GDC 2014: Final Fantasy XIV's Naoki Yoshida explains what tanked it and what saved it

There are many theories about what contributed to the spectacular crash-and-burn of the original Final Fantasy XIV, but perhaps the most insightful is the one from current Executive Producer Naoki Yoshida, who pinpointed the critical flaws that proved Square Enix's undoing.

At GDC this week, Yoshida said that the team had an "unhealthy obsession" with graphical fidelity above anything else and was stuck in the development mindset of Final Fantasy XI even as the genre had progressed. He said that A Realm Reborn's saving grace was the team's effort to establish an "optimal design flow" allowing for a rapid overhaul of the title.

It's also notable that Final Fantasy XIV has a new dev diary out today covering new gear and visual customizations called glamours that are coming with Patch 2.2.