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Concerning the development and administration of French and German versions
Editor: Right off the bat, Europe has finally seen the release of French and German versions of FFXI. How is the response so far?
Tanaka: Having just gone on sale, it's too early to see a definitive response. Users in Europe can still update as normal, but to get the game in different languages they must buy the package.
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Editor: The All-in-One package has been set at a low low price of 29.99 Euros. Not only that, but it contains a 30 day trial. Is this great deal intended to "culturize" the game?
Tanaka: Although the game has been available in Europe for about 1-2 years, it's been active for over 5 years. Price Protection in Europe is what controls how merchants can sell the software.
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Editor: How many new players do you expect to get from sales of this package?
Tanaka: In Germany and France, World of Warcraft (hereafter, WoW) has an especially large market share. It released in France first so shops only carried WoW. Almost every gamer there plays WoW.
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Editor: In that case, how much market share can you expect to take from WoW?
Tanaka: We don't believe we'll have much effect on WoW players (lol). We think people who enjoy FFXI and people who enjoy WoW have different tastes. People who don't play other MMOs and fans of traditional FF games are our main target. We hope to bring those players into the world of FFXI.
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Editor: Are you considering releasing FFXI anywhere else?
Tanaka: We have many plans, but it's hard to say.
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Editor: Before, you mentioned considering a Chinese release
Tanaka: Chinese culture is so different so it's tough. For example, the English version and French version both use the same alphabet, but a Chinese version must be all in Chinese making it impossible with all the NPC and item names. It would be difficult for the system to convert everything into Chinese writing.
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Editor: That sounds impossible (lol). So a Chinese release is indefinitely postponed I guess?
Tanaka: That's right. We're looking into other South American and South-East Asian countries but it's difficult to say whether or not we'll be able to support them. We hope our next title will have even wider support.
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FFXI after 5 years and Treasures of Aht Urghan after 1 year
Editor: How do you feel now after 5 years of FFXI and a full year of Treasures of Aht Urghan?
Tanaka: We're always working hard so I didn't even realize the time pass(lol). It's been over seven years since we began creating the game. It feels like our work is never done. Each version update feels like a milestone finished, but we soon find ourselves hard at work on another (lol)
Ogawa: In regards to Treasures of Aht Urghan, Assault and Besieged were content made for light users and have received some favorable reviews. Missions and the like have become more comical and user-friendly, which people seem to enjoy. But do people really like all the missions? According to how we planned Aht Urghan, no matter what people will be jammed up in one area, which is a problem. From now on we'll be discussing how to improve the situation.
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Editor: Currently, what grade out of 100 would you give the game?
Ogawa: While many say they enjoy the game, we still have that awful congestion to consider... I'll give it a so-so grade of 72, give or take 3 points (lol).
Tanaka: Everytime I'm asked I answer with 65 points (lol). Once again it's 65 points.
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Editor: The Xbox 360 version has also been around for a year. How has the response been?
Tanaka: We received many new players, especially from overseas in England.
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Editor: In North America you have Windows, Xbox 360 and PS2, but how are the players divided up between them?
Tanaka: In North America, most players use Windows. After that is not Xbox but still the PS2. I don't think that many people bought the Xbox version.
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Editor: Most people didn't want to change hardware I guess?
Tanaka: In North America it seems the PC is dominant. Players originally using Windows have little reason to switch to the Xbox. However, in Europe, players not using Windows had no other option but to purchase the 360 version.
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Editor: In Europe do you think the Windows or 360 version will see more users?
Tanaka: I think perhaps the 360 may see a greater increase but at this point I don't know. In England it will be strong, but in Germany players are mostly PC Onry. I'm still surprised when I hear them say, "What's a PS2?" (lol) It's difficult to say if they'll accept the Xbox 360 now that's it's finally been released.
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Retaining 500k users, FFXI newest policies
Editor: FFXI had 500 thousand users last year, but how are things currently?
Tanaka: Barely any change at all. Japan has seen an increase while North America has seen a small decrease.
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Editor: Would you attribute the decrease in North America to WoW?
Tanaka: No, there doesn't seem to be a connection. Recently we've been eliminating many accounts due to misconduct. Those numbers match the decrease we've seen. (lol) Honest users have not changed but dishonest users we feel are the one that have been culled from the game.
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Editor: Do you hear of players being banned only to immediately return?
