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[IbizaPocholo]

Interview: Final Fantasy 14’s Naoki Yoshida on Shadowbringers, Xbox and rebuilding A Realm Reborn

Trusted Reviews sits down with Naoki Yoshida to talk about the current state of Final Fantasy 15, its expansion to new platforms, and journey thus far.

www.trustedreviews.com

Final Fantasy 14 has been on quite an extraordinary journey, one so tumultuous it’s a miracle the MMORPG is still alive and kicking, let alone one of the biggest games on the planet.

Spurred onward by a love for the brand and an unwavering dedication to its fanbase, Square Enix rebuilt Final Fantasy 14 from the ashes, nuking the 1.0 version from orbit and creating something truly astonishing in its image.

A Realm Reborn launched in 2013 to critical and commercial acclaim, cementing itself as one of the genre’s brightest sparks, even if it was built on the ruins once though unsalvageable. Despite its warm reception, the game’s director, Naoki Yoshida, is well aware that it was put together under dire circumstances, and if a second opportunity arises, they’d happily make some changes.

“After I took over the project I made the decision to revamp Final Fantasy 14,” Yoshida tells me. “We recreated everything from scratch in only two and a half years, we didn’t really have enough time to create the game.”

This recreation of A Realm Reborn could arguably be coming at the perfect time, since Final Fantasy 14 is poised to arrive on Xbox platforms in the near future, an announcement few in the gaming landscape saw coming. Microsoft’s foray into the gaming space is infamously unpopular in Japan, eclipsed by Sony and Nintendo on all fronts, and that hasn’t really changed.

“When the Xbox One launched in Japan there were no TV commercials or advertisements, so I thought they were just giving us a pass this time,” Yoshida said of the brand. Under the leadership of Phil Spencer, Xbox’s attitude towards Japanese games has changed dramatically, with the upcoming arrival of not only Final Fantasy 14, but also Phantasy Star Online 2. “Phil Spencer had made such an effort to make this possible, and now it’s cool to see it becoming a reality.”

However Yoshida makes it clear that Final Fantasy 14 on Xbox must abide by one strict rule – being fully compatible with other platforms. In theory, you’ll be able to login to the Xbox version at launch and find your characters intact and ready to tackle endgame content. Square Enix isn’t ready to share launch details on this version, but given Xbox Series X is on the horizon, we might be waiting until the next generation to hear more.

Check the link for more.

 

[j0hnnix]

This is great news but Jesus it took them forever, close of a Generation and start of a new one. The benefit is if the seX series will have 14 BC.

It is nice Xbox Division is realizing you can't move forward without Japanese Studio support.

 

[Psykodad]

Took an entire gen for Xbox to open up to cross-platform play.
While Spencer and all the xbox fans had been talking about Sony supposedly being anti-consumer by not allowing cross-platform play, PS3 and PS4 were there all this time allowing cross-platform with PC.
Yoshida has already stated a couple of times that MS' cross-platform policies were the cause for FF XIV not releasing on Xbox.


Meanwhile, it wasn't until october 2019 that FF XIV was announced for Xbox in 2020.
Guess it took an entire gen of beating for MS to finally walk the walk.

But xbox fans have an amazing game to experience.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Final Fantasy XIV's Naoki Yoshida dismisses Final Fantasy XVI rumors as "fake news" | RPG Site

FF14 boss Naoki Yoshida sets the record straight.

www.rpgsite.net

 

[B_Boss]

I cannot wait to read interviews about their work on PS5. This is fantastic news regarding Xbox that’s for sure .

 

[Psykodad]

This is great news but Jesus it took them forever, close of a Generation and start of a new one. The benefit is if the seX series will have 14 BC.

It is nice Xbox Division is realizing you can't move forward without Japanese Studio support.

That's because MS was preventing crossplay until oktober last year, when they finally got it all settled.
Pretty ironic, since MS had been bragging about being open to crossplay all of 2019.

Anyway, nice for thos eon Xbox to finally get FFXIV. The game is amazing.

