FFXIV Online beta "starting soon"

By Robert Purchese Published 24 June, 2010

Tanaka confident of 2010 release.

Hiromichi Tanaka has told Eurogamer that the Final Fantasy XIV Online beta test "will be starting soon".

He - the producer of the game, and second-in-command at Square Enix - said the MMO was in alpha but on course for a 2010 release in all territories.

"We will do some final adjustments from the beta test and then we will have a launch in 2010," he confirmed.

What's more, Tanaka's confident that will be on both formats - PC and PS3.

"Yes, the current plan is for a simultaneous launch, and we're trying hard to stick to that," he said.

However, Tanaka admitted that making an MMO for two platforms and "customising" the experience for both was "very challenging" and "taking some time".

Final Fantasy XI was released eight years ago in a genre yet to star World of Warcraft. Final Fantasy XIV Online won't have that luxury, but Tanaka isn't fazed.

"The reason why many MMOs failed after WOW launched was probably because they were trying to copy WOW," he explained. "For FFXIV we're not trying to copy World of Warcraft, we're trying to choose something different.

"Final Fantasy never had any influence from World of Warcraft," he added, "so we want to continue that and try to reach a different audience."

All of our Final Fantasy XIV Online coverage can be found below.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (22) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Gascogne #1 2 years ago

    I need the beta now please :D

  • dave-on #2 2 years ago

    The Alpha made me realize how good FFXI is.

  • a8a #3 2 years ago

    "Final Fantasy never had any influence from World of Warcraft," he added

    Never had much influence from WoW, I would have said. There were a couple of things introduced post CoP that seemed a bit uncanny though. Rings that gave EXP bonuses on a daily cooldown were clearly inspired by (note: not copied from!) WoW's rested EXP idea. An increasing focus on both solo activities and instanced content could also be traced to WoW - although it might be fairer to say that they were following a trend in the market rather than WoW itself, even if the market was being defined by WoW.

    Having said that, the crux of what he was saying is absolutely true - FFXI's greatness has always been how it contrasts with other MMOs, rather than how it conforms. I hope that they can continue this with FFXIV - but still not be too afraid to change some of the rather dated mechanics the game is built on now.

    And I also want a beta key please :D

  • Hypercube #4 2 years ago

    Put me down for a beta key as well!

  • sesskie #5 2 years ago

    Teh game had a rather poor showing on E3, I think mostly becasue the combat system is dull and rather rubbish. I hope they adress that though it isnt promising that its in such a state at this stage of the development. Tera seems more promising, but then again Square have solid experiece in MMO design from XXXI, Tera, for all we know, could be another korean grindfest like Aion.

  • ZuluHero #6 2 years ago

    here is hoping it does make this year as the stunning benchmark left me wanting! :)

  • Dizzy #7 2 years ago

    I am sure about 10 people will care.

    The E3 demo looked dire.

  • jag10 #8 2 years ago

    lol, final fantasy is shit again all of a sudden.

  • Davinnicus #9 2 years ago

    I might end up double dipping on this as long as you can sign in from both the PS3 and the PC.

  • Shakey_Jake33 #10 2 years ago

    ^I started my FFXI account on 360, bought the game on PC and was able to log in using the same account. So it seems likely.

  • mushroomyakuza #11 2 years ago

    Do we actually KNOW anything about the game though? World, locations, races, classes etc?

    The lack of info from SquareEnix has led to me think this is nothing more than a better looking FFXI, in which case, you can count me out.

  • MatMan562 #12 2 years ago

    I'm kinda new to the whole MMO thing so answers would be appreciated. Will this require a subscription? If so how much is it likely to be? Also how do you get access to the Beta? I think I heard something about linking FFXIII to Square Enix's website or something but that might not be right... or it might've been a dream :S

  • ZuluHero #13 2 years ago

    @mushroomyakuza

    Yes, we know all the races and their jobs.

    May i suggest: http://eu.finalfantasy xiv.com/ or even EG's own news pages on it http://ww w.eurogamer.net/game/final-fant... :)

    @MatMan562

    It will be sub based, while i'd predict something around the £8.99 point (which is standard for MMOs these days) when i played 11 you could only pay in dollers and that fluctuated with the currency exchange. I think i was paying around £10-£11 for it. It might have all changed now thouygh :)

    Oh and you are right about linking that little code you had in FF13 to Square's website. It should give you access when they finally announce it. I've not heard anything yet so keep an eye out :)

  • levitate #14 2 years ago

    I don't get why so many people are getting their dirty knickers in a twist over this game. I promise to give my beta key away to a random person on EG should I ever acquire one. I'm not the least interested in Final Fantasy.

  • Hypercube #15 2 years ago

    Interesting - I got negged for saying that I'd like a beta key.

    There are some sad twunts on this website.

  • Hypercube #16 2 years ago

    @levitate - FFXI was for me the most fun I've ever had in an MMO. I was in a great guild, my friends were playing and we were progressing at the same rate (since soloing was so impossible we were usually grouping together) - this has probably given me a rose tinted memory of the game, but I still remember many, many very fun evenings spent in it.

    Because of this, I'm hoping that they can at least recapture part of the magic. I'm not so surprised that they've announced that it's solo friendly now since the forced grouping was a big issue with a lot of people, but it will have taken away some of the excitement of knowing that when you were in a group in FFXI you had to know what you were doing.

  • Psi #17 2 years ago

    Bought the ps3 game so I'd have a chance to get into beta.

    Fingers crossed.

  • roquey Verified Lead Quality Assurance Tester and Compliance Specialist, Universally Speaking #18 2 years ago

    yayayayayayaya :D PS You can all sign up for beta on the website, has nobody checked?

  • Hypercube #19 2 years ago

    @roquey - I've submitted my details to the beta application on the Euro FFXIV website, but they don't tell you what's going on very much. I don't know anyone who has managed to be accepted for this (I think it's a closed beta at this point).

  • roquey Verified Lead Quality Assurance Tester and Compliance Specialist, Universally Speaking #20 2 years ago

    @Hypercube They are still in closed alpha. i recieved an email saying ive singed up but not heard anything yet, all in due course i would assume

  • Hypercube #21 2 years ago

    @roquey - ah, right, ta :)

    I'll just keep my fingers crossed then ;)

  • MatMan562 #22 2 years ago

    @ZuluHero Thanks for your help, much appreciated. I think that's a fairly decent price although having never played an MMO the beta will have to impress me before I buy the full game. Glad to hear about the code, should be my first taste of MMO goodness, I am slightly scared I will become addicted however :/