Tanaka P talks beta test in Famitsu

[Elmer the Pointy]

Tanaka was interviewed for a feature on most anticipated games and game creators of 2010.

He gaves some opinions on the state and direction of gaming and a little info on how they wish to conduct the FFXIV beta test.

Source: Famitsu Feb. 14th issue
Trans @ ZAM: http://ffxiv.zam.com/story.html?story=21451

- How did 2009 treat you?

Tanaka: I've been producing the same online game since 2000, so the years generally follow the same cycle. Honestly, I was just working away to the point where I couldn't really feel the passage of time. (laughs) We put together presentations on Final Fantasy XIV, and of course were actively keeping Final Fantasy XI going as well. So just like the year 2000, it was a marathon. Still, if I were to say how much of my mind was occupied by either XI or XIV, I would say XIV became increasingly important as the year went on.

- How do you feel about the gaming industry as a whole?

Tanaka: Personally, I think 2009 was the year that really brought iPod Touch and iPhone gaming to the forefront. There was an explosion of applications, including games, and what was essentially a multimedia device suddenly had a rush of new and interesting software. Services like Twitter have also become commonplace, changing the way we spread information, which I think will continue to expand this year.

In Japan, for the most part, cell phones are cell phones, and we use Nintendo DS or PSP for portable gaming. But now, if more killer titles begin to appear on the iPod Touch or iPhone, they could really start making waves in the industry. Although the CPU and memory capabilities of these devices lose out to dedicated gaming handhelds, the potential is there for iPod Touch and iPhone to become serious portable gaming systems. As for the rumored tablet, it's probably doubtful it will focus on being a gaming device, which would undermine some of the concept behind the iPod Touch line.

Either way, I have my Docomo phone. (laughs)

- What are you expecting from 2010?

Tanaka: We are going to start service for Final Fantasy XIV, which we have been working on for several years now. We don't have an official announcement yet, but we are certain the game will be ready for all users to enjoy. First, we want to get the beta test rolling.

- What kind of time frame are you thinking of for the beta test?

Tanaka: We don't intend to set a specific time frame for the test, but if we begin too close to a finished product, we cannot apply the opinions and reactions of the users. Therefore, we want to let users try out the game in its unfinished state, and from there we will take in user feedback and gradually build together towards a final version. However, we have to avoid making it too much trial-and-error, or it would be more of a development process than a beta test, which could pose problems. For instance, the servers would need to be shut down for days at a time while the developers work on the game, and I think it would be difficult to run a smooth beta test. I can't really say anything definitive about the length of the beta test at this time.

- Where do you see the gaming industry moving this year?

Tanaka: I see the birth of more unique interfaces and technology such as Project Natal. For XIV, we're worrying whether or not we can implement voice chat. Like XI, it will run across multiple platforms, and there isn't a single, unifying way to support them all. Not to mention, we have many other communications issues to confront, such as communities being splintered by system, player harassment and translation features. At the moment, supporting voice chat will be difficult.

- Tell our readers your ambitions for 2010!

Tanaka: I'm working hard to begin service for Final Fantasy XIV, and I hope to see you all in Eorzea! And of course, there is Final Fantasy XI, which I have been so proud to be a part of for 8 years now. Things are going to be heating up again this year, so I'll see you back in Vana'diel too!

[Eyedea-Seraph]

my excitment is mounting at an alarming rate here !!!! See you in Eorzea Tanaka San!

[Eanae]

my excitment is mounting at an alarming rate here !!!! See you in Eorzea Tanaka San!

Please kindly die.


Glad to hear they're trying to avoid the mistakes a lot of companies have been coming across with beta's and such. Here's hoping for a new MMO that isn't trash.

[Spira]

nice information.

agree on the beta bit.. but the time frame itself is already pretty short.. we have 11 months left to go at most before XIV hits.

[Eanae]

Short and thorough beta > long and dragged out beta, so plenty of time. I'd much rather see all content brand new then play it religiously for 3 weeks. Betas are about bugs and giving constructive gameplay and mechanic feedback, not playing the game. Wish more people would understand that.

[montijin]

What the fuck man.

If this is seriously a full interview of Q&As then whoever fucking asked him these questions need to die. SOON.

I don't fucking care what you think about apple products or the video game industry Tanaka how about some new information like when the fucking beta is starting?

And on top of the fucking questions that are not on topic; all of the FFXIV "information" in this article is reiterated shit we've been hearing since before we even saw a trailer for FFXIV.

GD IT QQ.

