Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy XIV: Online is an MMORPG by Square Enix. The game follows the success of Final Fantasy XI, which debuted in 2002 and remains active today.
Final Fantasy XIV is not a sequel to FFXI, but instead takes place in its own world, named Eorzea, with the standard Final Fantasy elements present. However, despite the fact that it takes place in its own world, it has striking similarities with FFXI, most notably the character races, which are very similar to the Hume, Elvaan, Tarutaru, Galka and Mithra races of Vana'diel. The world of Eorzea is similar to Vana'diel of FFXI as well, but has a higher level of technological advancement, and its own mythology.
Final Fantasy XIV contains significantly different gameplay than Final Fantasy XI, modelling itself after the success of its predecessor, player feedback and other successful MMOs. FFXIV features a new job system, called the Armory System, which is based on the weapons a character chooses to wield rather than the selection of jobs and subjobs.
Notably, FFXIV does not feature experience points in the way that FFXI and most other MMOs do. Instead, the development of specific abilities occurs in a different way.
The game uses Crystal Tools, Square Enix's own graphics engine, the same engine powering Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII.
Final Fantasy XIV was revealed at E3 in 2009. The Windows PC version of FF14 was released in September 2010. The game's beta went well, but since its initial release players have complained about the quality of the game and its gameplay. Square Enix extended free trials and offered players free subscriptions while it works on the game, to ensure that players don't give up before changes can be implemented. Hiromichi Tanaka, who was producer for Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV during the game's development, stepped down from his role in response to the negative feedback, with Naoki Yoshida taking his role. Major changes to the development team have also been made to revise the game. The PS3 version has been delayed while Square Enix makes improvements to the game.