 

[Manji Uzuki]

Interesting stuff. This guy is one of the biggest talents at SE at the moment. Really hope they give FFXVI to him. I'm not really into MMORPGs but what I played of XIV was really great, Xbox users should be happy about this game coming to the platform!

 

[Kumomeme]

Interesting stuff. This guy is one of the biggest talents at SE at the moment. Really hope they give FFXVI to him. I'm not really into MMORPGs but what I played of XIV was really great, Xbox users should be happy about this game coming to the platform!

that man and xiv is what restored my faith towards square...not kh3,not xv

FFXIV is a proof, that square actually still had in them to create amazing rpg..it just they might be need proper guidance or management

and if someone said square didnt have any talent left anymore(which is quite frequent i see), apparently xiv had lot of younger, amazing new talent which is sadly, not lot of ff fans is aware off.

 

[Vawn]

Xbox is getting some super old MMOs. Final Fantasy XIV is great. But it was a PS3 game.

 

[Great Hair]

I thought they were just giving us a pass this time” Yoshida said of the brand. Under the leadership of Phil Spencer, Xbox’s attitude towards Japanese games has changed dramatically, with the upcoming arrival of not only Final Fantasy 14, but also Phantasy Star Online 2. “Phil Spencer had made such an effort to make this possible, and now it’s cool to see it becoming a reality.”

What a load of bullshit! That´s not how we all remember the events ... wasn´t he the one correcting Phil Spencer on this topic 5 years ago (FF14)?

2015 other source
Phil said, Sony had "moneyhatted" FF14 of XB1, only to get a nope from the FF14 leader stating "cross play among other reasons".

2019
The policy, regulations have not changed. YET Phil Spencer is the greatest ever. WTF? In other words, ya full of sh#t Yoshida. Ya fucking dufus.


Microsoft Holding Up Crossplay (since 2015 in this case)

2019 article

Two months ago, I discussed with Phil Spencer. I have explained this before but we are prepared to do crossplay at any time. To play an MMORPG, there are 2 regulations for Microsoft which stand in the way of making crossplay feasible. Unless these regulations are rejected, there is no meaning. Simply speaking, the matching base FPS style game has no issues with those 2 regulations. If we had made an FPS game [had FF14 been one of those games], then we would already have crossplay. One of the regulations is that players with different platforms cannot chat with each other in-game. Then how do you play an MMO? The other regulation is you cannot make a community with plays on a different platform. You can’t form a guild, you can’t enter into a link shell, [and] no free company. So I would like to have Microsoft change their regulations.

 

[TyphoonStruggle]

Xbox is getting some super old MMOs. Final Fantasy XIV is great. But it was a PS3 game.

It barely ran on the PS3 and was discontinued on the PS3 a long time ago. Bruh.

Are there any newer MMO's that are actually successful? I think FFXIV is the newest MMO that has any success.

 

[Vawn]

It barely ran on the PS3 and was discontinued on the PS3 a long time ago. Bruh.

Which shows you how old it is. And I played it there for a while. It ran fine. PS4 version was an obvious upgrade as was PS4 Pro. Bruh.

I remember getting the original Collector's Edition on day one in 2010.

 

[MasterCornholio]

It would have been nicer of it arrived earlier. But it's nice that Xbox gamers can finally play the game.

 

[LordKasual]

It barely ran on the PS3 and was discontinued on the PS3 a long time ago. Bruh.

Are there any newer MMO's that are actually successful? I think FFXIV is the newest MMO that has any success.

It's not that it's the newest with success, it's that it's just one with the most consistent quality

It's a P2P MMO that's actually worth its subscription fee. That's extremely rare.

 

[Infamy v1]

Xbox is getting some super old MMOs. Final Fantasy XIV is great. But it was a PS3 game.

What a weird critisism, but coming from you it makes sense.

Comparing XIV running like shit on a PS3 to how it is going to run on an Xbox One X/Series X is laughable, even more especially because the game was terrible back then before they (thankfully) fixed the game and set it in the right track.

