Some MMO companies are focusing on new and innovative combat systems to compete with World of Warcraft

Square-Enix's Final Fantasy XIV

Square Enix has always marched to a very different tune than most North American MMORPG companies, but it could also be the fact that they released Final Fantasy XI before the launch of World of Warcraft. Either way, some players really loved the skillchain system of FFXI and its unique, albeit slow, style of combat, while others have hated the game with a passion for precisely these same reasons. Now Square Enix will be coming out with FFXIV after seeing all that is World of Warcraft, but early alpha combat videos all point to SE creating yet another unique combat style for FFXIV.

Of course, we'll all have to wait at least until the closed beta starts before we can start another brouhaha about hating or loving FFXIV's combat system, but the one thing that we can expect from Square Enix is an MMO that is completely different from the norm. In reality, it's unlikely that there are many other MMO development companies out there that can take such massive risks as Square Enix does with their gameplay, but it would be great if, one day, we could see this kind of innovation being put forward on every major MMORPG title to come to North America.

In the end, whether you love or hate World of Warcraft, it's difficult to deny the incredible success they've had. Chances are low that Blizzard will look into revamping the combat system of WoW for Cataclysm, and, if 11.5 million users love the game as it is, I'm sure everyone's heard the cliché: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. What has become clear, however, is that, if Blizzard's biggest worry is that they become obsolete as more advanced games come forth, competing MMO companies should start to focus on creating games that do exactly that - challenge World of Warcraft on an innovative level, rather than repackaging parts of the game and adding in unique elements of their own. Developers should look to re-creating the MMORPG from the ground up!