The studio behind one of the biggest online video games in the world has launched a new data centre in Australia to support millions of local players.
Aussie gamers are often left behind when online games take off but this time game developers have taken notice and thrown players in the Oceania region a virtual bone.
Square Enix, the studio responsible for Final Fantasy XIV Online, has just opened a new facility to address the game’s rapidly expanding player growth.
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9News spoke with the game’s director and veteran producer, Naoki Yoshida-San, to find out why Australia was chosen as the new home for a first-of-its-kind data facility.
“Since the launch of FFXIV: A Realm Reborn in 2013, we’ve had a large number of very dedicated players and a growing user base in the region who have given us feedback over the years,” he said.
“It was for this reason that we decided to take on this challenge, which would be a first for us in Square Enix, and establish a local data centre.
“It’s all thanks to the passionate requests from our players who have waited patiently for this moment.”
Mr Yoshida-San, or Yoshi-P as he’s commonly known, is an icon of the Japanese games industry and is primarily known for his work on the Final Fantasy series.
Opening a new data centre in another country is not something any online gaming studio takes lightly. Mr Yoshida-San told 9News the initial setup cost for a new data centre, while not disclosing the exact figure, is “enormous”.
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“Not only that, but the monthly running costs are also significant, so the question of whether it will be profitable or not poses a very considerable risk,” he said.
“If we simply add more data centres without giving it much thought, it could threaten the entire business and may even shorten the game’s lifespan.
“However, the amount of enthusiastic feedback we received over the years surpasses that risk, and in Square Enix we are determined to support this new data centre on a long-term basis.
“I hope that gamers in the Oceania region who had to stop or refrain from playing due to network latency issues will also make the most of this opportunity and play to their hearts’ content.”
The exact location of the new data centre will remain a secret, Square Enix say this to protect its players.
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What is a Data Centre and how does it work?
A data centre is a physical facility, usually a building or space within a building, dedicated to housing extreme computer loads – namely servers.
These servers allow more players to connect from around the world, and if those players are located closer to the data centre they’ll experience faster loading times and fewer interruptions while gaming.
Previously gamers playing Final Fantasy online would need to rely on deep sea cables to transfer data from North America to Australian shores.
Square Enix’s new Australian data centre is the first of its kind in the country and also promises to support New Zealand and other countries in the Oceania region.
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The new data centre brings with it five new realms, or “worlds”. Previously players were restricted to Japanese and North American servers.
Globally, there are more than 25 million registered Final Fantasy XIV online players, a strong portion from Australia and New Zealand.
At last year’s Game Awards Final Fantasy XIV took out two major awards; Best Ongoing Game and Best Community Support.
Mr Yoshida-San says he hopes this new data centre will create a stronger local community.
“In the past, players had to access the game with data travelling via submarine cables to very distant data centres, and this resulted in poor latency and extremely common cases of packet loss.” He said.
“The purpose of this newly established data centre is to provide a smooth playing environment for all our adventurers and warriors of light in the Oceania region.”
When asked why Australia was chosen to host the new data centre over other countries, Mr Yoshida-San says Aussie players simply made the most noise, so to speak.
“The community is very frank and very passionate. I went to Australia once to meet the players, and although the community was not very big at that time, they were all so enthusiastic and supportive. From that point on, players called their friends over,” he said.
“The growth in the community and active participation in activities of the players led us to where we are now. More than anything, I believe that the establishment of our new data centre was the result of the immense passion shared by the community.”
Mr Yoshida-San’s message to FFXIV players, new and old, is simply “thank you”.
“Thank you so much for your patience all this time. It has already been two years since we made the decision to set up the data centre, and we are very happy to finally be able to provide this playing environment for you,” he said, thanking current players and encouraging new players to come back and former players to return.
Launching alongside the latest patch, the Oceania data centre for Final Fantasy XIV will be accessible from January 26.
Source: 9NEWS