And what other old MMOs are you talking about? PSO2? It only exists in the west because of Microsoft. Would you rather it not come over at all? Better late than never.

 

[Kumomeme]

Which shows you how old it is. And I played it there for a while. It ran fine. PS4 version was an obvious upgrade as was PS4 Pro. Bruh.

I remember getting the original Collector's Edition on day one in 2010.

ps3 basically held up the game

it would be better if they never had the need to support ps3 at first place

 

[LordKasual]

Which shows you how old it is. And I played it there for a while. It ran fine. PS4 version was an obvious upgrade as was PS4 Pro. Bruh.

I remember getting the original Collector's Edition on day one in 2010.

I remember having footage on my PS3 running Coil turn 7 on PS3.

I legit cannot believe this game is as old as PS3.

I remember it actually crashing once during a Fate in a 2.0 area LOL

 

[TyphoonStruggle]

Which shows you how old it is. And I played it there for a while. It ran fine. PS4 version was an obvious upgrade as was PS4 Pro. Bruh.

I remember getting the original Collector's Edition on day one in 2010.

The fact that it was discontinued on the PS3 should let you know that functionality was added to XIV that the PS3 could not support.

That is, XIV was upgraded beyond PS3 technology. You cannot equate an MMO that has had continual content and tech updates over the past 7 years to a normal PS3 game that has not changed in the past 7 years. Wtf.

 

[Vawn]

Comparing XIV running like shit on a PS3 to how it is going to run on an Xbox One X/Series X is laughable, even more especially because the game was terrible back then before they (thankfully) fixed the game and set it in the right track.

No. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was on PS3. The game was definitely not shit. FFXIV was already a few years old even before it released on PS3. It's an old game, but that doesn't mean it isn't still good.

 

[j0hnnix]

That's because MS was preventing crossplay until oktober last year, when they finally got it all settled.
Pretty ironic, since MS had been bragging about being open to crossplay all of 2019.

Anyway, nice for thos eon Xbox to finally get FFXIV. The game is amazing.

ive got back on it on pc and leveling up. hopefully once it goes live on sex box ill get the complete on there. it is a great mmo , but it is also great timing to bring it in since 5.3 will help iron out some quests in ARR. its a good experience for those who have not had a chance to jump in to it yet.

 

[Psykodad]

ive got back on it on pc and leveling up. hopefully once it goes live on sex box ill get the complete on there. it is a great mmo , but it is also great timing to bring it in since 5.3 will help iron out some quests in ARR. its a good experience for those who have not had a chance to jump in to it yet.

Yeah, I love the game. Although I have to admit that while I bought Shadowbringers on a sale, I haven't even really played it yet.
Read somewhere that they're working on next-gen upgrades, so I'll pick up playing again when PS5 has been released.

Xbox fans are in for a treat though. Easily my #1 FF games, alongside FF VII.

 

[YukiOnna]

Yeah, I love the game. Although I have to admit that while I bought Shadowbringers on a sale, I haven't even really played it yet.
Read somewhere that they're working on next-gen upgrades, so I'll pick up playing again when PS5 has been released.

Xbox fans are in for a treat though. Easily my #1 FF games, alongside FF VII.

It would line up nicely with next gen coming along and 6.0 Expansion being next year. Shadowbringers and 5.x feels like they've pushed the current version to the limit so an optional upgrade doesn't hurt. I understand it's difficult for them though.

 

[Infamy v1]

No. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was on PS3. The game was definitely not shit. FFXIV was already a few years old even before it released on PS3. It's an old game, but that doesn't mean it isn't still good.

As already pointed out by other people, you're desperately trying to argue semantics to mask the obvious agenda you have.

The game got discontinued for PS3. It got discontinued for a very obvious reason. Your "concern" is literally "well, it's an old port, it was even on the PS3" which is disingenuous when looking at the state of the game today compared to then, and especially how bad the game actually RAN on that hardware compared to how it runs on high end devices today. Not to mention that it is, in fact, an MMO, which if done right can be updated for decades.

