Hot Read Thursday

Check out the hottest topics from the past week of the FFXIV general forum.

This feature has always been a time to recap the most humorous, enlightening or bizarre discussions of the past week -- but right now there’s only one topic worth discussing, and it has little to do with Final Fantasy XIV.

The massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan last week has been felt around the world. The natural disasters were so powerful that even the fake worlds we spend so much time in -- Vana’diel and Eorzea -- were temporarily shut down. The world has held its collective breath, and will continue to do so until the aftershocks stop and the ongoing nuclear crisis is under control.

Despite these hardships, the development team for FFXIV appears to still be working on the game, as indicated by producer Naoki Yoshida’s most recent Letter from the Producer. However, Yoshi-P indicates many on his team are working with weary eyes or heavy hearts.

“Tokyo, where our development and operation teams are based, has suffered minimal damage from the earthquake and its after effects. We have confirmed the safety of all our team members, but there are those with family in the affected regions. Due to this, the concerns of the nuclear plants, and the ongoing aftershocks, we are not at our best.”

The servers for Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV were scheduled to be down for one week. If this schedule remains intact, both games will be playable again this weekend. However, the intensity of the situation in Japan right now is beyond many of our comprehensions. If the servers aren’t reactivated as scheduled, then Square Enix deserves our encouragement, not our criticism. The situation in Japan is much, much bigger than the drama surrounding Eorzea. This is a time for compassion.

To the development team at Square Enix, I would like to say on behalf of the ZAM community that all of you are in our thoughts, and for more reasons than just a game. We hope your loved ones are safe, and that any losses can be overcome.

For anyone reading this who would like to donate to the disaster relief effort in Japan, you can donate $10 through the American Red Cross by sending the text message “REDCROSS” (without quotations) to 90999. For more information on donating to the Japan earthquake and Pacific tsunami relief funds, visit the Web site of the American Red Cross.

Here’s hoping for better news between now and next Thursday, and for the fastest possible recovery for the great people of Japan.

Comments

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GL JP
# Mar 20 2011 at 11:12 AM Rating: Decent
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73 posts
As a "hardcore" player of FFXIV, I intially reacted to the news of the servers being shutdown with selfish motives, thinking only of my own suffering. However, as the news began to unfold, and the devastation in Japan became more clear, those selfish thoughts quickly evaporated. As far as I am concerned; SE can take as long as they need to get both games up and running again. Their priorites are in the right place and I believe that by shutting down the servers (which according to the latest letter from the producer, they really didn't have to) that SE has proved that they are not motivated purely by profits. My only hope now is that the entire country of Japan is able to overcome this horrible twist of fate and that the people within are able to move on with their lives. Our game can wait, and I am glad to see that most people in these forums agree.
Follow up
# Mar 19 2011 at 8:51 PM Rating: Decent
My prayers and thoughts are to those who are in Japan and I am certainly amazed that the development team is still working considering the events that had just happened. They may have lost loved ones, friends, and relatives. Yet they are returning to work to please our community. Every patch from here on out should be appreciated more than anything they have done before.
Around the World.
# Mar 18 2011 at 7:00 PM Rating: Decent
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212 posts
Most certainly felt around the world. One of the General Motor plants i distribute to, was shut down simply because 'Japanese Parts' such as sophisticated electronics on the dashboard aren't available due to the disaster affects. I was informed that more plants would probably be shutdown as Japanese parts became completely unavailable. This doesn't effect only GM, almost every car produced in the world has a JP part of some sort, usually an electronic part.

It's in the best interest of the economic world that Japan makes it through this with minimal damage.

Around the World.
# Mar 21 2011 at 3:06 PM Rating: Decent
20 posts
Whoa, I didn't know even Car plants were affected so severely as well and so quickly.
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