Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada has high hopes forFinal Fantasy XIV, believing it has a good chance of taking on Blizzard’s unstoppableWorld of Warcraftand snatching a sizable chunk of the vulture-ridden MMO market.
Wada states thatFinal Fantasy XIVwill rivalWoWbecause it’s a sequel, and nobody has ever had a successful MMOanda successful sequel to that MMO:“WoWis a tough competitor, but whether you are talking aboutEverQuest,UltimaorLineagethere has never been a company that has a continuously successful number one and two MMO.”
He also unequivocally said “yes” toDevelopwhen asked if he believes thatFinal Fantasy XIVcould pullWoWfrom its throne, although he added that that it would be “tough” to do so.
Wada’s logic seems a bit kooky to me. Surely most MMOs don’t have a sequel because they don’t need a sequel. MMOs don’t work the same way as other games, and this is whyWorld of Warcrafthas never needed aWorld of Warcraft 2. If anything, a sequel is evidence of failure in the MMO market, since your first game obviously didn’t do a good enough job if you need to make a new one.
It seems that Squenix may not be understanding how MMOs work … but a little thing like “not having an effing clue” has never stopped publishers before, right?
