Final Fantasy 14in the last year has reached an insane level of popularity. To many, the game has surpassed another popular MMORPG,World of Warcraft, but forFinal Fantasy 14’s Director, Naoki Yoshida, he is not very fond of the comparison.
When it originally launched in 2010, no one could have foreseen the mighty successFF14would eventually become. A broken, at times, unplayable game in 2010,A Realm Rebornin 2013 revitalized the game, and ever since, has continued to grow with new content expansions. BeforeFF14though, wasWoWin 2004, a game that went on to define the MMORPG genre, and be considered the greatest of its kind. WithFF14breaking Steam’s concurrent player count, many believe the game has surpassedWorld of Warcraftas the MMO giant.
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In a recentFinal Fantasy 14livestream, Yoshida discussed the impact ofWoWonFF14. When told by the interviewer thatFF14beatWoWas the most played MMO this year, Yoshida quickly responded, “I don’t think we beatWoW. (…) This whole conversation about surpassing WoW is the wrong conversation to have and it’s honestly irritating.” He elaborates that withoutWoW,A Realm Rebornwould not exist, emphasizing Blizzard’s influence onFF14’s revival. Fans ofWoWcould ease themselves intoFF14due to the similarities of the two games.
This reaction from Yoshida is an indication of he and his team’s humility while working onFF14. To be irritated when being compared to one of the greatest games ever made speaks to the reverence they have for the developers at Blizzard and what they achieved. On social media,FF14congratulatedWoWon its expansionlast fall, demonstrating that although they are games inherently competing against one another, acknowledging industry success is important as well. Now all that remains is some sort of content crossover between the two games.
Yoshida himself has opened up much of his personal life to theFF14community.Known as Yoshi-P by fans, Yoshida broadcast himself a couple months ago, where in between instances of gameplay, featured him baking cookies and sipping wine, amongst other things. His humble nature is reflected there as it is here, and it shows inFF14’s success.
Final Fantasy 14is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5.
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