Tanaka: We're gradually eliminating that as well. It's a vicious circle but as we keep at it, they eventually give up.
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Editor: So all in all, the playerbase does not fluctuate much?
Tanaka: That's right. After all these years it's a little sad when you think about it. Users increase whenever we add a new region or release to a new platform. Besides that, things never really go up or down. Therefore we're interested to see how things increase with the French and German versions, despite there being no new regions.
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Editor: As FFXI reaches this 5 year milestone, there have been many changes in the world of online business. Casual gaming has grown in popularity while items and virtual currency have exploded as a business. How does FFXI fit in as a game?
Tanaka (loose trans, he didn't really address the question so it was confusing): 5 years ago, Japan and North America service began and players then would quit and join often. Whenever new players arrived, it would almost always be players that had previously quit. The user base would continue without ever really increasing or decreasing. It's sort of a closed world because mostly hardcore gamers play.
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Editor: Were you influenced by any other titles in terms of gameplay?
Tanaka: Well, we were with "instancing".
Ogawa: Yes. We took a little from popular MMO trends as well as catering to our users wishes. We brought that all together and interpreted it in our own way when improving the game.
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Editor: In my opinion, before Treasures of Aht Urghan, it seemed that Square-Enix wanted to make an original game and do it their way. Now, after it's release, it appears you're willing to incorporate other ideas and game mechanics.
Tanaka: Perhaps we've become a little more flexible. After a while, we had already administered all the basics. We gradually added more and more new features and challenges. But if you lose game balance there's no point to it. We still talk about adding more enjoyable content to the basic system we have now.
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Editor: What do you think about changing business models, like the sale of virtual items, for example?
Tanaka: We are not considering it at the moment. While it would make some users happy, there are plenty of users it would upset. We have a policy that, "if it's bad for the user, we won't do it."
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Future plans for PlayOnline Viewer and Linkshell Community
Editor: Tell me about the current Beta service for the Linkshell Community site.
Tanaka: Since we had a plan from the start of development, we tested a PlayOnline Beta of the message board, but we found it couldn't function on the resolution of a home television which was a problem. At this point, we feel PC users have increased enough to alleviate that problem.
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Editor: Now you provide Beta service, but when will the full service begin?
Tanaka: Full service would be nice, wouldn't it. (lol) Right now it's not ready so we'll continue with the Beta.
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Editor: So you're saying you intend to add more functions?
Tanaka: Actually, the FFXI development team doesn't work on it, the PlayOnline development team does. They're working on letting players add pictures to the messages boards but apparently it's not too important to most users.
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Editor: Looking at the site it seems American users are eager to utilize it, but what percent of players go there in actuality?
Tanaka: About 10% in all. If it was up to 20-30% we'd be happier. We got off to a late start, so everyone already had their linkshell home pages and social networks established. Those places still have much more information and functionality. The Linkshell Community contains official game data and functions so from here on we hope to add more exclusive content.
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Editor: Do you plan to add more functions to the PlayOnline Friend List Application?
Tanaka: The original plan for the Friend List was so players of FFXI, Fantasy Earth, Dirge of Cerberus and Everquest II could all contact each other. Even if you didn't log in to the game you could still use the Friend List Application. Our intention was that FFXI players could call upon players in other games to say, "Hey, come here and help me out", but besides FFXI, only Front Mission Online used the system so in the end it was meaningless.
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Editor: So you have been unable to acquire a solid lineup?
Tanaka: That's right. From now on, thinking of it as just a FFXI messenger, we believe it's a nice thing to have.
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Editor: Looking at Square-Enix's online business, you've recently released Concerto Gate and Fantasy Earth Zero, which were outside collaborations. How do you feel about this move?
Tanaka: Concerto Gate and Cross Gate began with Enix before becoming Square-Enix. Upon joining Square, we also participated in the development process. Our visions were different, but as a single company we felt compelled to work together to produce a fine product. Cross Gate sold extremely well in China, which was amazing.
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Editor: Originally, you wanted to gather all online games under PlayOnline, but clearly that has not happened.
Tanaka: At the time of PlayOnline's inception, it was thought to be a game portal. We sought to have Everquest II run through PlayOnline, but we were unable to coordinate it properly with SOE. We must reconsider what do with the service from this point on.
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Editor: What will become of PlayOnline Viewer? Is there a chance in the end it will be removed?
