Balancing Cultures and Platforms Balancing Cultures and Platforms in in SQUARE ENIX Sage Sundi March...

Balancing Cultures and PlatformsBalancing Cultures and Platforms　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 inin

SQUARE ENIXSage Sundi

March 23, 2006

Provide diverse yet conceptually unified contents to the user via multiple platforms

Users Individual Content

Single Platform

UsersDiverse Content

(Unified Concept)

Multi-Platform and Multi-Region

Varied MediaEtc.

Polymorphic ContentPolymorphic Content and Cross-Platform Strategy and Cross-Platform Strategy

Polymorphic Content ExamplePolymorphic Content Example

©2002-2006 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.Title Design by Yoshitaka Amano

As a Polymorphic MMORPG, As a Polymorphic MMORPG, the FINAL FANTASY XI service the FINAL FANTASY XI service offers...offers... Universal servers connecting the PlayStation®2

and Windows® platforms, and the Xbox 360™ as of April 2006

Equal quality of service across all platforms People around the world can connect with each

other on the same servers Simultaneous version updates in all regions

FINAL FANTASY XI Operation PolicyFINAL FANTASY XI Operation Policy

MMORPG Operation

Development, Technology, Facilities Global Operation

Cross-Platform Cross-Cultural Service Management

Acquire New Users Retain Current Users

MMORPG Operation




Acquire New Users Retain Current Users

Cross-PlatformCross-Platform

Broaden the user base Cater to a wide variety of clients

Use PlayOnline™ to provide a universal platform environment for both users and developers

Reduce operation costs (data center and connection fees) through the use of universal servers

Equal quality of service across all platforms All hardware specifications are taken into account during

development

PlayOnline :PlayOnline : Cross-Platform Support Technology Cross-Platform Support Technology

Clients

Cross-Platform as a given conceptUnified, standard system specsSingle login point

Game

Universal Platform ： PlayOnline

Game Game

WorldServers

LobbyServers

All users worldwide

Back-End

Game ServersWorld 01 World 02

DB FileServer

LogServer

...

Cross-Platform Example : Cross-Platform Example : FINAL FANTASY XI Server ConfigurationFINAL FANTASY XI Server Configuration

WorldServers

PlayOnlinePlayOnlineIDID

Billing & Billing & AuthenticationAuthentication

PlayOnlinePlayOnlineFriend ListFriend ListCommunication Communication

ToolsTools

PlayOnline ViewerPlayOnline ViewerGame Launcher / Chat / Mail / BrowserGame Launcher / Chat / Mail / Browser

All Cross-PlatformAll Cross-Platform

PlayOnline API

PlayOnline : Brief OverviewPlayOnline : Brief Overview

GameGamePlayOnline-CompatiblePlayOnline-Compatible

TitleTitle

PlayOnline : Patch SystemsPlayOnline : Patch Systems

File A (Ver.1)

File B (Ver.1)

File A (Ver.2)

File B (Ver.1)

File C (Ver.2)

Ver.1 Ver.2

File A (Ver.2)

File C (Ver.2)

Diff

File A (Ver.2)

File C (Ver.2)

Patch : Compressed diff

Download via Internet

Updates performed only as necessary and on a file-by-file basisMakes low-speed connections viableDownload size is constantly kept at a minimum

Clients

PlayOnline : Development AdvantagesPlayOnline : Development Advantages

Client-side implementation kept simple Development costs kept down by using various APIs Game UI (User Interface) not necessary to log in to the PlayOnline

Viewer, so long as the user has a valid ID/Password System developed to meet the demands of specific titles Billing methods designed from a global perspective.

GameGameUserUser

JPUSEU

Billing

Tools

Subscription

IDPASS

GameGame

POL Function

POL Function

API

PlayOnline : User AdvantagesPlayOnline : User Advantages

PlayOnline Universal ID Basic cross-platform communication tools

Friend List Launcher, Mail, Chat, Browser, etc. All of the above bundled into one application

All PlayOnline-compatible titles connected through a single communication interface

(Universal ID)PlayStation2

Xbox360

PC

WebGame Launcher / Chat / Mail / Browser etc.