[Elmer the Pointy]

To be fair, it wasn't a section on FFXIV, but a feature on anticipated games and game designers for 2010. So it was basically 20 pages of one-page interviews in which they ask general questions about the industry and then focus briefly on each developer's current project.

[miokomioko]

Betas are about bugs and giving constructive gameplay and mechanic feedback, not playing the game. Wish more people would understand that.

http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/7...78_VG7Cr-L.jpg

[Seanr]

Beta only needs to be a month or less... you know a good amount of people are gonna grind through it then complain that there aint shit to do

[Cureslime]

Only thing of interest:
"For XIV, we're worrying whether or not we can implement voice chat. Like XI, it will run across multiple platforms, and there isn't a single, unifying way to support them all. Not to mention, we have many other communications issues to confront, such as communities being splintered by system, player harassment and translation features. At the moment, supporting voice chat will be difficult."

That pretty much confirms no cross-system voice chat. Guess we'll all have to have our computers around for vent if we want voice chat

Other than that there was absolutely zero info in that Q&A.

[Lovian]

thanks Elmer, was thinking its was time for another dribble of information as it is the start of the month.

[avelle]

That pretty much confirms no cross-system voice chat. Guess we'll all have to have our computers around for vent if we want voice chat

PC or gtfo anyways.

[McGoonagle]

Beta only needs to be a month or less... you know a good amount of people are gonna grind through it then complain that there aint shit to do

A beta takes as long as a beta needs to take. If the alpha was good and the fundamentals are solid, things could move quickly. We spent over a year beta testing one of our products. With your first license costing $100k it is hard not to take that sort of time and effort.

From the translation (thank you Elmer), I get the impression that the public beta hasn't started yet, so don't panic if you haven't heard anything.

FFXIV could be worth squillions to SE, so let them take the time effort to get it right and give us a terrific experience right out of the box.

[dejet]

This beta needs to be longer then ff11's tho as they did say that, right?

[Eaglestrike]

Beta only needs to be a month or less... you know a good amount of people are gonna grind through it then complain that there aint shit to do

One month is way too short, really. There are going to be instability issues, bugs and imbalance issues. Beta players get in, play for a bit, find these things, report them, then a whole new set of those issues crop up. Rinse and repeat for a long while. Unless they're not attempting to do anything innovative (and I expect them to have a few innovative and new mechanics) there will be a lot of testing necessary. Unless you want the first month of release to be plagued with maintenance and server restarts constantly. Note: It doesn't need to be.

[Stromgarde]

That pretty much confirms no cross-system voice chat. Guess we'll all have to have our computers around for vent if we want voice chat

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...DDFDS0SGRFSTM0

Just need one person with an extra PS3 and a laptop or something to provide a hardware bridge. Xbox360 is more difficult (there's soldering involved) and not even announced yet, but it's possible.

[Akucaen]

I'm not going to hold my breath in the slightest, but it looks like SE has a much better idea about testing this go around.

Also they stand to make a lot of money on this. Assuming their "400k" stable number is still there and all those accounts only have one character, they're still making $5,180,000 a month (400k*12.95USD.) This was with an "okay" product they pushed out the door and took 5 years to bring up to a much better standard. Seeing how "well" WoW does, I'd like to think they'll get their asses in gear to make even more money.

[Chun Liroy]

First time I heard of voice chat (usually avoid this section like the plague) that'd be awesome to implement.

[Kawfee]

First time I heard of voice chat (usually avoid this section like the plague) that'd be awesome to implement.

...maybe.

Most in-game voicechat I've ever seen is generally low quality and incredibly irritating to manage aside from just turning it all off.

WOW's voicechat is pointless as vent is far superior; Steam voicechat is...okay, but still vent seems to be much better quality; Call of Duty's voicechat is fucking horrendous and you can't shut it off except to mute everyone.

[Lucavi]

What the fuck man.

If this is seriously a full interview of Q&As then whoever fucking asked him these questions need to die. SOON.

I don't fucking care what you think about apple products or the video game industry Tanaka how about some new information like when the fucking beta is starting?

And on top of the fucking questions that are not on topic; all of the FFXIV "information" in this article is reiterated shit we've been hearing since before we even saw a trailer for FFXIV.

GD IT QQ.

They asked about the beta. He was elusive about the time frame. Asking 14 questions all aimed around an answer he won't give (or isn't ready to) is foolish.

"So, what about that beta date?"
"When can we expect the open beta?"
"How about some new beta tidbits~?"

Yeah... that's now how you hold an interview.