Tanaka: That won't happen. A lot of information and the management of PlayOnline IDs for FFXI and Tetra Master is done through it. We also will use the payment system for new games in the future. On the other hand, regarding the Viewer itself, we believe it's fine even without a lot of additional content. The Linkshell Community and special content of the Viewer have been developed to work together.
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Chocobo Racing finally available! Gambling games
Editor: Chocobo racing is finally available for use, but the development period was pretty long, wasn't it?
Ogawa: The main staff had a lot of work to do on Chocobo Raising and was finally able to take on Racing. That's basically why it took so much time.
Tanaka: We were dizzy with deadlines. (lol)
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Editor: I was surprised to see the race become a simulation game.
Ogawa: Due to many factors involved in network connections, such as lag, we thought it would be too difficult to make a real-time action game. Rather than action we went for a simulation. It was simple to pull the Chocobo Raising data and apply it.
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Editor: You don't think you will ever have a real-time action match between two players?
Ogawa: That's right. We plan to leave it as is.
Tanaka: Eventually, we aim to add the ability to gamble on Chocobo Races. Different connection speeds and interent clients could make this unfair.
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Editor: A gambling element sounds pretty exciting.
Tanaka: Yeah, if we add a virtual gambling aspect to the game we need to change the ESRB Rating in North America. We have to add a "Virtual Gambling" notice somewhere on the package. Japan and other countries won't require such a change.
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Editor: About the gambling, exactly how will it be added?
Ogawa: We are thinking of adding it not to PvP races but to NPC Chocobo races. However, we haven't fully decided yet so there may be some small changes.
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Editor: How will the betting rates be decided? Will a "dark horse" emerge every so often?
Ogawa: We're thinking of a system that incorporates speed as well as abilities. We don't know the rates yet, but without those long-shot bets gambling wouldn't be as interesting. We believe we can add that in.
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Editor: As for the betting method, would an image of a public horse race be accurate?
Ogawa: It would. The current plan is to have "Choco Coins" which you use to bet on races. Receiving your winnings as gil presents a problem we think, so the plan is to give out these Choco Coins at first. Rewards from PvP races will also be Choco Coins.
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Editor: Currently, Choco Coins are used to buy goods related to your Chocobo, but will there be other uses in the future?
Ogawa: They are meant to be acquired and used in Chocobo racing areas but may have other uses within those areas. For example, being able to warp to other countries or other useful services.
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Editor: Will you do something like Dragon Quest's Casino where you can trade for rare items?
Ogawa: We aren't thinking about allowing players to get equipment, the area is just for Chocobos. If we added something everyone would go for the great items and we believe it would lose it's charm.
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Editor: As it stands, you cannot participate in Chocobo racing if you haven't raised a Chocobo. Can you still enjoy gambling without raising Chocobos?
Ogawa: You can participate in gambling without having raised a Chocobo.
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Editor: What is the plan for after the Chocobo Race Gambling update? For example, you could register as a Chocobo Master and your bird will automatically enter races and earn coins. Will new functions be added?
Ogawa: About that, right now we're considering many different possibilities. At this time though, we've got our hands full.
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Editor: If someone wins all the official races, what happens?
Ogawa: When you win, you receive nothing but the thrill of victory. We plan to make a Victory Cup that you can win in the future. We'll continue to monitor things and add in new content.
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Editor: Regardless, Chocobo Racing content has exceeded all expectations.
Ogawa: It's expanded beyond what I initially thought and is quite a large task (lol).
Tanaka: The TGS questionnaire provided us with tons of requests from users. We listened to a lot and the project became very bulky (sheepish grin).
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Editor: In Treasures of Aht Urghan, the Assualt system has been used in some Missions. Will Chocobo Racing or other content ever be used in a similar way?
Ogawa: Chocobo Raising and Racing won't have any connections to the main story. We're not thinking about having it influence any missions.
Treasures of Aht Urghan 70-80% complete, Salvage, Nyzul Isle Assault fine tuning
Editor: About Treasures of Aht Urghan, currently how complete is the expansion? It has been 1 year since its release but it looks like there's more to come (heh)
Ogawa: Many aspects of it just keep expanding (lol). Currently, it's about 70-80% complete.
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Editor: What kind of playstyle do you see users exhibiting?
Ogawa: When Treasures of Aht Urghan was released, there were still flaws and a lot of confusion. Now, there are few empty areas and players are spread out enjoying new places. Everyone is able to play casually. However, the content setup for heavy users is said to be "too difficult" and we receive many complaints. We've listened to those opinions and plan to make some adjustments.
