Players of Final Fantasy XI are unlikely to be happy about the fact that the game has moved into maintenance mode for the future, with new clients and spinoff titles planned for further development. But it can be helpful to at least understand why the change happened. A translation of producer Akihiko Matsui’s answers to fan questions has been made available on the official forums, offering an in-depth explanation for the shift.
Matsui explains that the game’s original coding as a PlayStation 2 game has made development hardware increasingly difficult to procure and maintain, and as the years have gone on it has become necessary to alter the game’s operations based upon revenue. In short, developing on the obsolete console is no longer possible, and the game just doesn’t have the budget to justify a wholesale switch. The producer goes on to answer other fan questions regarding changes, including easing content restrictions and maintaining the subscription model.
[Source: Freshly Picked Vana’diel]
