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Final Fantasy XV Aiming to be the most profitable Final Fantasy to date... sometime
Square Enix released their Annual Report around 24 hours ago and within it was a section titled the "Creator's Voice" where several of the company's key developers, movers and shakers shared their views on the future of Square Enix and games in general.
One noteworthy point was raised by Hajime Tabara, the current co-director of FINAL FANTASY XV who also worked on titles such as the ever elusive TYPE-0 and Crisis Core: FINAL FANTASY VIII. He expressed a desire to elevate FINAL FANTASY XV beyond levels that shareholders might be hoping for.
Quote:
It’s a pleasure to introduce myself to our shareholders. My name is Hajime Tabata and I’m Co-Director of “FINAL FANTASY XV.”
My aim for the projects centering on “FINAL FANTASY XV” is to achieve the highest-acclaimed, highest-profitable installment in the “FINAL FANTASY” series. With this goal in mind, I would appreciate your continuous support.
Going forward, as a creator I would like to develop new IPs for seniors. I will create games that would thoroughly satisfy myself as I get older. Also, as a leader, I want to establish a strong production studio with an open, flexible atmosphere that constantly delivers excitement to shareholders, employees, the game industry and users—a studio with the capacity to consolidate the Group’s capabilities and play the best match at the forefront of the industry.
On this journey, the support of shareholders would be very much appreciated.
This is no small feat with FINAL FANTASY XI currently holding that position - a game that's been out for over a decade and has enjoyed a loyal, allbeit small, following of dedicated MMO fans.
Other developers also chimed in on their goals and aspirations and we'll feature these in another article.
So, is this good news for FINAL FANTASY XV? If the co-director wants to make it the highest acclaimed and most profitable then they're certainly aiming big. A lot os riding on this title which we've known about for several years now. Unfortunately though, the wait might still go on... for some time.
Speaking to IGN, FINAL FANTASY & KINGDOM HEARTS series producer Shinji Hashimoto has suggested that fans may be in for even more of a wait.
Quote:
So at E3 this year we announced Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy XV. Both have Tetsuya Nomura as their director, so we can’t create these two big games at the same time. It’s a difficult job, as we want each game to be perfect in terms of quality.
A lot of people have wondered for the last couple of years if Square Enix has actually been working on Kingdom Hearts III; that’s why we announced it at E3 this year,” said Hashimoto. “But please, we need you all to understand that there’s a lot to do.
KINGDOM HEARTS III was obviously in it's early stages of development from what little we saw at E3 this year. Nomura himself even went to lengths to mention during interviews that the video was pre-rendered showing what they were aiming for as they get to grip with their new tools.
FINAL FANTASY XV is a lot further along in development with fans being treated to two trailers at E3. The likelihood is that FINAL FANTASY XV will be the first of the two to be released but it is worrying that there's the potential for both of these titles to get marred by managerial bureaucracy and delays with the same person at the helm.
Both franchises have loyal and passionate fans and we've been waiting for both titles for quite some time now. What are you thoughts? Do you think Nomura should focus his efforts on one title? Do you think he can pull off helming both at the same time?