Tanaka: After the release, everyone focused on Aht Urghan areas, so it was like reserve development when encouraging people to play in the old areas (ne?).
Ogawa: That was the meaning behind the Signet boost and Chocobo Raising/Racing additions to the three nations.
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Editor: I see, so you realized there was too much focus there?
Ogawa: There was a substantial amount of focus on Aht Urghan areas. Since the continent isolated to some extent we felt there was nothing we could do. We tried to find some balance.
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Editor: Al Zhabi is made of 2 areas, but will that ever increase?
Ogawa: From the beginning it was decided there would be 2 areas so it would not be an easy thing to add. Right now there is little room and although we'd like one more area, it would be quite difficult to add in.
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Editor: Jeuno was made as 4 different areas.
Ogawa: Yes, that's right it was. It was entered into the game that way. We considered having players dispersed among the zones.
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Editor: So we shouldn't expect you to add another city?
Ogawa: As for areas yet to open, we had the Chocobo Races and after that the Pit. That's about it. It's tough to make areas that players will idle in.
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Editor: What are your feelings about the recently added Salvage and Nyzul Isle?
Ogawa: In regards to Salvage, we created it as a Dynamis-like event with high difficulty that requires careful organization. You'll think it's pretty tough until you get used to it. As it stands, the obtainable rewards are extremely rare so we're considering what to do about that.
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Editor: You mentioned adjusting the game balance, so will you increase the rewards?
Ogawa: That's a complicated thing. Currently, the items you can get in Salvage are pretty powerful, so we try to balance the difficulty to match the reward. However, in Dynamis you can always receive ancient currency. With no such reward in Salvage, we often hear complaints from the players so we want to do something about that.
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Editor: It certainly is disheartening to put so much preparation into Salvage only to come out empty-handed. Some kind of item to serve as a connection or progress between two runs would be nice.
Ogawa: Yes, it would. But if we keep adding rewards people will go over and over ad infinitum, so it's something we have to deal with carefully.
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Editor: The defining characteristic of Salvage is how you struggle from the start with no weapons. How did this concept develop and come to life?
Ogawa: In the additional Dynamis areas, you have no sub-job. With Salvage we wanted something along the same vein. The player would start with nothing and gradually earn back everything during play. That is what we finally developed.
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Editor: How have players reacted to Salvage?
Ogawa: People were quite surprised to have the characters they so diligently raised be stripped of everything and be forced to start from scratch. That was the kind of game balance we were looking for to compensate for the rewards.
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Editor: In development, did you think it was a little too severe?
Ogawa: Yes, we did. During implementation we felt that way. We felt we should look again at to make it easier to play and participate.
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Editor: What kind of user did you design Salvage for?
Ogawa: For Salvage, we were thinking of the serious hardcore players who strive for the strongest equipment and not so much those players just looking to socialize and have fun.
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Editor: So endgame content like that would never be available at lower levels like Assault.
Ogawa: That's right. We wouldn't even consider it.
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Editor: Nyzul Isle's method of saving your progress and you travel to the top is a new game design, isn't it?
Ogawa: The concept is you make regular progress and the content changes along the way. Compared to Salvage, it was made to be a light activity. But for balance, it will still be difficult for a light user to reach the final floor.
It's been brought to my attention that users have reached the end, but they do not understand the true value of the reward that they received. "I got to the end, and this is it?" is what they said to us, but I believe the player who obtained it won't want to throw it out (lol).
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Editor: Are the rewards better than equipment we've received up till now?
Ogawa: The stuff that currently drops there is about the same quality. In the future the value of it will increase we think.
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Editor: What will prompt that kind of change?
Ogawa: That is something I can't tell you right now (lol). You'll have to wait for a future announcement.
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Editor: Nyzul Isle is a self-generating dungeon, a new concept you've incorporated into the game. Describe this concept.
Ogawa: We came to the realization that a self-generating area was already within FFXI's capabilities, so in actuality, it was not a brand new feature. It's the same as randomizing walls during Promathia in the Sacrarium.
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Editor: About the self-generating walls, it's kind of boring to always have the same tile set. Is there no way to change the color of the walls?
Ogawa: We may be able to make a small change ... ... To tell you the truth it's demanding on the memory and at this time that would be pushing it to the limit. It would be nice if we could do a little more though.
