tech
How a data centre united Australia's gaming community
Square Enix launched dedicated Oceania servers for the online role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV in January 2022, ending years of high latency and lonely play for Australian users. Before the change, local players had to join Asian, American or European servers, where they faced language barriers, sparse activity during Australian hours and input lag that could ruin difficult quests. The new servers revealed a much larger local community than expected, with queues taking up to 30 minutes at launch. The move has also strengthened real-world gatherings, including a standing-room-only community meet-up at PAX Australia in Melbourne this year. For ordinary players, the local servers mean faster response times, more reliable teamwork and no need to pay for travel to overseas fan events to feel connected. Square Enix localisation producer Michael-Christopher Koji Fox said an Australian fan festival is now a question of when, not if.
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How a data centre united Australia's gaming community
Square Enix launched dedicated Oceania servers for the online role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV in January 2022, ending years of high latency and lonely play for Australian users. Before the change, local players had to join Asian, American or European servers, where they faced language barriers, sparse activity during Australian hours and input lag that could ruin difficult quests. The new servers revealed a much larger local community than expected, with queues taking up to 30 minutes at launch. The move has also strengthened real-world gatherings, including a standing-room-only community meet-up at PAX Australia in Melbourne this year. For ordinary players, the local servers mean faster response times, more reliable teamwork and no need to pay for travel to overseas fan events to feel connected. Square Enix localisation producer Michael-Christopher Koji Fox said an Australian fan festival is now a question of when, not if.