Square Enix Apologizes For Crappy Final Fantasy XIV Mac Port, Pulls Game From Shelves
Mac users unhappy with the problem-riddled launch of Final Fantasy XIV are eligible for a full refund, Square Enix director Naoki Yoshida said today in an official post to gamers. He also announced that the title is being yanked from store shelves until the game performs correctly and the system requirements have been communicated accurately. The concession follows harsh criticism from players who bought the title only to encounter game-crippling problems.
Yoshida discussed two major problems that plagued the game’s launch and apologized for both. One issue was that the company provided incorrect system requirements.
“Because of this situation, many of you purchased a product which your Mac hardware could not run at even the minimum system requirements, resulting in insufficient performance, for which many of you have expressed your dissatisfaction,” Yoshida said in the post. “Had we provided accurate information beforehand, I know many of you would not have purchased the Mac version, which is why decided to offer full refunds. Once again, I apologize.”
The other problem is that they launched the game prior to updating it with some important performance fixes. This meant that even if you had hardware that met the mystery requirements, you probably encountered serious problems anyway. These particular issues appear to have been resolved at this point, but were a huge hassle for gamers who bought the game prior to the update.
If the whole debacle sounds familiar, it’s because Batman: Arkham Knight was in the infamy spotlight just a few days ago, thanks to performance problems so awful that it, too, had to be pulled from store shelves. Warner Brothers has been scrambling to assure gamers that it will fix the game, just as Square Enix is doing now. Given the money we shell out for high-end videogames, near-perfection seems about the lowest a game should be when it launches, performance-wise.
If you choose the full refund, you can take the game back to the store from which you bought it. If you bought it online, you can fill out a form to get the refund. Square Enix also linked to this form, which you can fill out if you have any trouble getting your refund. That’s some welcome customer service, actually, and it suggests that Square Enix is serious about getting refunds to customers who want them.
Yoshida ended the post with a lengthy, but interesting explanation of the difficulties faced by companies that want to port to Mac, as well as why chose middleware over native OpenGL. He also pointed out that the game is still expected to make a return – once the company has gotten its ducks in a row.
Yoshida discussed two major problems that plagued the game’s launch and apologized for both. One issue was that the company provided incorrect system requirements.
“Because of this situation, many of you purchased a product which your Mac hardware could not run at even the minimum system requirements, resulting in insufficient performance, for which many of you have expressed your dissatisfaction,” Yoshida said in the post. “Had we provided accurate information beforehand, I know many of you would not have purchased the Mac version, which is why decided to offer full refunds. Once again, I apologize.”
The other problem is that they launched the game prior to updating it with some important performance fixes. This meant that even if you had hardware that met the mystery requirements, you probably encountered serious problems anyway. These particular issues appear to have been resolved at this point, but were a huge hassle for gamers who bought the game prior to the update.
If the whole debacle sounds familiar, it’s because Batman: Arkham Knight was in the infamy spotlight just a few days ago, thanks to performance problems so awful that it, too, had to be pulled from store shelves. Warner Brothers has been scrambling to assure gamers that it will fix the game, just as Square Enix is doing now. Given the money we shell out for high-end videogames, near-perfection seems about the lowest a game should be when it launches, performance-wise.
If you choose the full refund, you can take the game back to the store from which you bought it. If you bought it online, you can fill out a form to get the refund. Square Enix also linked to this form, which you can fill out if you have any trouble getting your refund. That’s some welcome customer service, actually, and it suggests that Square Enix is serious about getting refunds to customers who want them.
Yoshida ended the post with a lengthy, but interesting explanation of the difficulties faced by companies that want to port to Mac, as well as why chose middleware over native OpenGL. He also pointed out that the game is still expected to make a return – once the company has gotten its ducks in a row.
