Can't Spell Final Fantasy Without a Little Fail

After reading http://blog.games.yahoo.com/photos/178-biggest-game-flops-of-2010 yesterday, I started thinking.  First, I remember having issues with the original MMO, FFXI, at launch, but now to see all the PC and console players in an uproar, I think it may be safe to say Square has produced another fail (full-on style).  Some of the gripes from the previous game (FFXI) came years into its launch; the game got stale.  Stories had been increasingly rushed for the expansions, making them weak and light, the graphics could not be upgraded much, due to the PS2 console's limitations, general boredom from the very "big effort, little reward" mentality that comes from a lot of overseas developers, and lots of hope fell to FFXIV for a cure to all the consumer complaints.

Now, from most of the articles and people have spoke with about this, I can say that it seems they dropped the ball again; delivering a sub-par band-aid for the MMO universe.  Conducting some research of this game, I found, right out of the gate, you need a serious gaming machine, purchased or upgraded most recently, and that isn't even for a suped-up gaming and graphics experience.  I even compared the system requirements to other popular titles including its predecessor, and this is what I found:

Final Fantasy 11 System Requirements

Final Fantasy 14 System Requirements

WoW System Requirements

Aion System Requirements

For the record, making graphics superb does not fix a bad or diluted storyline; plenty of regular RPGs have proven that, but to compound it by creating a world where fans of a series need to upgrade PCs to just log in to a game really drives off the consumer base heavily.

That brings me to the second area of fail concern; the story.  Based on actual people playing the actual game, I hear the story isn't great.  Any fan of RPGs knows that the story can be the vehicle for long term commitment.

Other areas of concern are poor movement and combat mechanics, numerous system bugs, and a plethora of users quitting before the trial period ends.  Sure, Square may make a little coin from initial game purchase, but if no one sticks around long enough to pay the ridiculous subscription fee (much more costly than WoW or other competitors), how will it profit from this title?  Maybe the console launch will go more smoothly (I doubt it, though).

These types of screw-ups are why I am patiently waiting for Cataclysm and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

For a fun and humorous look at a comedic Square fail, see below =):

So many places we could go with this one...I think I will just chuckle instead =P