Balancing Cultures and Platforms
in
SQUARE ENIX
Sage Sundi
March 23, 2006
Polymorphic Content
and Cross-Platform Strategy
Users
Single Platform
Multi-Platform and
Multi-Region
Users
Varied Media
Etc.
Individual
Content
Diverse
Content
(Unified Concept)
Provide diverse yet conceptually unified contents
to the user via multiple platforms
Polymorphic Content Example
©2002-2006 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.
Title Design by Yoshitaka Amano
As a Polymorphic MMORPG,
the FINAL FANTASY XI service offers...
Universal servers connecting the PlayStation®2
and Windows® platforms, and the Xbox 360™ as
of April 2006
 Equal quality of service across all platforms
 People around the world can connect with each
other on the same servers
 Simultaneous version updates in all regions

FINAL FANTASY XI Operation Policy
MMORPG Operation
Acquire New Users
Retain Current Users
Cross-Platform
Cross-Cultural Service
Management
Development, Technology, Facilities
 Global Operation

FINAL FANTASY XI Operation Policy
MMORPG Operation
Acquire New Users
Retain Current Users
Cross-Platform
Cross-Cultural Service
Management
Development, Technology, Facilities
 Global Operation

Cross-Platform

Broaden the user base

Cater to a wide variety of clients
Use PlayOnline™ to provide a universal platform
environment for both users and developers
 Reduce operation costs (data center and connection
fees) through the use of universal servers
 Equal quality of service across all platforms


All hardware specifications are taken into account during
development
PlayOnline :
Cross-Platform Support Technology
Cross-Platform
as a given concept
Unified, standard
Single
system specs
login point
Game
Game
Game
Universal Platform：PlayOnline
Clients
Cross-Platform Example :
FINAL FANTASY XI Server Configuration
Back-End
DB
Game Servers
Lobby
Servers
File
Server
World 01
World
Servers
All users worldwide
Log
Server
World 02
World
Servers
...
PlayOnline : Brief Overview
PlayOnline
Friend List
Game
PlayOnline-Compatible
Title
Communication
Tools
PlayOnline
ID
Billing &
Authentication
PlayOnline API
PlayOnline Viewer
Game Launcher / Chat / Mail / Browser
All Cross-Platform
PlayOnline : Patch Systems
Updates performed only as necessary and on a file-by-file basis
Makes
low-speed connections viable
Download size is constantly kept at a minimum
Ver.1
Ver.2
Diff
File A (Ver.1)
File A (Ver.2)
File A (Ver.2)
File B (Ver.1)
File B (Ver.1)
File C (Ver.2)
File C (Ver.2)
Patch : Compressed diff
File A (Ver.2)
Download via Internet
Clients
File C (Ver.2)
PlayOnline : Development Advantages

Client-side implementation kept simple




Development costs kept down by using various APIs
Game UI (User Interface) not necessary to log in to the PlayOnline
Viewer, so long as the user has a valid ID/Password
System developed to meet the demands of specific titles
Billing methods designed from a global perspective.
User
Game
JP
US
EU
POL Function
Billing
ID
PASS
Tools
Subscription
API
POL Function
Game
PlayOnline : User Advantages


PlayOnline Universal ID
Basic cross-platform communication tools




Friend List
Launcher, Mail, Chat, Browser, etc.
All of the above bundled into one application
All PlayOnline-compatible titles connected through a single
communication interface
PlayStation2
(Universal ID)
Game
Game
PC
Friendlist
Xbox360
Game
Game Launcher / Chat / Mail / Browser etc.
Web
FINAL FANTASY XI Operation Policy
MMORPG Operation
Acquire New Users
Retain Current Users
Cross-Platform
Cross-Cultural Service
Management
Development, Technology, Facilities
 Global Operation

Cross-Cultural Service Management
 Connection via Internet
 A world
without borders
 A world within everyone’s reach
 A world of cultural harmony
Network＝Cross-Culture
Elements of “Cross-Cultural” Service

All players share and enjoy the same worlds via universal
servers






Consideration of various regional policies and cultural differences
Facilitation of multilingual player support (in-game, news, telephone
support, etc.)
Designed for smooth operation even via narrowband access
In-game translation system facilitates international exchange
Simultaneous release of contents worldwide
All users receive equal quality of service
Cross-Cultural Service Management :
Global Operation
Unified, singular customer service
 Globalized GM / CS / OCR / Tools / NOC support

