Gamewatch Interview (full translation linked in first post)

[Sho]

This thing just keeps going, it's like a damn novel. Why are American interviews always like 50 ways to say "I don't know," and Japanese interviews are like "here, let me convert the contents of my brain into text for you."

Ty for new ftw sig lol.

[Sagacious Sundi]

Elmer kicks ass.

[Sho]

100% sure we always get the shitty small interviews because NA (for the most part) back track on wanting to fix older content. SE loves to fucking talk when it's about new content and makes most older stuff an afterthought, lol.

[Epical]

The way they worded the Nyzul Relics quest answer it seems like they were serious about the 50,000 Alexandrites being an attainable goal and that they're only changing it because of the playerbase reaction lol. Good interview overall though.

[Skjie]

Thank you for your time Elmer, we all appreciate it.

[Toth]

It's interesting to see the difference in interview style and questions from our Japanese counterparts. Perhaps SE is just more open to this type of questioning. Plus, the language barrier may impede the process because whoever is asking the questions (and answering) may not be able to express the full intent of the questions (their answers). Finally, from what I know about Gamewatch, they are a pretty big and popular site in Japan. SE just may be more open with them in hopes of reaching to a larger audience. The FFXI USA Community sites and BG are apparently not big enough to warrant such depth in their interviews. A shame to think but it appears to be the case...

Just my opinion though XD

[ronin sparthos]

mmm ic

i guess it does end just before the events of Dynamis. I don't think want to delve into that aspect of the Crystal War. Theres also the issue of Crystal War as we know it sans meddling adventurers + cait sith + mission girl lilisette. The outcome of the war is probably the same.. but the events that transpire might be less severe. It doesn't remove the fact that the present day reality suggests history played out that way.. because dynamis will still be there....

If they explored that character branch, then they'd have to deal with the whole time paradox as well.. so ithink they might just leave it just before that.

Lilisette herself mentioned that things were happening differently than she recalled so perhaps we'll be taking a different road of events (a road that gives the player more room to participate) that lead to the same conclusion. (Player being forgotten, famous NPCs getting their respective credit)

Wasnt it mentioned before that we were going to get quests regarding the Hydra Corps when Beaucadine and Xarcabard were added to game? Perhaps we'll get a Vanadiel Tribune-like article on where some of our Campaign NPCs have gone shortly before that update goes live.

[Elmer the Pointy]

Special Short Interview with the busy Tanaka Hiromichi
The Legal Issues of a Mog Bonanza Live Drawing

How was the 6-year anniversary Mog Bonanza?
Tanaka: We got a huge reaction. And then afterwards, we got the opposite reaction. (smile) We could not broadcast the lottery drawing. We wanted to set up a camera and show the drawing, but it turned out it could be misconstrued as gambling in other countries. That’s why we couldn’t make it more public, but we still enforced a strict selection process. We even took a video and really want to show the public.

What kind of selection method did you use? Did you just draw lots?
Tanaka: We announced the winning number in-game at 7pm, but before that, at 6pm, we gathered in the conference room and drew the lottery. There were a variety of methods. A ten-sided die, drawing a playing card, pulling out a Bingo ball, scratch and win lotto cards (laughs). We went from person to person, doing each digit separately.

What a waste that you can’t show that to the public. Everyone is very interested in seeing how you picked the numbers.
Tanaka: I know, we wanted to cry when we found out we couldn’t. We’ll have to rethink the selection method and just do a quick pick next time. By the way, we have some statistics of what numbers people bought. 77777 was the most common, with 11111 after that. The top ten are pretty much all like that.

What about the next Mog Bonanza?
Tanaka: We don’t want it to end here. Still, we have to reevaluate some of the methods before doing it again and tackle those legal issues. Just in Japan, there are a lot of laws regarding lotteries. If we do it again, we have to take it all into consideration.

At Anaheim, you presented the idea of “user created dungeons.”
Tanaka: That’s undergoing some serious development. It will take a little more time. Once the technical stuff is set, I can tell you more.

How goes development of content for mobile phones? Chocobo Raising and other Chocobo-related content would be fun.
Tanaka: Way back when, maybe 3-4 years ago we thought so. We presented to plan to add chat and Auction House functions to mobile phones. However, we ended up canceling those plans. There were technological problems, and issues setting up a payment system.

Things have improved since then, haven’t they?
Tanaka: They have. At that time, there was no “unlimited data transfer” phone plan available. It’s something that could work now, but I guess it was ahead of its time. (laughs)

Recently, Koei’s online title has gone in that direction. You can perform actions in-game using a mobile phone.
Tanaka: With that ability in mind from the design phase, it isn’t so hard to implement. But trying to retroactively add that content to the game would be a different story altogether. The idea has pretty much been abandoned.

Looking at the future of FFXI as a whole, many wonder if there will continue to be significant development.
Tanaka: There will! Perhaps… or maybe not. (laughs) But, well, Wings of the Goddess updates will continue for at least another year, and Missions have a long way to go. There’s also the upcoming “Private Dungeons.”

Any last words for the players?
Tanaka: The next Version Update will bring lots of new stuff, but it a long ways away. Please stay with us.

Thank you very much.

[ronin sparthos]

How was the 6-year anniversary Mog Bonanza?
Tanaka: We got a huge reaction. And then afterwards, we got the opposite reaction. (smile) We could not broadcast the lottery drawing. We wanted to set up a camera and show the drawing, but it turned out it could be misconstrued as gambling in other countries. That’s why we couldn’t make it more public, but we still enforced a strict selection process. We even took a video and really want to show the public.

Ahahahahahahaha. That takes the cake.

[Valkrish]

excellent work, i say.

[Spira]

a long ways away >_<

[Indalecia]

The more they say, the more I'm thinking we wont see update til oct-nov timeframe.

[Elmer the Pointy]

By the way, that's the end of the whole interview. Post it wherever you like. I sleep now.

[octopus]

Wow.... no updates until end of the year.... really??

[TaruMortis]

Currently compiling all the individual posts and condensing them into one post.

[Bardlet]

Great job, thanks for your hard work, Elmer. Was a good read overall, some interesting stuffs in there. Too bad the next version update is a long ways off, though. :/

[Avé]

Wasnt it mentioned before that we were going to get quests regarding the Hydra Corps when Beaucadine and Xarcabard were added to game? Perhaps we'll get a Vanadiel Tribune-like article on where some of our Campaign NPCs have gone shortly before that update goes live.

I believe that "Babban Ny Mheillea" is the start of these WotG 'Serpent General' quests.

I liked this interview. It's always nice to hear what the developers are thinking, and getting more out of them than "I don't know" and "We can't say anything" is a refreshing change.

Tanaka: There will! Perhaps… or maybe not. ... Please stay with us.

Damn, that makes me sad hearing the top guy saying that. I've been relatively inactive in XI for about two years, but still, I don't like the thought of them shutting down.

[shihei]

Haven't they been saying Aht Urgan jobs AF2 is coming for well over a year now?

[Gobo]

By the way, that's the end of the whole interview. Post it wherever you like. I sleep now.

Thanks for translating this elmer, was a good read. And will do with posting it heh.

[Sho]

Damn, that makes me sad hearing the top guy saying that. I've been relatively inactive in XI for about two years, but still, I don't like the thought of them shutting down.

You got whooshed, yo. SE have always been pressing for "If there are people still interested in this game, we will continue to keep developing new content for it." So yeah, no shutting down anytime soon