Michael: Our final topic involves Final Fantasy XI. The game is being beta tested as we speak on both the PC and PS2. Given the power of the Final Fantasy name, will XI change the perspectives of those skeptical of MMORPGs?

Cortney: Possibly. However, I've never played an MMORPG, and unless I suddenly acquire the money and the time, I probably never will. If you can't afford it, you can't afford it, whether it's Final Fantasy or not.

Googleshng: Well, I actually have personal testimonial from several hundred rabid FF fanboys that they'll buy the game despite hating MMORPGs, so I suppose that would be a yes.

Michael: A lot of people are skeptical of MMORPGs, myself being one of them. But, when I played Final Fantasy XI at E3, I was pleasantly surprised at how much of the Final Fantasy feel Square-Enix has preserved. There's crystals, moogles, and chocobos in the game. Even though battles are real-time, I still feel like I'm playing a Final Fantasy game. So, what we might see is two birds killed with one stone here. The game will sell because it has the Final Fantasy name, but it will also sell because it still feels like a Final Fantasy game, despite being online. Dare I also say the game actually has a plot?

Orie: FXI, while it will probably be a good MMORPG, will not change anyone's opinions about MMORPGs whatsoever. I know a guy who absolutely refuses to pay a fee to play any online game. Will FFXI change his policies? No, it won't. I'm buying FFXI because I want to get in on MMORPGs, and I feel that it would be best to wait for Final Fantasy to allow me to do that. If they deliver the promised story-based MMORPG then it will be a definite hit with me.

I'm annoyed at EverQuest because it really has hardly any content it seems to me. Now if it were a bit more freedom-based and allowed you almost Sim-City like control over some things, the lack of story would not bother me in the slightest. Just leveling over and over has almost no appeal to me. That's not to say I don't like combat-oriented games. I love FFII for the wide customization it offers, no matter how flawed. I'll sit there for hours levelling my stats, because I can control them. I hope FFXI will give me some of what I want, either way story or stat craziness.

Nathan: I think FFXI will draw in a lot of gamers that may have never even played MMORPG's and even one's that have never liked them. While I don't think it will be a whole lot, I do think it will draw people in. There are also a lot of people out there that will simply buy it only because it says Final Fantasy on the box.

Doug: Final Fantasy XI, between PC and PS2, will be just as successful as Everquest, if not more so. That may sound like it is saying a lot, but it all depends on point of view. Everquest has around half a million subscribers, if I remember right. That, times the ten dollars a month, is five million dollars a month to pay staff and maintain servers, and the rest is pocketed. Final Fantasy games tend to sell around five million worldwide. (Guesstimated number.) That, times approximately fifty dollars, is 250 million, and after development costs, who knows what of that is profit. Probably somewhere close to 100 million. However, if Final Fantasy XI gets to the million mark, and it has potential to, it makes about 10 million a month, then.. well, the bottom line here folks is that Square will likely be making more than one MMORPG in the near future, and that alone will adapt the market.

Michael: I think one thing holding MMORPGs back is a perception that they're nothing but AOL chatrooms with the fanciest frontend ever designed thrown on top. Given the behavior of some people in these games, I don't blame people for having that perception. But, if Square can do FFXI right, and keep the number of idiots running around to a minimum, then those drawn in by virtue of the Final Fantasy name alone will be impressed. In fact, from what I've heard from anonymous sources who are beta testing the game, the community has been quite civil so far. And no doubt that the game will probably turn a very good profit. MMORPGs are a good cash cow for any company. Let's just hope that MMORPGs don't end up becoming the centerpiece of a developer or publisher because they simply make the most money.

Nathan: I know I for one will be getting this game upon release. I normally don't play any kind of MMORPG where i'm forced to stare at the back of my character for hours on end, such as games like everquest and Star Wars Galixies. I will on the other hand have changed my way of thinking now that this game is coming out. Square in my opinion normally makes pretty good games. And hopefully FFXI will be a pretty good game.

Orie: You know I've heard people say that Square Enix is making FFXII offline because of fan pressure. I think it's a load of crap, when a person makes an online game like FFXI there is really not that much need to make another. The content is updatable, that's where the beauty lies. So I don't think they're all ready for a sequel because they save those for massive graphical improvements. I would say 2006 at the earliest. I don't think the market really needs "adapting." Anyone that has heard the latest from E3 knows that there are crazy amounts of MMORPGs coming out left and right. The real question is will Final Fantasy players discard their old single player adventures to favor the MMORPGs? No, they won't. I won't. I like those single-player adventures, but that's not to say we can't throw a little MMORPG in there now and again. It will appeal to some of us, the rest can just ignore it and get on with their lives. I predict an update to FFXI coming out when the time is right, but I doubt there will be much for multiple Square MMORPGs out at once. No one can pay to play all these games and get a reasonable return on their money from the time they play. There will probably be two or three but there's no feasable reason they would devote all their time and energy to that subset of RPG. As for the civility issues, lets hope when they let in the gaming masses all hell doesn't break lose.

Doug: I agree that it'll be awhile, and there is actually already an update to Final Fantasy XI. The first expansion came out in Japan already, and is being bundled with the game in North America. As for other MMORPGs, I agree it'll be awhile, but with an existing infrastructure, there's no reason not to create more games. Final Fantasy XI is fantasy, so it would not surprise me if the next MMORPG was more science-fiction based or magica based or magical cyberpunk blendedness. Other arguments in the past have shown my disdain for the monthly fee, as I am in favor of other business models. For Final Fantasy, though, the gamers will flock in droves. Maybe not as big as usual, but Square won't care when they pay twice as much as usual for the first year. I also admit, I'll be one of them. Let's just see if the game can keep me playing, though.

Michael: Even if Final Fantasy XI isn't wildly successful, it should bring in enough users to turn a tidy profit for Square-Enix. If Square-Enix uses those profits to develop other games, then we all benefit from Final Fantasy XI.

Nathan: Hope you all enjoyed my being here. Also I would just like to note that Rhapsody 2 is the best game ever whether Andrew Long wants to belive it or not. :)

Doug: Thanks for reading, everyone. Even though I'm not on staff any more, I'll always be an RPGamer, and I'll always disagree with Goog on anything not relating to Transformers. Doug Hill signing off.

Orie: Well on the pessimistic side Ngage and Phantom will flop and the Xbox RPG market is in the drain. On the optimistic side we have FFXI delivering a good experience for some and rising in the world of MMORPGs. It's been great being here and voicing my opinions, being at odds with Stom about everything, and generally ranting. It's what I love. I just hope everyone goes away happy and no one gets hate mail, especially me... I'm going to go enjoy some quiet reading and then its off to bed, gotta get up at 6AM tomorrow for morning aerobics! Damn you Animal Crossing...

Googleshng: Tune in next week when we'll be discussing three more topics which I'd be teasing here if we thought that far ahead.

Michael: And thus, we conclude yet another installment of RPGamer's Roundtable. This is Michael Bischoff, signing off for this week.