Square Enix Wants a New Final Fantasy Every Year

[Callate]

but what do Final Fantasy fans really want: consistency or innovation?

Noting that I don't really fall into that camp, the reviews I've read have suggested that Square/Enix hasn't especially succeeded in producing either on the schedule it's been working on now.

I suppose if they're embracing the Unreal engine, there's some hope that certain problems that have to be re-addressed with every issue would fall away, but it sounded to me like they also needed to address that the last regular game barely seemed to have been made with player input in mind. If they regularly stamp out games in that mold, the result is likely to be spectacularly depressing for customers and their sales department alike.

 

[Epona]

Ugh. Final Fantasy X was one of the first games I ever got truly into and the wait was worth it for XII. I've always loved the stories and the way the gameplay gets mixed up slightly or a lot. There's no way Square can stuff as much depth, complexity, and emotion into the series if they start pumping out a new installment every year.

You know, the people who write the stories are not the people who make the game? There are separate people who concentrate on writing the story. It doesn't take that long to write a great story. Also, a game made today could be using a story written 5 years ago that's been sitting in a file cabinet. Who says they aren't already writing a story for Final Fantasy XVI and have plenty of time to do so?

It's always amazed me how quickly a weekly tv show can consistently come up with great stories week after week, that seems like such a small amount of time but it works out.

 

[HoradricNoob]

This is one instance where it seems that more of the player base is asking, not for innovation or even a new game, they want a return to the glory days.

So... what if Square releases an 8-bit rpg next year?

 

[Danny Shackleford]

Good! I am glad they are doing this, nail in the coffin, Things went down hill after Hironobu Sakaguchi left anyways.

I want square to fail, because in their death throws they will release a remake of FF7 to stay a float, which will be cool.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

/facepalm
/headdesk

Okay, so Ubisoft is close to managing one new Assassin's Creed per year. Does that mean everyone should? Fuck, no. I honestly don't want to imagine what a rushed JRPG would look like. The last one was a corridor-crawling mess. I'd much rather wait two years, or even five, for a new entry to come out. Seeing as every FF game stands as its own beast, they need time to construct the universe, establish the lore and generally create a decent universe. Pare that down to twelve-month development cycles and we'll start seeing more incomprehensible bullshit à la FF13.

 

[newwiseman]

So the only thing Final Fantasy has going for it, that it isn't a copy-paste, is going to become a copy-paste... and so dies a significant portion of my childhood.

 

[Epona]

But hey, maybe being under a tight schedule will force them to innovate and change things up. Or maybe not. We shall see.

Innovation and a tight schedule worked out well for Dragon Age II!

Oh, shit, my sarcasm-meter just exploded.

Are you kidding, we went from a mediocre, party based, story driven WRPG to a dating simulator! That's innovation, LOL.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

Well, if they can manged to keep the old quality and make a game per year, I have nothing against it.
But if they will just make the same game over and over again, change the textures a bit and sell it for a full price, no thanks.

It all depends on the quality. IMO, quality>quantity. Unfortunately, that's not the case in this industry. Some time ago it was, but now....
And as much as I try, I can't imagine some developer who would be able to give us a great experience once a year.

The only thing left is to simply hope they will change their mind.

 

[kebab4you]

Oi! square. fps =/= rpg. By default a good rpg takes WAY longer to make then a good fps, it´s just simple facts. Cranking out a new FF every year is only going to send the series even further down on the list...

 

[Sassafrass]

I think this video sums up my reaction.


I don't mind the direction Square-Enix are going but one new FF a year? That'll just kill the series, which admittedly is getting stupidly long in the tooth.

 

[Frankster]

Actually, why the hell not?

If western franchises can indeed churn out sequels at a steady rate and each sequel earns more regardless, with no apparent burnout effect (against all logic), then why shouldn't Square Enix have a go too?

Business logic FTW and I say that unironically because it clearly does work, look at kotick, ya all hate him but he sleeps on a pile of money surrounded by lots of beautiful naked women.

 

[The Funslinger]

Oh, the Activision approach, that's good.

Now THAT'S a Fantasy

I see what you did there!

OT:

Edit: why the hell did I put OT? Force of habit...

 

[vivster]

if they can keep the quality up why not
AC managed to do just that
and FFXIII-2 looks amazing even though the short schedule

but seeing ff "fans" today the thing they hate most is innovation
i mean we got a brand new innovative combat system and let's face it there has never been any ff so linear... and somehow that's what all the people complain about

FFXIII-2 will be pretty much the antithesis to its prequel and i bet people are still not gonna like it...

 

[Aircross]

Quantity over quality.
Money over art.

F*ck you video game industry.

 

[TitanAtlas]

*Smashes Desk*

NOOOOOOOO WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN US GAMING GOD!!!! WHYYYYYY!!!!

 

[otakon17]

And thus, the world inches closer to the end of all things......

Even with separate teams working on each game, the chances of a stellar game being made with only a YEAR of development time are slim. Dragon Age II is a debatable example of how a year-long development time does NOT a good game make.

 

[AVATAR_RAGE]

Square we want good games not rushed games like FF 1-10

 

[SnakeoilSage]

It's ironic that a series that features a new world and story in each "sequel" and should theoretically be accessible to new fans is somehow more inaccessible than most comic book series.