I really doubt a free company, which is meant to be a guild, is going to be capped at 8 people. Sounded to me more like he's suggesting you could make a small static company of just 8 people if you wanted.
The official translation posted by SE after the event doesn't even mention it:
Quote:
Q: Please tell us more about Free Companies!
A: A Free Company can be created by four players that belong to a Grand Company and then visiting GC counter. A shared item box will be given to those four players. Also, players will set the access level on the shared item box (i.e. only the leader can access, etc.).
Players will be able to change their emblem and create larger houses as they increase their Free Company level. Also, players will be able to form an alliance with other Free Companies and have their own shared bulletin board.
Official translation of all questions is at:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/thre ... -A-UpdatesI wasn't able to watch more than a few minutes of the stream this morning (I was at work) but I did get to see them use the new crafting journal, was nice. Everything split up into level groups, just click items to show what they need to craft, choose whether you want to use NQ/HQ ingredients and hit craft.