Square Enix reveals that FFXIV 1.0 had one last cruel parting gift

I was there…3000 years ago

Yesterday, Final Fantasy XIV head Naoki “Yoshi P” Yoshida shared some updates for the ongoing issue with server congestion, providing short and long-term solutions on the path to alleviating the problem. But buried in that giant wall of text was something I never would have considered: a reference to FFXIV 1.0.

For the uninitiated, FFXIV 1.0 was an unmitigated disaster, to the point where Square Enix opted to blow the entire thing up and create “A Realm Reborn.” The MMO that’s breaking sales records, the one we know and love today, was born out of a lesser game; to the point where saving a project is now known as the “Realm Reborn treatment.” I was there, at E3, and tested the pre-release version of FFXIV 1.0, and can attest to the horror. But without further ado, here’s the passage from the update:

“In regards to Error 2002 that occurs during login queues, outside of causes related to unstable connections, we have confirmed a bug. This bug was part of a login-related program created back in FFXIV version 1.0, and thanks to the reports and tests carried out by many of our players, we were able to identify the cause of the problem. We apologize for not being able to identify the issue on our end and thank you all for submitting detailed reports regarding this matter.”

1.0: you’re even terrorizing us from the grave!

What’s really interesting about this revelation is that after this is fixed, it will likely be the last vestige of 1.0 that’s been scrubbed from the game. I just appreciate all of the communication from Yoshida and company, really. It’s going a long way, especially in an era where the norm for a lot of bigger game companies is total silence.