When FFXIV races were announced there wasn't much of a response. The changes didn't seem like much, just seened to be an aesthetic change. However multiple fansites transplated Japanese pages and it proves that the different groups of each race have more meaning than what was originally thought.

 

The races are split into two groups, you have the Hyurans that are divided into the large and muscular highlanders alongside the more communal and common midlander. It's not certain how much the stats wil change depending on your character, but the news that difference subgroups will be balanced in different directions is being pushed. For some extra pics check out Joystiq.com