Final Fantasy XIV delivers an epic storyline, endgame content worth your time, and an epic community to back it up, all thanks to a certain someone nicknamed Yoshi-P.
Following its painful road to redemption nearly a decade ago now, Final Fantasy XIV has proven that it can deliver the best of what MMOs and JRPGs can offer time and time again. It’s certainly not an exaggeration to say that Director Naoki Yoshida, or Yoshi-P, and his team have successfully concocted a fantasy world that’s filled to the brim with wonder and stories to tell. Since the release of its latest expansion, Endwalker, there’s been a surge of new FFXIV account logging in – who are most likely players that are curious about what all the uproar is about. Even well-known game devs, directors, and companies are known to stumble every once in a while, (looking at you, CD Projekt RED), especially if it’s an online game we’re talking about – but not Yoshida. Despite the tumultuous happenings in the past, he has maintained consistency when it comes to providing updates, releasing new expansions, and so on. Just how does the man innovate in a time where new ideas are considered a rare sight in gaming?
Staying Humble
It’s a well-known fact that Yoshi-P himself does not appreciate the people that are dunking on World of Warcraft. The Final Fantasy 14 director even claimed that his game “wouldn’t exist” without the help of Blizzard’s MMO and that the thought of comparing the two titles is altogether a wrong conversation to have. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about the drama that’s still ensuing in Blizzard, what with all the sexual harassment and racist reports going on over there. It’s no surprise that World of Warcraft’s been taking a few hits lately – a lot of players made a jump over to Final Fantasy XIV and create an FFXIV account for the first time is a testament to the state of WoW. Even popular streamers announced their retirement from the “greatest MMO of all time” and will move onto greener, and more Final Fantasy-er pastures.
The best way to put the position of FFXIV is this – the odds are in Square’s favor. With the game smashing its concurrent player count on Steam in mid-2021 and World of Warcraft experiencing a slow death, Final Fantasy XIV is that forgotten brother that you didn’t know you had that stepped up to the plate to provide for your poverty-stricken family. Yoshida isn’t too keen about a conversation talking about the rivalry between the two games, and he gave a rather thoughtful speech about it during a 14-hour stream in July 2021. When it was told that Final Fantasy 14 was more popular than World of Warcraft in 2021, Yoshi-P was quick to clarify that despite what thousands, if not millions of fans think, he doesn’t believe his game had “beaten” Blizzard’s.
Giving Credit Where Credit’s Due
Without World of Warcraft, A Realm Reborn wouldn’t exist in the first place, and Blizzard is aware of this – that’s what Naoki Yoshida stated, and he certainly doesn’t mind giving credit where credit is due. World of Warcraft is a touchy subject to talk about these days, more so if you’re going to try and avoid the topics about just how shady the company is. Yoshi-P further explained that WoW was a game that he and his team constantly looked up to for inspiration. Their goal, at first, was to recreate a Final Fantasy version of World of Warcraft. Saying that they won or lost to WoW is off the table to start with, mainly because it’s the game that they aspired to be.
Honesty and Transparency: A Breath of Fresh Air in Today’s Gaming Industry
To begin 2022 on a good note, Naoki Yoshida had a New Year announcement for the Final Fantasy XIV fans. This gesture has been a long tradition from Square Enix, and it’s certainly a breath of fresh air to finally see some honesty and goodwill from game directors.
In his message, director and producer Yoshi-P shared some details on the game’s upcoming journey for 2022. He mentioned that once the Endwalker expansion ends, Final Fantasy XIV will receive a total overhaul. It’s also been revealed that the MMO will witness a new story being introduced before the next update arrives. FFXIV is far from over, and with Yoshida spearheading the creation of new journeys for the Warriors of Light – or adventurers, rather – that’s big news, especially for active players that play the game daily.
Final Remarks
It’s hard to deny that Yoshi-P is a large reason for Final Fantasy 14’s success and the influx of new FFXIV account logging in these days, especially after the failure of FFXIV 1.0, just before A Realm Reborn was released. Plus, he has such a likable personality; his hard work certainly doesn’t go unnoticed either. The way he showers praise on WoW and emphasizes the importance of its existence was something that we don’t often see from other game directors and producers that would rather say “of course we’ll surpass it, we’re the best after all!”. What do you think about Naoki Yoshida? Let us know down below!
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