Oh Square, you big silly. First you released a game that was buggy and broken. Then you went and fixed it. Now you made it so good you can't handle the server load. You big silly you. That's right folks, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is not out of the woods yet.

The game's lead producer Naoki Yoshida has done the typically Japnese thing (Bushido and all that) and thrown his hands in the air, admitting quite bluntly that they fucked up and taking the entire blame on himself. It seems he had been hoping for a modest core playerbase, at launch, that would spread the word of the vast improvements slowly, leading to a steady trickle of new faces. Instead, they were overrun like a bacon factory next to a cat nursery that just lost a wall because a tree fell on it.

Mm, bacon. I wonder if chocobo tastes like bacon...but I digress.

"The fact that we had to implement these restrictions is a direct result of my inaccurate sales and login estimates, and as producer, I must accept complete responsibility for this misstep. Each and every player who has been affected has my deepest apologies."

The retsrictions in question are something which my personal Twitter feed has been going absolutely mental about for the better part of a week now. To ensure that the servers are not taken offline completely, they have instigated a blanket login limit, without so much as a "slot available in " in sight. So as to ensure that they, the chosen, the glorious few, who do make it all the way in game will have as smooth an experience as possible.

A bold move, but also a logical one. As frustrating as it must be for those unable to experience the game thus far, it bodes well in a sense. The vocal backlash speaks, literally, volumes about the popularity of the newly re-launched game, and the decision to sacrifice player satisfaction in favour of, uhm, playing player satisfaction(?) sets a precedent for continued focus on quality over quantity. And, of course, the extended play time for everyone affected (ie everyone) shows a commitment to...player satisfaction.

All in all, I advise we look on this as a very good sign. A shaky start, but one extremely well grounded for vast improvements in the (not too distant) future. I might even pick it up myself, come to think of it. Though not until the server load tolerance has been greatly expanded.