Why These Final Fantasy 14 Billboards Caused A Stir
Once considered a huge flop, MMO "Final Fantasy 14" has maintained a niche hardcore fanbase that helps make the game still worth playing almost a decade after its release. The title features a booming open-world with plenty to do, and many players have taken full advantage of that by hosting special events to bring the community together and attract new gamers to the fold. One such place where these events take place is Rain, an in-game nightclub.
In line with real-life seasonal activities, the staff of Rain plans to host a beach party summer event where players can have a chill time together. In and of itself, this isn't a problem. However, some of the staff members at Rain took it a step further by paying for real-life billboards in both Texas and California to advertise the event, as well as its Discord server (via USA Today). Less than 48 hours after their unveiling, the billboards were promptly taken down due to an uproar from the "Final Fantasy 14" player base. Why would anyone have a problem with others forking out their own money to have these billboards put up in the real world? The answer is a bit complicated.
Billboards may have violated terms of service and copyright law
The "Final Fantasy 14" billboards were seen as a huge mistake by the community (per Reddit) due to the circumstances surrounding what's depicted, as well as the party itself.
According to Cracked, the party that was advertised isn't what many would consider safe for work. Some took issue with the inclusion of the Square Enix copyright on the billboards, despite it having no involvement with the event. The images displayed also allegedly included two in-game characters wearing modded outfits. While "Final Fantasy 14" has a booming mod community, modding the game is technically a violation of its terms of service, even if users aren't commonly banned for violations. The outfits in question are also supposedly part of a future expansion, indicating they may have been obtained through hacking and datamining.
Based on the response from the community, including alleged attacks from trolls, Rain ultimately decided to take down the billboards in Texas and prevent them from going up in California. "We don't want to stress anyone else in the community out about them staying up and forcing Square Enix's hand on the matter," a club owner told USA Today.