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The Mog Log: Far too much accountability
Sometimes, it's really hard to figure out what in the world Square-Enix is thinking. I don't really make a habit of defending Square on principle; I defend stuff that's defensible in the first place. There are decisions that might seem odd, but they make logical sense and can actually be defended in the correct light. That's mostly a function of trying to see a reasonable set of decisions and reasonable motivations amidst what can sometimes seem baffling. It's not always an easy road. And then there are times when I can't even start to decipher what in the world anyone in the management train was thinking. Even when I do decipher the thought process that led to the action, it's the sort of thing that leads to some mixture of bafflement and irritation at the overall lack of thinking. That's my reaction when I look at the whole Square-Enix Account merger fiasco for Final Fantasy XI -- something that could have been a great idea but wound up just being an overall terrible execution.
Final Fantasy XI to merge PlayOnline accounts with Square-Enix accounts
For a long time now, PlayOnline has been the albatross that Final Fantasy XI players have to contend with. The fact that the service essentially serves as an oversized launcher for the game has long been a point of mild frustration to console gamers and a massive annoyance to PC players. But change is coming in the form of an upcoming account merge, merging all PlayOnline IDs into Square-Enix accounts and removing the cumbersome launcher-based process for handling service changes. The change will begin rolling out at the end of July and will run until August 31st, giving players ample opportunity to complete the transfer process and manage accounts solely through the website. While a full walkthrough is not yet available, preliminary questions have already been answered in an official support topic. Final Fantasy XI will still need to launch through the PlayOnline service, but it should be a boon to players to have at least one less set of account credentials to misplace.