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[b]Editor: Nyzul Isle has tons of NM, but what exactly makes them appear?
Ogawa: In that dungeon there is a gate shaped monster which is set to call them forth.
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The Pit, Colosseum plans. Changing EX/Rare items
Editor: What is happening with the development of the Pit and Colosseum?
Ogawa: The plan for the Pit is complete but the staff is working on so much that we can't find a free hand to work on it (lol). We plan to implement it this year so you can look foward to that. As for the Colosseum, that's on hold.
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Editor: Has the Pit and Chocobo related content grown too much too fast?
Ogawa: It was the plan from the beginning, so that's not necessarily true. We thought it could be a place where you'd utilize monsters that appear all over Vana'diel. You could receive some small rewards, but no really good items or it would take away from the enjoyment. We wanted a game purely for fun.
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Editor: Will this be added to the game once Chocobo Racing is fully complete?
Ogawa: It's a different team than that for Chocobo Racing and they're both working hard at the same time.
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Editor: What's the target level for this?
Ogawa: Basically, level will not matter and you can enjoy it from low levels on up. However, there will be different monsters you can get and we think higher level players will have certain advantages being able to move freely and obtain montsers.
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Editor: In FFXI, many rare items are EX/RARE (can't be traded or sold), but what is your policy on these items?
Ogawa: EX/RARE items are a fundamental aspect of MMOs, which serves to slow the spread of certain items in the game. In reality, dishonest users who don't really want the item end up monopolizing it and creating problems.
Tanaka: As one would expect, the more poweful an item is, the more dishonest players will want it if you make it tradeable. In order to help those who really need the item itself, we must use the EX/RARE system.
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Editor: Especially after Aht Urghan, there are many high level players who's equipment becomes almost exclusively EX/RARE, making it pointless to purchase anything through auction. After putting so much work into a successful Auction House system, it's a shame that it's rendered useless for so many people.
Tanaka: In the end we feel players of that calibur want to earn their ideal equipment through their own effort. After all, it's too easy to just trade or pay gil to get an item. Therefore, EX/RARE is the logical way to do it.
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Editor: Are you thinking of a new item or system to use in the future to stop dishonest players?
Tanaka: We could ignore these players, but in the end we have to consider them. By doing that we can figure out the best solution for everyone.
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Future of Aht Urghan Jobs, ToAU Missions, and then of FFXI
Editor: Let me ask you about the new jobs added in Treasures of Aht Urghan. How is game balance currently in relation to the new jobs?
Ogawa: After the release, we performed a number of adjustments, just to be sure, and we believe we've finished shaping the jobs. From here on, comparing them to other jobs, we still need to add merit point abilities at some point.
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Editor: Are you thinking of adding new Blue Magic, attachments, or level 60+ Corsair rolls?
Ogawa: We'll add new Corsair rolls one by one. I can't say anything specific, but as FFXI continues there's always the possibility of new additions.
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Editor: How is the development of Treasure of Aht Urghan going to proceed?
Ogawa: With each version update, we'll add Missions, mercenary ranks, Assaults and like we said before Chocobo Racing and the Pit will be added. That's the plan so far, but we're also looking into to making every area of Aht Urghan fun to play in.
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Editor: It appears that the main storyline of Treasures of Aht Urghan is far from over. What will we discover in the future? You probably can't answer (lol)
Ogawa: I can't give away any secrets, but I can tell you there are some shocking developments coming up. (lol)
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Editor: How many of the missions have been added already?
Ogawa: Just about the same amount as Aht Urghan content overall, around 70-80%. The climax is coming pretty soon. Like a rich tapestry the story has unfolded gradually, and soon it will all become clear...
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Editor: In some quests the Far East has been briefly mentioned. Is there any chance a future expansion will bring us there?
Ogawa: Ah, about that (lol). Eh, that's just your imagination (lol).
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Editor: After some more updates when Treasure of Aht Urghan missions are finished, what is next for the development of the ToAU?
Tanaka: As long as there are users around we'll keep developing something.
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Editor: Could that include a new expansion?
Tanaka: Well, who knows (lol). It's something we can discuss once we finish with our current projects.
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Draconi Hume BRD75 COR75 MNK55 BLM42 WHM37 WAR25 THF15 BST15 NIN20 RNG45
77 Merit Points
Boneworking 100+2, Leather 60,Cloth 50, Goldsmithing 18, Alchemy 60
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