trust and how to regain it.
Afterward, they would need to present ways to recover from the issues. Quick solutions are good, but thorough ones are even better. For Blizzard, it is not enough to assure players that Diablo Immortal also works well on PC, players now need a roadmap for Diablo 4.
Bethesda now needs to present a detailed plan on how they will fix Fallout 76.
Expensive, but worth it
This is the forecast: Fischer then states that research shows that brands can emerge stronger from such missteps.
Such has been the case with Final Fantasy XIV.
The recovery cost a fortune and many years, but in the end, it was worth the effort. And the plan saved the franchise.
More about titles that tried to save themselves with a reboot:
