He decided to take issue with some of the comments the (admittedly snarky) host had about the game and its players... So I decided to take a look at them and have a few words of my own...
"Square-Enix, the company that makes games for guys who still think girls are icky..."
Sorry, bitch: The truth hurts (at least vis-a-vis the American side of the demographic). The only real foray that Square-Enix really seemed to make into the female demographic was FFX-2, a game (wrongly, IMODO) slammed as "too girly", "not Final Fantasy", etc.
And, if you take a look at several of the main ideas behind FFXI, you realize, fairly quickly, that the game is basically lying when it gives the "Get a Life" message before one logs in:
First, the insane amount of time it takes to do anything. LFP?? Wait two hours. CoP Mission?? Wait two weeks. Endgame?? Wait two years!!
Second, the conduct of the player-base. All the cheating, dick jokes, and hacking which is going on all over the game is not only making the game unplayable (in some ways, physically unplayable), but it clearly indicates that the demographic Square-Enix has captured is the kind which not only would find girls icky, but girls would find dangerous.
Third, the set-up of some of the characters (especially, oh, the Mithra...). This is actually fairly common in Square-Enix lore... (Rikku, anyone? FFVII:AC Tifa? Almost any of the ladies from FFXII??? Some of the creative camera shots of Lilisette in the cutscene ending "Dancers in Distress"???) It's basically fan service, and that's all that is...
I could go several more here, but that first snarky comment probably simply hit Aneiro a little too close to home or something, because, if you actually take a look at it, it is true. Square-Enix, for some odd reason or another, got away from making epic games at some point and started simply making epic grinds (in several forms of that term). For people who actually have a life (or, more like in my case, for people for whom it is safe enough to "have a life"), Square-Enix games, especially the latter FF series, are not appealing to them. I do believe that started with FFXI.
Then, the host basically slams the anime-like mega-hoarding otaku-ness of most apparent FF fans.
Newsflash: That's accurate too, especially if you take a look at all the different merchandising tactics that Square-Enix has in play for the Final Fantasy franchise.
Go to an anime convention, and look at the Dealers' Room. If you're finding any other game franchise that even has one-fourth of the stuff that FF puts out, then you're finding a more diverse collection of game memorabilia than anything I've seen.
Face it, the Final Fantasy series has fallen to the realm of that of the otaku.
I mean, I've been proud of being a Final Fantasy fan for many years -- up until I saw how much a lot of little boys (and a few little girls) have spit all over FFXI and made it into an utter joke. That is now, more and more, becoming true of Square-Enix as a whole.
Perhaps if Square-Enix were not perpetrating a damned fraud of an MMO (and how much they are responsible for that fraud is still unknown) with even more of a damned fraud of a player base (especially the Americans therein), maybe Square-Enix could get a little respect. And maybe comments like those of the host might serve as a bit of a wake-up call as to the laughing the gaming community (especially here in America) has for not only Square-Enix but its players.
Perhaps if they could make a game which basically didn't appear to allow players to hack in server-side and fuck around with the Internet connections to gain an unfair advantage, or RMT their way to thousands of dollars, or...
You get the point.
Continuing to the additional comments of the host:
"Could we be talking about Final Fantasy 14?" No. We're talking about Rapture here. This has already been known for about a month or so. Final Fantasy XI is officially dead, but will continue (I guess, though it really shouldn't...) as long as it can milk the players dry. I mean, a "Security Token"?? I mean, has anyone realized that there are means by which people can remotely seize control of computers? All this "Security Token" is is another money-making means by Square-Enix. I might consider it if the in-game item is good enough, but question its effectiveness in the day and age where people can actually get in server-side and screw with the packets/connections such that they have claim to a monster before it even pops.
The comment in the corner of the screen is "Keep Dreaming"... That depends...
We already know that Midway Games (of Mortal Kombat fame) has gone bankrupt.
Now (and I saw a second slam against the otaku-collectors of FF stuff), one has to wonder if (not unlike anime, and even then, to a lesser and lesser extent) the merchandise is keeping the Final Fantasy franchise afloat.
It will be at least another year before FFXIII comes out, and, with each passing week, it becomes more and more real that the PS3 is going to be obsolete by the time FFXIII comes out.
What other oars do they really have in the water right now, but the Stuffed Chocobo this and the Full-Size Buster Sword that??
Given this economy, is there any real guarantee that even FFXIII makes it out before Square-Enix goes tits up, much less Rapture?
This is why I tell Square-Enix to either clean up FFXI or get rid of it and save your resources!
The thing of it is, yes -- it's supposed to be a bit of a light-hearted look at all of this.
But, and I say this directly to you, Aneiro: THE TRUTH FUCKING HURTS, DOESN'T IT???
The only comment I can see in that entire situation which was completely inaccurate was that Rapture might turn out to be FFXIV. Other than that, the host was completely on the mark.
Have a nice day, Aneiro. Sounds like you need a few.
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4 comments:
I can agree that FFXI is a pretty large time sink, however, what MMO isn't? I don't seem to be spending as much time lately with missions or end game. I've been trying to be proactive and seeking out others who also need missions or items and we head out and get it done together, mutually benefiting one another, and reducing the amount of time it would take overall.
Also, if you have the security token, someone remotely seizing your computer won't accomplish anything in relation to your account as they'd still need that physical security token to enter the code that's generated which needs to be entered each time you log in.
If someone's able to remotely seize your computer, there are far more important things to worry about then a game at that point >.>
What MMO isn't a time sink? Comparatively speaking, WoW, which many guides have been published about getting to the maximum level of character within one week of intensive play.
Considering how newbie-unfriendly and endgame-corrupt FFXI is, one can understand why most MMO players would gravitate toward WoW in that regard.
As far as the Security Token goes, I can't say I believe it's going to help when you have endgame linkshells buying the means to essentially hack the Internet connection on Square-Enix' side to gain claim on any monster they choose before it even pops.
I guess it's a matter of how much time one may feel a "time sink" is. A lot of events I do, range from one to three hours at most. Which I find to be rather reasonable.
Some things like certain NMs or what not, may have stupid pop timer/conditions that are indeed a time sink (eg. Charybdis). It largely depends on what events you want to do and how much time you can devote each night, which of course varies from player to player.
I assume you're referring to some botting issue that you posted previously (admittedly I didn't get a good look into it, so I don't know all the details).
Assuming what you say is correct in "hacking" the net connection on SE's side, that doesn't really mean anything in relation to the Security Token, unless people are capable of actually hacking into the servers themselves and able to access character info like passwords and accounts. Which are most likely stored on a seperate server to begin with that houses PlayOnline, which a Bot wouldn't touch anyways, as it's all about claiming whatever NM it's designed to. Hacking into the servers with our account info is likely a whole different beast. (Sorry for wall of text, comment box sucks for formatting).
The Token is specifically to address accounts being stolen, and will probably do an excellent job in that respect. Doesn't WoW having something like this?
I guess it's a matter of how much time one may feel a "time sink" is. A lot of events I do, range from one to three hours at most. Which I find to be rather reasonable.
And most gamers don't, frankly. Which see WoW outdoing FFXI to a function of at least 25:1 in population.
Some things like certain NMs or what not, may have stupid pop timer/conditions that are indeed a time sink (eg. Charybdis). It largely depends on what events you want to do and how much time you can devote each night, which of course varies from player to player.
Noted, but the point is that FFXI really does take a lot of those "time sinks" into consideration -- that's why I say that the "games for boys who find girls icky" comment is correct.
I assume you're referring to some botting issue that you posted previously (admittedly I didn't get a good look into it, so I don't know all the details).
The NASA bot on the Zulu LS stuff, yes.
Basically, the point I'm trying to make (and if I haven't been clear on this, sorry...) about my skepticism on the Security Token is that it is clear that there are players using mechanisms to hack the Internet connection on server-side, if not Square-Enix-side, to gain unfair advantages.
The entire security system of the game is non-robust - it can, for the right amount of effort and benefit, be "hacked" into.
I mean, look at what RMT has been able to do with respect to "compromised accounts", as a good example. This Security Token is supposed to deal with that, but, frankly, given SE's track record, I'm not optimistic.
Assuming what you say is correct in "hacking" the net connection on SE's side, that doesn't really mean anything in relation to the Security Token, unless people are capable of actually hacking into the servers themselves and able to access character info like passwords and accounts. Which are most likely stored on a seperate server to begin with that houses PlayOnline, which a Bot wouldn't touch anyways, as it's all about claiming whatever NM it's designed to. Hacking into the servers with our account info is likely a whole different beast. (Sorry for wall of text, comment box sucks for formatting).
Don't worry about that -- I understand about the comment box.
Here's the thing: As I just said above, for the right amount of effort, it appears as if SE does not have a robust mechanism for the protection of its servers.
The only reason, I believe, that FFXI hasn't been taken down completely by a DoS Attack is because such an attack would have little benefit -- those who wish to hack in, essentially, want the game to continue so they can gain the illegal benefit.
The Token is specifically to address accounts being stolen, and will probably do an excellent job in that respect. Doesn't WoW having something like this?
Yes they do. My skepticism lies in that I do not believe SE has sufficient security measures intact.
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