But nice job ignoring everything else and cherry-picking one part of my response.

 

[Vawn]

As already pointed out by other people, you're desperately trying to argue semantics to mask the obvious agenda you have.

The game got discontinued for PS3. It got discontinued for a very obvious reason. Your "concern" is literally "well, it's an old port, it was even on the PS3" which is disingenuous when looking at the state of the game today compared to then, and especially how bad the game actually RAN on that hardware compared to how it runs on high end devices today. Not to mention that it is, in fact, an MMO, which if done right can be updated for decades.

But nice job ignoring everything else and cherry-picking one part of my response.

You said it was in a bad state at the time, which was a lie. ARR was successful at launch. It's a very old game. I don't know why you are trying to act different.

It IS a port of a PS3 game that won't come out until Xbox Series X. I'm sorry, that's old. Deal with it. Yes, it's been upgraded over the years - it is an MMO. It's still a fantastic game. You guys are just VERY late to the party, but that's only because Xbox ised to hate cross-play.

 

[Infamy v1]

You said it was in a bad state at the time, which was a lie. ARR was successful at launch. It's a very old game. I don't know why you are trying to act different.

It IS a port of a PS3 game that won't come out until Xbox Series X. I'm sorry, that's old. Deal with it. Yes, it's been upgraded over the years - it is an MMO. It's still a fantastic game. You guys are just VERY late to the party, but that's only because Xbox ised to hate cross-play.

What do you mean "you guys?" I've played FFXIV on and off since 2.1/2.2, coming from FFXI. That is the problem when you're so embedded in console wars and worshipping corporations that dont care about you; you see things through blue-tinted shades and label people into categories because your opinion differs from theirs.

And your "opinion" from the get-go is incredibly disingenuous simply because you seem angry that Xbox is getting the game. Not to mention false: XBX/XSX isn't getting a port from a PS3 game. The PS3 version couldn't handle Stormblood, and became discontinued. Both the PS4 and upcoming Xbox ports are ports from the PC version, not PS3.

You keep rambling about how the game is old, like it has any merit at all aside from your obvious agenda. PSO2 is older and nobody gives a shit, people are just ecstatic that the west is finally able to play an official version of the game.

 

[Vawn]

What do you mean "you guys?" I've played FFXIV on and off since 2.1/2.2, coming from FFXI. That is the problem when you're so embedded in console wars and worshipping corporations that dont care about you; you see things through blue-tinted shades and label people into categories because your opinion differs from theirs.

And your "opinion" from the get-go is incredibly disingenuous simply because you seem angry that Xbox is getting the game. Not to mention false: XBX/XSX isn't getting a port from a PS3 game. The PS3 version couldn't handle Stormblood, and became discontinued. Both the PS4 and upcoming Xbox ports are ports from the PC version, not PS3.

You keep rambling about how the game is old, like it has any merit at all aside from your obvious agenda. PSO2 is older and nobody gives a shit, people are just ecstatic that the west is finally able to play an official version of the game.

I don't care if it's on Xbox finally or not. I also played FFXI, primarily on Xbox.

All I said is Xbox has been getting several old MMOs lately. This and PSO2 are both over a decade old before coming to the platform. It will be interesting to see how well that plays.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Naoki Yoshida Really Wants Final Fantasy XIV on PS5

Naoki Yoshida said Final Fantasy XIV could be coming to PS5, but nothing is set in stone yet at Square Enix. Especially with the pandemic.

www.dualshockers.com

 

[Vawn]

Naoki Yoshida Really Wants Final Fantasy XIV on PS5

Naoki Yoshida said Final Fantasy XIV could be coming to PS5, but nothing is set in stone yet at Square Enix. Especially with the pandemic.

www.dualshockers.com

It joins Grand Theft Auto V to release on PS3, PS4 and PS5.

 

[UltimaKilo]

and I’m here waiting for a Switch version so I can play it in handheld mode. I might try this in Shadow PC next week.