The 4th Vana'diel Census (05/14/2004)

Census Top

May 16, 2004 marks the second anniversary of FINAL FANTASY XI's Japanese launch. We have carried out our fourth "Vana'diel Census" especially for this anniversary, and we have analyzed our community in detail as it has grown to be the largest of its kind in the world. With over 100 servers supporting more than 30 game Worlds, compiling the data below was unimaginably difficult; not only did it pose a challenge to the network programmers down in the trenches, but also to our Online Community Relations (OCR) analysis team as they raced against the clock for days at a stretch. Finally, we compiled our statistics for presentation, so let's take a dynamic look at our community in profile.

But before we delve into our analysis, let's first discuss the scale and direction of our community. As indicated in the chart below, the number of active FINAL FANTASY XI players (or, the number of paying customers with at least one character) has topped 500,000. Among similarly priced Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) and Persistent State World (PSW) titles - which at this level are centered on North America - a number this high means we could claim the title of world's most populated game. However, when people talk about the number of subscribers for an MMORPG, it's generally unclear if the figure includes the users from a free trial period, or the number of users that once held but have since canceled their accounts. When we refer to our base of FINAL FANTASY XI players, we take neither of those figures into account. We have actually broken through the 500,000 mark for paying customers with at least one character.

May 16, 2004 marks the second anniversary of FINAL FANTASY XI's Japanese launch. We have carried out our fourth "Vana'diel Census" especially for this anniversary, and we have analyzed our community in detail as it has grown to be the largest of its kind in the world. With over 100 servers supporting more than 30 game Worlds, compiling the data below was unimaginably difficult; not only did it pose a challenge to the network programmers down in the trenches, but also to our Online Community Relations (OCR) analysis team as they raced against the clock for days at a stretch. Finally, we compiled our statistics for presentation, so let's take a dynamic look at our community in profile. But before we delve into our analysis, let's first discuss the scale and direction of our community. As indicated in the chart below, the number of active FINAL FANTASY XI players (or, the number of paying customers with at least one character) has topped 500,000. Among similarly priced Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) and Persistent State World (PSW) titles - which at this level are centered on North America - a number this high means we could claim the title of world's most populated game. However, when people talk about the number of subscribers for an MMORPG, it's generally unclear if the figure includes the users from a free trial period, or the number of users that once held but have since canceled their accounts. When we refer to our base of FINAL FANTASY XI players, we take neither of those figures into account. We have actually broken through the 500,000 mark for paying customers with at least one character. Furthermore, FINAL FANTASY XI has more than 1,200,000 registered characters. Some simple calculations tell us that 1,200,000 characters divided amongst 500,000 players worldwide comes to approximately 2.5 character subscriptions per player. Separating this data between Japan and North America, we find (as shown below) that Japanese members typically have about 3-4 characters, while North American members have about 1-2 characters.

Login Distribution

FINAL FANTASY XI provides players with a rousing, non-stop 24-hour gameplay environment. As I'm sure you've noticed, you are apt to find the Worlds of FINAL FANTASY XI bustling and active with players, no matter what time you enter the game. This is the result of the FINAL FANTASY XI Global World concept, which has not only melded the PlayStation 2 and Windows PC into a multi-platform environment, but has also successfully bridged continents together while breaking down language barriers between players. Previously, MMORPGs have always had "on" and "off" peak times, which could make finding a fellow adventurer to party or trade with quite difficult. The Global World concept has provided a solution to this issue, and was devised as a means to avoid the depopulation of minor Worlds (servers), which can occur when smaller Worlds are created in different regions around the world. The following sample graph shows the number of logins on the Fenrir World over the period of one week. Let's take a closer look.

As you can see, the Japanese logins peak at around 11 p.m., with the rest generally occurring 3 hours before or after this time. On the other hand, the North American peak time occurs on a relatively smooth spread of 10 or 12 hours, with Japan's noon as the peak time. The reason for the greater spread in the curve is the 3-hour time difference that exists between North America's two coasts. This results in several peak times for each time zone, with one around 7-8 p.m. JST and another that occurs several hours before Japan's own peak time of 11 p.m. JST.

Taking in the total number of logins from a broad perspective, it is easy to see how this balance is achieved. The workload on the servers generally undergoes a significant increase the longer a peak time lasts (and the shorter the off-peak times are), with the number of simultaneous logins at more than 4000 users during peak time. However, even with the addition of the North American peak times, this does not represent an increase in the maximum number of logins, since the North American and Japanese peak times do not overlap. As a result, the overall operation of the servers is maintained at a consistent high, with the logins spread out evenly over a long period of time. As an additional note not displayed in the chart, the total number of logins across all Worlds is more than 140,000 people during peak times.

