Chocobo GP released a few days ago, and the reception to what could have been a simple, enjoyable Final Fantasy racer is… downright livid, as the $50 is littered with microtransactions and built around a Season Pass economy that seems designed to get people to buy in more than to have fun. Coupled with online issues and other technical hiccups, it’s shaping up to be a big L for Square Enix, and the backlash is severe enough the company is already in damage control mode, providing an update on the game for adjustments they’re making. Here’s a breakdown (with thanks to Reddit, particularly user Sat-AM):
- They’re ironing out the online kinks.
- 500 Mythril is being sent out to all players along with lowered EXP requirements on the Prize Pass (season pass) as an apology, though the wording implies this lowered requirement may not hold for future passes.
- Major adjustments are planned season by season, so it’s unlikely that the game will receive anything else during Season 1.
- Future seasons will include two characters – one for the pass and one bought with Gil.
- If seasons repeat (and it sounds like they might), characters bought with Gil in that season will return to the gil shop for the duration of it.
- Characters on the pass can be purchased directly with Mythril/Gil after the pass finishes.
- New courses will come in Season 2.
- Mythril is currently a login reward only, but in Season 2 it will become a pass reward as well.
- New costumes and BGM are coming to the Mythril shop midseason.
- Balance changes will come in Season 2, unless something is truly broken before then.
- They are hearing feedback about DLC and microtransactions.
- They want the average player to reach Level 100 out of 200 after two months of the pass.
- The team appears to be satisfied with the current rate of EXP gain. (A 1:1 win to loss ratio in a GP will net you roughly one level per GP.)
- Owners of the game’s Lite version will have changes to make it easier for video distributors to hold events: presumably this means letting them be able to access the host’s roster.
As you can tell, it’s quite a lot. Time will tell whether Squeenix is able to salvage Chocobo GP into something with a decent market or not, though they’re clearly primed for player feedback at the moment, which is a good sign. Let’s hope it continues.
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