(Japanese / English / German / French / Chinese)
24/7/365 telephone and chat systems ensure
around-the-clock communication and support
 Centralization of service reports

(This is an especially challenging task)
Service organized to cover all time zones
 User events held all territories

FINAL FANTASY XI : Access Changes
Japan
Total Access (Daily)
North America

Europe


Line and equipment costs are cut
down to 33% through efficient timesharing
There is little to no variance in
access patterns between the
different World servers
All day and all night, our servers are
constantly bustling with users
FINAL FANTASY XI : User Statistics

Over 500,000 active subscribers
(Average monthly change in subscriber numbers: +/- 1%)

More than 1.6 million individual active player
characters

Japan: 55% / PS2 to Windows user ratio = 2:1
(Approximately 3 player characters per user on average)

US & EU: 45% / PS2 to Windows user ratio = 1:2
(Approximately 1.4 player characters per user on average)
(as of July 2005)
FINAL FANTASY XI : Active Users

Unique user logins : 200,000 to 300,000 daily
(On August 28th, 274,381 unique logins were recorded)

Recent maximum number of concurrent connections
166,893 (recorded May 15th) , average is 130,000 to 150,000
 Version upgrade releases see as many as 194,418 (July
24th)
FINAL FANTASY XI Operation Policy
MMORPG Operation
Acquire New Users
Retain Current Users
Cross-Platform
Cross-Cultural Service
Management
Development, Technology, Facilities
 Global Operation

MMORPG Operation :
Online Games vs. Offline Games
Online game management calls for development, web
presence, and in-game support to be delivered as a single
“customer service” package to our users in a timely and
efficient manner.
Retention
Beta
Tester



Trial
User
Paying
User
Regular
User
We continue to meet user expectations
We continue to offer constant, reliable service
We have everything in place at the START of our beta tests
MMORPG Operation :
Cooperative Structure
Operation (NOC)
Marketing
Game
Community
Management
Development
Retention
Content and billing system development, marketing, management, and customer
service are all unified under a single cooperative structure
The Ideal Online Community
Volunteer
Community Trends
User Viewpoint
Organized User
General User
Offline Gamer
Effects transmitted
“downstream”
The Ideal Online Community
The greater community is
composed of many smaller
communities
Guilds
 Fansites
 Parties
 Friend List(s)
etc.

The Ideal Online Community
The movement and
“spearhead” of each smaller
community in turn affects the
overall greater community
Community Management
Liaising with community sites (premium fansites,
smaller-scale fansites, etc.)
 Planning and running in-game events
 Creating communication channels between users
and the development team (iGames, Fan Festival,
etc.)

FINAL FANTASY XI :
FAN FESTIVAL 2006
Operation (NOC) :
GM & CSR teams


Both teams have their own 3-tier ranking systems
The NOC (Network Operations Center) team maintains a
24/7/365 watch over all online services


The GM team operates in 3 shifts, 24/ 7/ 365
Both teams liaise with the development team in creating
management toolsets





All account management unified over a single ID
GM tools, GM commands, and the game servers are in constant
connection
GMs require in-game avatars
Effective use of knowledge bases
Protection of customer’s personal information
Game Development

Periodic version updates
Through our continuous update process, we are able to
introduce system changes, new items, new characters,
new quests, and persist in our effort to lighten the data
load on our users
 Continuous system improvements are also being
implemented
 Ability to adapt to fluctuating back-end loads
 We are constantly striving to create entirely new game
server technology, concepts, and improvements

FINAL FANTASY XI :
Development Plans

Expansion pack development


Providing large amounts of additional data (maps, streaming music,
etc.) via disc is our preferred means of distribution
Next expansion pack:
Planned ship & release date:
Shipped on Tuesday, April 18th 2006 (U.S.)
Released on Thursday, April 20th 2006 (Japan & EU)

New platforms
FINAL FANTASY XI, Xbox 360 version
Planned ship & release date:
Shipped on Tuesday, April 18th 2006 (U.S.)
Released on Thursday, April 20th 2006 (Japan & EU)
FINAL FANTASY XI :
Treasures of Aht Urhgan
Special movie
©2002-2006 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.
Development :
Next Generation MMORPG
With the periodic version updates, we will begin research and
development on next generation MMORPG technology.
Thank you for your kind attention.
FINAL FANTASY, PlayOnline, SQUARE ENIX and TREASURES OF AHT URHGAN
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Square Enix Co., Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.