Square Enix promises big changes to the ill-reviewed Final Fantasy XIV

Square Enix has received aflurry of criticism over itsnewFinal Fantasy MMORPG, and now the publisher is promising torespond with a series of big updates.

"When we released the first version of Final Fantasy XIV, we noticed some players were unsatisfied. That's why we decided to listen to all the feedback and implement as much as possible, so we can have a more satisfying game experience, as they would like us to do," said Square Enix exec Hiromichi Tanaka in a recent interviewwith Eurogamer.

The game will get sweeping updates to tackle as many complaints as possible, including:

- Adjustments to the battle system, making it easier to understand
- Improvements to the controls for PC players without a game pad
- Reducing lag
- New, more intuitive interface
- Allowing users to customize the interface
- Enhancements to map displays, making it easier to see where to go next
- More tutorials and quests

As for when all this will be pushed out to players, the answer is not exactly clear. Some will come out sooner than others, while other improvements may take as long as a year. "You will probably see a drastic change in six months' time," said Tanaka.

This is all brewing before the PS3 version of the game is even released. Due to issues with the console's infrastructure, Square Enix had to delay the game on that platform. The publisher does expect sales to rapidly jump as soon as the game comes out for PS3 sometime in 2011. For the PC, it has already sold 600,000 copies, whichTanaka said isbigger than expected compared to FFXI. He hopes the subscriber base will grow gradually from here.

[Source:Eurogamer]

Nov 15, 2010

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