Final Fantasy XIV to Get Major Revamp Winter 2012

Square Enix President and CEO, Yoichi Wada has dropped a huge statement about the future of Final Fantasy XIV.

Here�s his opening statement:

Allow me to thank you all for your continued interest in FINAL FANTASY XIV. 

One year has passed since the game’s release, and despite the disappointment surrounding its launch, we have received a wealth of support from you, the players. Your encouraging words and continued loyalty have been a source of immeasurable inspiration to everyone involved with FINAL FANTASY XIV’s development. 

In the ten months since the FINAL FANTASY XIV team’s restructuring, we have put forth the utmost effort into not only improving the game’s existing features, but also creating a concrete plan to outline the game’s new direction. Today, I am pleased to announce we can confidently present that plan to our customers. We fully realize this is but a single step towards our ultimate goal, and that to meet the high standards set in the plan, more time is required. In the meantime, however, we will not waver in our commitment to bringing players exciting and engaging content, even as the game moves through its evolution. 

With this, it is my hope that we will continue to receive your support as we will need to bring the unbilled period to a close between late November and early December 2011, and introduce our subscription-based billing system. I appreciate that this decision will not be popular, but it is a necessary step in building upon the foundation our fans and development team have made together and to realize the full potential of FINAL FANTASY XIV. 

The team will stop short of nothing as they move towards realizing the new FINAL FANTASY XIV, and as they do so, I humbly ask for both your understanding and support.

 

Major topics in the post include:

• Conclusion of the Unbilled Period and Commencement of Subscription Billing

• Temporary Suspension of Automatic Renewals for the Subscription-based Billing System

• The New FINAL FANTASY XIV and the PlayStation 3 System Version

• A New Decision from the Development Team

Between October and December of 2012, we plan to integrate the current service and the coming PlayStation 3 version into the all-new FINAL FANTASY XIV. At this time, a second free trial period will also be offered.

To read the whole statement head to Lodestone