FriendlistFriendlist

Game

GameGame

MMORPG Operation




Acquire New UsersRetain Current Users

Cross-Cultural Service ManagementCross-Cultural Service Management

Connection via Internet A world without borders A world within everyone’s reach A world of cultural harmony

Network ＝ Cross-Culture

Elements of “Cross-Cultural” ServiceElements of “Cross-Cultural” Service

All players share and enjoy the same worlds via universal servers Consideration of various regional policies and cultural differences Facilitation of multilingual player support (in-game, news, telephone

support, etc.) Designed for smooth operation even via narrowband access In-game translation system facilitates international exchange Simultaneous release of contents worldwide All users receive equal quality of service

Cross-Cultural Service Management :Cross-Cultural Service Management : Global Operation Global Operation Unified, singular customer service Globalized GM / CS / OCR / Tools / NOC support

(Japanese / English / German / French / Chinese) 24/7/365 telephone and chat systems ensure

around-the-clock communication and support Centralization of service reports

(This is an especially challenging task) Service organized to cover all time zones User events held all territories

FINAL FANTASY XI : Access ChangesFINAL FANTASY XI : Access Changes

Japan

North America

Europe

Total Access (Daily)

Line and equipment costs are cut down to 33% through efficient time-sharing

There is little to no variance in access patterns between the different World servers

All day and all night, our servers are constantly bustling with users

FINAL FANTASY XI : User StatisticsFINAL FANTASY XI : User Statistics

Over 500,000 active subscribers(Average monthly change in subscriber numbers: +/- 1%)

More than 1.6 million individual active player characters

Japan: 55% / PS2 to Windows user ratio = 2:1(Approximately 3 player characters per user on average)

US & EU: 45% / PS2 to Windows user ratio = 1:2(Approximately 1.4 player characters per user on average)

(as of July 2005)

FINAL FANTASY XI : Active UsersFINAL FANTASY XI : Active Users

Unique user logins : 200,000 to 300,000 daily(On August 28th, 274,381 unique logins were recorded)

Recent maximum number of concurrent connections166,893 (recorded May 15th) , average is 130,000 to 150,000 Version upgrade releases see as many as 194,418 (July 24th)

MMORPG Operation




Acquire New UsersRetain Current Users

Retention

MMORPG Operation :MMORPG Operation : Online Games vs. Offline GamesOnline Games vs. Offline Games

TrialUser

PayingUser

BetaTester

RegularUser

Online game management calls for development, web presence, and in-game support to be delivered as a single “customer service” package to our users in a timely and efficient manner.

We continue to meet user expectations We continue to offer constant, reliable service We have everything in place at the START of our beta tests

Operation (NOC)

MMORPG Operation :MMORPG Operation : Cooperative Structure Cooperative Structure

Game

Content and billing system development, marketing, management, and customer service are all unified under a single cooperative structure

Marketing CommunityManagement

DevelopmentRetention

The Ideal Online CommunityThe Ideal Online Community

Volunteer

Organized User

General User

Offline Gamer

Effects transmitted“downstream”

Community TrendsUser Viewpoint


The greater community is composed of many smaller communities

Guilds Fansites Parties Friend List(s)

etc.


The movement and “spearhead” of each smaller community in turn affects the overall greater community

Community ManagementCommunity Management

Liaising with community sites (premium fansites, smaller-scale fansites, etc.)

Planning and running in-game events Creating communication channels between users

and the development team (iGames, Fan Festival, etc.)

FINAL FANTASY XI :FINAL FANTASY XI : FAN FESTIVAL 2006FAN FESTIVAL 2006

Both teams have their own 3-tier ranking systems The NOC (Network Operations Center) team maintains a

24/7/365 watch over all online services The GM team operates in 3 shifts, 24/ 7/ 365

Both teams liaise with the development team in creating management toolsets All account management unified over a single ID GM tools, GM commands, and the game servers are in constant

connection GMs require in-game avatars Effective use of knowledge bases Protection of customer’s personal information

Operation (NOC) :Operation (NOC) : GM & CSR teamsGM & CSR teams

Game DevelopmentGame Development

Periodic version updates Through our continuous update process, we are able to

introduce system changes, new items, new characters, new quests, and persist in our effort to lighten the data load on our users

Continuous system improvements are also being implemented

Ability to adapt to fluctuating back-end loads We are constantly striving to create entirely new game

server technology, concepts, and improvements

FINAL FANTASY XI : FINAL FANTASY XI : Development Plans Development Plans Expansion pack development

Providing large amounts of additional data (maps, streaming music, etc.) via disc is our preferred means of distribution

Next expansion pack:Planned ship & release date: Shipped on Tuesday, April 18th 2006 (U.S.) Released on Thursday, April 20th 2006 (Japan & EU)

New platformsFINAL FANTASY XI, Xbox 360 versionPlanned ship & release date: Shipped on Tuesday, April 18th 2006 (U.S.) Released on Thursday, April 20th 2006 (Japan & EU)

With the periodic version updates, we will begin research and development on next generation MMORPG technology.

Development :Development : Next Generation MMORPG Next Generation MMORPG

Thank you for your kind attention.

FINAL FANTASY, PlayOnline, SQUARE ENIX and TREASURES OF AHT URHGAN

are trademarks or registered trademarks of Square Enix Co., Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Balancing Cultures and Platforms Balancing Cultures and Platforms in in SQUARE ENIX Sage Sundi March...

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