EPT
The worst part of a launch failure is the effect it can have on the game’s sales in spite of how little it indicates about the game itself. For those who purchase a game on its launch day, it’s hard to avoid disappointment or anger when that product is taken from you by intermittent errors. It’s this frustration that leads to rageful Reddit posts and caustic Metacritic reviews.* Yet this backlash often leads to loathing for a title that might still hold merit… once the launch throes are handled. Unfortunately, it’s hard to convince a casual customer that a game is worth purchasing when they witness the unrelenting tide of fury from the game’s once-ardent supporters.
* [Rage = (Hype^Time) * -Gratification]
With this in mind, let’s take a look at recent failures to launch, the reasons behind the catastrophes, how the game’s fans responded, and into what state the games finally settled.
Final Fantasy XIV
Pre-Launch (2005-2010):
The first rumors of a new MMORPG from Square Enix were whispered as early as 2005, but it wasn’t until 2009 that they revealed their “sequel” to Final Fantasy XI, Squeenix’s original and aged MMO. Well, Final Fantasy XIV wasn’t technically a sequel, but the similarities between the two games made the comparison not just inevitable but extremely apt. With Akihiko Yoshida signing on as art director and Nobuo Uematsu as composer, there was no small amount of excitement for the good ol’ Final Fantasy adventure the game would contain. Unfortunately, the alpha and beta testing resulted in skepticism from critics and journalists, who reported that there were major bugs still unsolved in the days before the launch. Between these issues and the “Fatigue System,” a controversial mechanic through which players gained less experience after long hours of play, and the release of Final Fantasy XIV was concerning at best.
Launch (September 22, 2010):
Players’ worst fears were realized upon release day. The game was terribly buggy and frustratingly problematic in nearly every aspect.* Realizing the scale of their misstep, Square Enix backpedaled like CRAZY, offering free trial after free trial to make up for the poor experiences inflicted upon their paying customers. That billing only began on January 6, 2012, over a year the game’s launch, is a testament to just how bad FFXIV really was. Hiromichi Tanaka, the game’s producer, resigned from Square Enix in penance, handing the reins over to Naoki Yoshida and a heavily restructured development team. Months later, CEO Yoichi Wada also left the company after stating that FFXIV damaged the Final Fantasy brand. He was not wrong: FFXIV received the lowest review scores ever attributed to a Final Fantasy title.**
Post-Launch (2010 – November 11, 2012):
To Square Enix’s credit, they understood the magnitude of Final Fantasy XIV‘s failure and expended enormous effort both to fix the game and regain the trust of their fans. Yoshida, armed to the teeth with hindsight, turned to the gaming community for advice, something rarely done by large companies and pleasing to the game’s remaining fans. Massive changes arrived with each patch, each increasing fans’ enjoyment of and connection to the game. Yet these efforts still could not draw new players to the highly maligned game, so Square Enix tried a different approach: a full remake of the game entitled Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Clearly the original’s stigma was too great to repair, so its makers took the game offline in November of 2012 to completely revitalize the title, both technically and economically. While trailers for the remake impressive, it’s yet to be revealed if FFXIV can truly rise from its own ashes.
* The music was fine, but that’s only because Nobuo Uematsu is a god.
** And Final Fantasy Theatrhythm exists.
Diablo 3
Pre-Launch (2008 – 2012):
There’s no game hype like Blizzard game hype, so when the third entry to the Diablo franchise was announced, fans went apeshit. Then the dread began to set in. It began with the game’s “online-only” requirement, forcing all game modes (including single player) to be played with an internet connection. Those seeking more freedom and privacy in their gaming took umbrage with these DRM-derived shackles and denounced the game for inhibiting their favored modes of play. Furthermore, many fans complained that the game was “too bright or colorful,” stating that the new designs betrayed the dark and horrifying atmosphere of the original games. These extremists were generally ridiculed for their hyper-sensitivity by more sensible fans, but they still represented a good deal of the customer base. Yet most players (complainers included) still pre-ordered the game, even when other (more concerning) issues, such as the real-money Auction House, were revealed. Diablo 3 was delayed several times but finally received a solid release date in the spring of 2012.
Launch (May 15, 2012):
On May 15, 2012, myself, along with thousands of other gamers, prepared for their first forays into the renewed world of Sanctuary. Unfortunately, our hopes for a stable launch were dashed faster than you could say “persistent online authentication.” Regrettably, Blizzard was not fully prepared for their game’s popularity and their servers were unable to take the strain of thousands and thousands of logins. Most players, instead of entering the demon-ridden world as expected, were greeted with “Error 37″ pop-ups, which were followed by Errors 300008 and 3006. These errors were the heroes’ greatest challenges in the first few days of play, preventing them from confronting demons at all. Those who managed to get into the game quickly found it’s first game-breaking bug, which literally shut the software down when a class/gear combination was utilized. Frustrating as all this was, it only took a day or two for Blizzard to finally address these annoying issues.
