Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Are we ready to forgive and forget?
Final Fantasy XIV is seeing the light of day for the second time, as a reboot, after its abysmal initial launch almost 3 years ago. But developer Square Enix isn’t ready to give up and they’ve announced today that Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Collector’s Edition is now available for pre-order for the PlayStation 3 and Windows PC systems.
Complete with incentives like:
• Collector’s box designed by Yoshitaka Amano, legendary Final Fantasy artist.
• 80-page “Art of Eorzea” hardcover art book featuring never-before-seen concept art.
• “The Waning of the Sixth Sun,” a special bonus video disc that takes a cinematic look at the events that led up to the realm being reborn.
• “Sounds of Eorzea” album that features musical scores by renowned Final Fantasy series composers.
• Five collectable character art cards.
• A Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn-branded security token to secure user accounts.
• In-game bonus items: Helm of Light, Baby Behemoth Minion, Coeurl Mount and Behemoth Barding.
Naoki Yoshida, the producer and director of the title, assures us that the game is something to get excited about:
“It gives me great pleasure to announce the release date of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. It has been a long road from the game’s inception to the beta, but thanks to your fervent support and invaluable feedback, the world of Eorzea will soon complete its journey of rebirth. We have endeavored to make the game affordable so that adventurers will be able to experience the vibrant world of Eorzea. We have also prepared a collector’s edition version of the game, which includes a veritable assortment of premium items. The new adventure begins on August 27, 2013. I hope to see you all then!”
So what of it, MMO playing masses? August 27, 2013 is your date. Willing to give this title another shot? It’s not often we see companies so dedicated to a title that they are willing to completely re-imagine the game because the public wasn’t satisfied. That speaks volumes about both the terrible quality of the original title, and the developers resolve to not let it mar this franchises great history.
It could go either way folks. I’ll give it a try. Maybe I’ll see you there.