Quote:
The Anime Expo 2007, which took place this past weekend at the Long Beach Convention Center in California, brought not only a host of FFXI activities but the exciting release of the Final Fantasy XI Starter Pack for Windows. We were fortunate enough to get more information about the Starter Pack from Yasu Kurosawa, North American Online Producer:
Allakhazam.com: The decision to make this starter pack is quite a jump; especially considering the price ($3.99). What influenced your decision to do this?
Yasu Kurosawa: We wanted to make the first step into FINAL FANTASY XI easier. We would like to welcome people who are familiar with other Final Fantasy titles and have yet to try FINAL FANTASY XI, people who play other MMOs, and even more types of new people.
Allakhazam.com: A concern for lack of publicity has repeatedly come up within the Allakhazam.com community, what type of marketing will we see for the starter pack and where will potential new players be able to purchase it?
Yasu Kurosawa: We are planning to have FINAL FANTASY XI Starter Pack available at places that you wouldn’t normally expect to see it. We are very excited to reach out to these new gamers!
Allakhazam.com: Is there a JP version? Will you have an EU version of the starter pack available?
Yasu Kurosawa: The Japanese version recently debuted at the Square Enix Party in May and is currently on sale from SOURCENEXT. Details of the EU starter pack will be announced shortly.
Allakhazam.com: Do you intend to release similar packs for each expansion, perhaps with a shorter trial period?
Yasu Kurosawa: A unique feature of the FINAL FANTASY XI Starter Pack is the fact that you can install all currently available expansion packs from the DVD. All you need to do to experience the expansion pack content is to obtain registration codes for each pack. In Japan, we recently started making expansion pack registration codes available for purchase via PlayOnline. We are currently planning a similar plan for other regions as well. Vana’diel Collection 2007 will continue to be available at retail stores for an economical way to enjoy all of the expansion packs.
Allakhazam.com: Is the starter pack Windows Vista compatible?
Yasu Kurosawa: Yes, it is. The Windows Vista version of the PlayOnline software was used in the creation of the Starter Pack.
Allakhazam.com: Do you expect the introduction of this starter pack to make a significant impact?
Yasu Kurosawa: With the low price point we are hoping to reach a wider variety of people than ever and introduce to them to just how exciting the world of Vana’diel is.
Allakhazam.com: A common question posed by new players on the Allakhazam.com community is what server they should go to. Would Square Enix ever consider releasing statistics on each server so that new players can determine where they should begin their life in Vana'diel? If not, can this be included in your next Vana'diel census?
Yasu Kurosawa: We have no plans of releasing the numbers related to World population, but we can say that currently there are 32 Worlds and our players are nearly-equally spread.
Officially, there are no differences between servers and the player’s experience should be the same. We feel that it’s better to ask fellow Allakhazam.com forum members about a specific server’s pros and cons. If someone’s friends or colleagues are already playing, they might want to choose the server they are on to start their adventure. For our current players, it’s always a good idea to research where they would like to settle down before using the World Transfer service.
Allakhazam.com: The decision to make this starter pack is quite a jump; especially considering the price ($3.99). What influenced your decision to do this?
Yasu Kurosawa: We wanted to make the first step into FINAL FANTASY XI easier. We would like to welcome people who are familiar with other Final Fantasy titles and have yet to try FINAL FANTASY XI, people who play other MMOs, and even more types of new people.
Allakhazam.com: A concern for lack of publicity has repeatedly come up within the Allakhazam.com community, what type of marketing will we see for the starter pack and where will potential new players be able to purchase it?
Yasu Kurosawa: We are planning to have FINAL FANTASY XI Starter Pack available at places that you wouldn’t normally expect to see it. We are very excited to reach out to these new gamers!
Allakhazam.com: Is there a JP version? Will you have an EU version of the starter pack available?
Yasu Kurosawa: The Japanese version recently debuted at the Square Enix Party in May and is currently on sale from SOURCENEXT. Details of the EU starter pack will be announced shortly.
Allakhazam.com: Do you intend to release similar packs for each expansion, perhaps with a shorter trial period?
Yasu Kurosawa: A unique feature of the FINAL FANTASY XI Starter Pack is the fact that you can install all currently available expansion packs from the DVD. All you need to do to experience the expansion pack content is to obtain registration codes for each pack. In Japan, we recently started making expansion pack registration codes available for purchase via PlayOnline. We are currently planning a similar plan for other regions as well. Vana’diel Collection 2007 will continue to be available at retail stores for an economical way to enjoy all of the expansion packs.
Allakhazam.com: Is the starter pack Windows Vista compatible?
Yasu Kurosawa: Yes, it is. The Windows Vista version of the PlayOnline software was used in the creation of the Starter Pack.
Allakhazam.com: Do you expect the introduction of this starter pack to make a significant impact?
Yasu Kurosawa: With the low price point we are hoping to reach a wider variety of people than ever and introduce to them to just how exciting the world of Vana’diel is.
Allakhazam.com: A common question posed by new players on the Allakhazam.com community is what server they should go to. Would Square Enix ever consider releasing statistics on each server so that new players can determine where they should begin their life in Vana'diel? If not, can this be included in your next Vana'diel census?
Yasu Kurosawa: We have no plans of releasing the numbers related to World population, but we can say that currently there are 32 Worlds and our players are nearly-equally spread.
Officially, there are no differences between servers and the player’s experience should be the same. We feel that it’s better to ask fellow Allakhazam.com forum members about a specific server’s pros and cons. If someone’s friends or colleagues are already playing, they might want to choose the server they are on to start their adventure. For our current players, it’s always a good idea to research where they would like to settle down before using the World Transfer service.
Obviously I'm totally
ing about that last answer. Or maybe I meant 
. 
Edited, Jul 4th 2007 6:15am by Pikko