Main Job Level Distribution

We conducted research on the main job levels of over 1,200,000 characters. Please note that the following numbers exclude level 1 characters, which are generally known as "mules" or "storage characters." Such characters are used mainly for item storage, synthesis, or gardening. These level 1 characters comprise a sizable 34% of the total number of characters in FINAL FANTASY XI. Assuming that a character's highest level job is his or her "main job," we have compiled the following data:

Main Job Distribution (Level 1)

Main Job Level Distribution (Level 2-75)

We have found that characters whose main job is at level 20 or less comprised 60% of the total (excluding all level 1 characters). We also found that the ratio of level 30 characters had increased, just as we saw in the Third Vana'diel Census. We attribute this to players attempting quests for extra jobs, trying to complete unfinished missions after achieving a certain level, and pursuing various other goals. The same phenomenon has been observed among the North American players as well. Another possibility for the cutoff at level 30 may be a result of high-level (e.g. level 60) characters with all-artifact equipment; level 30 may be their maximum level for a support job. Furthermore, we see cutoffs at every 5 levels; we may also attribute this to players leveling a support job, finishing a mission, or attempting other goals. The player may also be readying this as a future support job.

Jobs Type Distribution

Next, we investigated the types of jobs within FINAL FANTASY XI.

We have compiled the results into two different charts: "15 Best Main/Support Job Combinations" and "Main Job Type Statistics."

The first chart, "15 Best Main/Support Job Combinations," depicts the 15 most popular combinations from a possible 210. This data takes into account all main and support jobs set before the census. For example, if a player who had been playing as a normal warrior had suddenly changed his job to a samurai before the census, then the data gathered on him during the census would record his main job as a samurai. Note that this data excludes characters without a support job.

As a result, we can see that the warrior dominates the charts. On the other hand, referring back to the "15 Best Main/Support Job Combinations," one can see that the White Mage/Black Mage is the most popular, coming in at 13.04%. Not only does this reflect the fact that many so-called level 1 "mules" are warriors, but also that the majority of white mages use black mages as a support job, as well as vice-versa. Additionally, this data points to the versatility of the warrior job class, showing that it is capable of being coupled with many other types of jobs.

Racial Distribution

Next, we looked at racial statistics. According to the graph shown below, one interesting trend is the slight decrease in the number of Humes (the longstanding number one choice) and corresponding increase in Mithra popularity. Galka have also risen up from last place, and though only slightly so, the male to female ratio is edging closer to 1:1.

Except for Tarutaru, M and L size males and S size females comprise half or more of all characters, while over half of all Tarutaru are S size regardless of gender. We can therefore say that character size choices for the various races are in line with their true-to-life images - Tarutaru are small, Galka are large, etc.

Linkshells

Unlike typical guild systems, linkshells are unique because they allow players to easily switch in and out of them to match whatever style of play they prefer at any given time. Accordingly, trying to determine each and every character's behavior by looking at the data is difficult. We decided to take a 24-hour period and compile statistics from every server on how many active linkshells there were, then examine the results.

During those 24 hours, there were 40,753 active linkshells, which breaks down to an average of 1,358 linkshells per World. As you can see in the graph below, 68% of all activity in this time period was in linkshells populated by 10 players or less, and this increases to over 87% for those populated by 20 players or less. It would be fair to say this is an accurate representation of real gameplay. Furthermore, temporary linkshells with 50+ participants created exclusively for Dynamis raids, notorious monster hunts, weddings, and other player-run events are also thought to exist. On the other hand, many players keep linkpearls on their mule characters so they can participate in linkshell conversations while operating the mule. These characters may therefore inflate the active member statistics somewhat.

Fame Levels for Adventurers by Nation

By speaking to certain NPCs in the nations and towns of Vana'diel, adventurers can obtain hints on their level fame for that particular area. In areas where adventurers have a high fame level, they have access to certain privileges - they can go on new quests, buy and sell items at different prices, etc. If you are interested in a certain quest that you can't seem to get, then try talking to one of these NPCs - or at least that's the way we explain things in-game. But this is a census, after all, so we've put together some statistics on fame, shown in the graph below. As you can see, the results are broken down into 9 levels of fame, where the majority of players in a given town are at the lowest level. Level 1 characters are included here, so it might be necessary to look at these results minus their impact. Regardless, it should be obvious that only a handful of adventurers have made a real name for themselves.

Closing

So what do you think of the Fourth Vana'diel Census? The two years since we first launched in Japan have not only seen the North American launch of FINAL FANTASY XI, but also a huge variety of events. The FINAL FANTASY XI community has thrived in an open environment unconstrained by the conventions of other MMORPG communities, while FINAL FANTASY XI itself has met a fair share of challenges in an environment that is bound by platforms and consumer product choices. As a result, over these past two years we've been able to build some of the world's greatest communities. Because we want all of you to continue enjoying FINAL FANTASY XI, we're making PlayOnline easier to use, we're shooting for the best gameplay environment, and we're going to keep making our community something you can be proud to be a part of every single day.

Until we meet again on Vana'diel...

May 14th, 2004 Sage Sundi Online Services Manager