Final Fantasy XIV makes its players happy, but somehow remains a niche
Final Fantasy XIV – the expansion Heavensward has been released in the last quarter. And, as often with Final Fantasy XIV, there has hardly been a bad word spoken about it.
Meta-Critic has the PC version at 86%, the PS4 version at 84%. Gaming sites agree: A great thing, a must-buy for every FF-XIV fan.
Story-locked Content: Those who play the expansion already love Final Fantasy XIV
And there lies the problem hidden within the praise: Those who like Final Fantasy XIV will continue to like it. The expansion will not attract new customers. To have anything from the expansion, one must completely play through the existing main story with all the instances and boss fights that have accumulated over the years. Only then will new stories, zones, and adventures open up.
Only fans who really like the game will get that far. Those who can’t get into the game will get lost somewhere in the tedious beginning of the first 20 levels, missing out on all the endgame, all the quests, into which Square Enix invests so much time.
The genre is going one way, Final Fantasy XIV is going another
Final Fantasy XIV is undoubtedly an excellent game in what it does, taking its own path, focusing on the Final Fantasy franchise, atmosphere, classic storytelling, raids, and grind.
Yet, even though it receives a lot of praise and now shows some momentum in new markets like South Korea, Western MMO tastes, at least in mainstream, are moving in a completely different direction, approaching the action genre. It seems that Final Fantasy XIV remains a “hidden gem” even with Heavensward, something to be discovered and liked, but somehow a niche.
It already starts with the fans of the Final Fantasy franchise viewing the game, just like in TESO, with mixed feelings.
However, Square Enix proudly announces numbers: They claim to have 5 million accounts and some shout: That’s almost as many as WoW. But looking closely: These are the total registered accounts (without trials), not the active ones.
One thing Final Fantasy XIV accomplishes like no other MMORPG on this list: The balance between the present and the future. For the next patch 3.1, they have put together a lot of game content that should make fans’ eyes light up.