Post-Launch (2012 – present):
With 4.7 million units sold on its first day and 14.5 million players logged in over its first year, Diablo 3‘s initial launch problems barely stopped the juggernaut from making a place for itself in the PC market. Luckily for Blizzard, they managed to fix the problems before the game’s credibility suffered irreparable damage. It also helped that, unlike Final Fantasy XIV, Diablo 3 was a finished, functional, and fun-to-play game, which helped it to avoid the catastrophe endured by Square Enix’s MMO. I’ve since stopped playing the game for other reasons (such as its lackluster story, perpetual grind, and mediocre gear gratification), but Blizzard’s poor launch stopped neither myself nor countless others from enjoying the game for quite a while. By the time its slated expansion, Reaper of Souls, is released, it’s unlikely that many will even remember the initial problems D3 had (unless, of course, they too return).
SimCity
Pre-Launch (2012 – 2013):
When German gaming magazine, GameStar, leaked its concept art, the SimCity cat was out of the bag. A “reboot” to the SimCity series which released no new titles in a decade (but paved the way for The Sims and other Sim franchises), the city building/urban planning simulator was met with excitement during its official announcement at GDC on March 6, 2012. The return of gaming nostalgia will always be met with a lot of hype, and so it was with SimCity. That hype increased after several successful (if limited) beta tests. One disquieting fact remained: to support some of the franchise’s new-and-improved features, SimCity (like Diablo 3) would require a persistent internet connection. Shockingly, people, craving the same kind of single-player freedom they possessed with the older games, were not pleased with this. Yet nothing could change this decision and SimCity marched slowly and positively towards its release.
Launch (March 5, 2013):
The higher hopes are, the harder they can be dashed. SimCity‘s release day cataclysm was the hardest dashing a gamer’s hopes could receive. On its release day, video game news site Polygon gave the game a score of 9.5, a rarity for the site. Yet their review was finished on a for-review copy prior to the general release, when countless server issues paired with the online-only requirement prevented players from laying down even the first bricks of their new cities. These issues were as persistent as the DRM, continuing on for weeks into the game’s release. Soon after launch, Polygon did something they had never done before: updated their review to account for the travesty inflicted by the game’s terrible launch issues. It went from a 9.5, to an 8.0, to a 4.0 due to Maxis and EA’s sheer inability to keep their promises to their customers. This score decline mirrored the decline in fan excitement and interest, which collapsed as surely as a city hall under alien attack.
Post-Launch (2013 – present):
SimCity never really overcame its demons. What may have been a good game was completely crippled by it’s launch debacle and the feature stripping it underwent to become barely playable for its remaining player base. Fans reported new and exciting bugs with each subsequent update, and SimCity went on to become a cautionary tale for publishers and a staple goof for the internet. Fan interest in the game quickly dwindled due to the massive problems plaguing the title, evinced by the fact that over half of the SimCity copies sold for Windows since release were in the first two weeks. The Mac OS X version of the game, which was promised early on, was only released a few days ago (on August 29th) and IT suffered from installation issues upon release. My interest in the game declined sharply after hearing of its apocalyptic beginnings, and it’ll be hard for the franchise to overcome the embarrassment of its reboot’s debut. The saddest part about this is that SimCity allegedly is (or was) a good game, but it’s not one I’ll ever try after it’s colossal failure to launch.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Pre-Launch (2011 – 2013):
The tale of Final Fantasy XIV continues with The Realm Reborn, it’s “reboot” that followed the incredible folly that was the original FFXIV. Equipped with the input of MMO fans, a new team, director, and producer, and the hindsight of the original, the FFXIV team applied themselves with a vengeance to fixing their errors. In spite of all that had transpired, the responses to the game’s beta were positive and the trailers showcased it in an entirely new (read: positive) light. But can that light drown out the shadows of the first game?
Launch (August 27, 2013):
It turns out that it can. Most early reviews and beta opinions suggest that Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is a game worth playing, a game that far outstrips its predecessor. There’s just one problem. Most people can’t play it. … I KNOW RIGHT? It just so happens that Square Enix gambled low with the game’s rerelease and suspected that it would have little initial traffic due to their prior failings. A humble and practical move perhaps, but they were dead wrong and noew they’re paying for it. The game has been haunted by login issues and busy servers since launch due to its surprising popularity and quality. At least the game is meant to be played online, so it isn’t DRM getting in the way, but for fans who waited so many years for the true Final Fantasy XIV, these issues are a massive slap in the face.
Post-Launch (Present – ???):
Luckily for FFXIV: ARR, it isn’t the huge mess that its predecessor was. It also has a huge name brand behind it, much like fellow launch bunglers Diablo 3 and SimCity did. But a name saved neither it’s ancestor nor SimCity so there’s still a chance that even FFXIV‘s relaunch could collapse due to these persistent problems. What it comes down to is a matter of time. Diablo 3 recovered quickly and managed to escape the quicksand of bad reviews and angry commenters, but SimCity could not and sank to its doom. With a maintenance scheduled for September 4 that will supposedly fix the login/space issues, FFXIV: ARR has the opportunity to pull out of its tailspin, but there is no certainty it will do so. Hopefully Square Enix will be able to see more success in their latest effort, but only time will tell.
Personally, they’d better take care of it fast because I want to play the game and only a continued failure to launch could dissuade me.
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