The Mac version of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was launched on June 23 to coincide with the release of Heavensward, the latest expansion for the game. But in the weeks since then, there has been a steady stream of complaints regarding the game’s performance on Apple computers. Now, it is no longer available for the platform while it hopefully gets reworked.
Related reading: Matt’s review of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn on PlayStation 4.
In a post on the Square Enix forums, FF XIV’s producer/director Naoki Yoshida addressed the issues head-on. In addition to listing how to get a refund if someone so desires, he said what he believes what went wrong with the release: specifically, the needed system requirements communicated with consumers were incorrect and far lower than they should have been, resulting in poor performance.
Yoshida also mentioned that the perception of Apple users is that they are not interested in games (so wrong, we’re just not interested in poorly-functioning ports!) is why the development team went with a lower-cost option:
“With regards to our decision to use middleware rather than having native OpenGL, the biggest reason behind this choice was development cost. As I mentioned earlier, very few games are sold for Mac systems, and the prevailing opinion is that the majority of Mac users aren’t interested in games. This results in an extremely high risk for development.”
“The mistakes made by the development and operation teams in the lead up to this release have caused considerable confusion and trouble. To our customers who eagerly anticipate purchasing, or who have already ordered, their copy of the Mac version of FINAL FANTASY XIV, and to all of our distributors, we offer our deepest and most heartfelt apologies.
“We aim to recommence sales of the Mac version as soon as we are satisfied that the product information and system requirements are properly prepared.
“And to those players who are already playing the Mac version in the required system environment, we deeply apologize for the ongoing inconveniences.
“We will continue to do our utmost to ensure that, no matter the version, FINAL FANTASY XIV is a game that deserves your time and support. With Batman: Arkham Knight’s PC port also being yanked from stores, let’s hope this isn’t the start of an alarming trend of games being released before they are ready.”
– Lindsay M.
News Editor
