Could World of Warcraft meet its match in Final Fantasy XIV?

Warhammer Online. Age of Conan. Star Wars Galaxies. Lord of the Rings Online. All are big-name MMOs that have attempted to take on the looming ogre that is World of Warcraft, yet all have been slain. Quite bloodily, in some cases.

Despite this ominous record, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada thinks he may have the game that can nab the crown from Blizzard’s MMO: Final Fantasy XIV. In an interview with Develop, Wada had this to say about the difficulty of making a World of Warcraft sequel, a move that he sees as inevitable:

“WoW is a tough competitor, but whether you are talking about EverQuest, Ultima or Lineage, there has never been a company that has a continuously successful number one and two MMO.”

Wada continued his cautious brand of smack-talk when asked if he thought Final Fantasy XIV was a serious contender to World of Warcraft:

“Yes, but the flipside is that they are a tough competition.”

A world without World of Warcraft as its MMO of choice. Is it … possible? Hint: PROBABLY NOT. Still, if you are interested in fighting the good cause, Square Enix is now accepting beta test applications (the PC version only) for FFXIV – go here to read more.

[Via Develop]