SE Business Divisions / FF16 Ito Debate goes here & nowhere else

Members see less ads - sign up now for free and join the community!

  • This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn more.

Sora96

Warrior of Light
Nov 12, 2014
1,326
239
27
Australia
kh13.com
#81
Agreed.

Also, as you've correctly stated, SQEX are way too prideful to not develop FFXVI on their own in-house engine, especially when you consider how much money, staff, and resources they are still pumping into it till this day. Luminous Studio definitely has other games coming besides FFXV, and I'm certain FFXVI is one of them.

The best thing about FFXV being the first to use the engine is that FFXVI will not have to worry too much about the engine itself. Instead, it can primarily focus on the game. FFXV's final release will use Luminous Studio 2.0, so when FFXVI fully ramps up in production, it will be using Luminous Studio 2.0 as the basis. This will mean development will go much quicker and smoother than FFXV. In the same 4 years that FFXV was being developed alongside the engine and therefore basically being used as testing ground, FFXVI can exclusively focus on the game, not the engine. Things like art direction, game design, storytelling, side-quests, etc, will all be at the forefront of FFXVI's development, not the engine itself. This will be the polar opposite to how FFXV was developed, as it had to wait for parts of the engine to be complete during development.

Don't get me wrong, the above paragraph is not an attack on FFXV. After all, there's many games that are developed alongside engines and turn out amazing, such as Crysis and Gears of War. However, for FFXVI, the engine being finished means that in the same 4 years FFXV took to develop (Tabata rebooted it in 2012 and it's releasing in 2016), FFXVI will be able to do so much more in that time due to all engine assets and features being complete. The 4 years can mainly focus on world scale, art direction, game design, battle system, storytelling, cutscenes, side-quests, mini-games, etc. These are all things which are important to making a great Final Fantasy game.
Speaking of XVI not having to worry about the engine and such, remind's me a lot of Crystal Tools. Come XIII-2 and in particular Lightning Returns, they were also to upgrade it as they saw fit. Eg. open world.
 
Likes: 1Truth2Lies

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#82
Speaking of XVI not having to worry about the engine and such, remind's me a lot of Crystal Tools. Come XIII-2 and in particular Lightning Returns, they were also to upgrade it as they saw fit. Eg. open world.
Another example is the cutscene engine of FFX and field engine of FFXI both being used in FFXII. They were both improved upon. The cutscene animation in FFXII is so good, as it was building off what FFX already created, rather than making it all from scratch. The same is true for the open world in FFXII, which was building off parts of the FFXI engine. According to Ito, the main reason for the long development of FFXII was due to them trying to get the seamless battles and Gambits running on PS2 without it needing the PS2 HDD. Creating those detailed cutscenes and the massive open world doesn't appear to be the reason for the long development time. Indeed, FFXII was originally supposed to release in Summer 2004, which would have been 3 and half years after it started development in December 2000.

FFXVI can follow the same approach as FFXII did. It can build off the Luminous Studio assets and features that were created alongside FFXV. It can even use parts of FFXIV. Matter of fact, I want it to use parts of FFXIV. I don't mean graphics or engine related parts, but instead it should wholesale copy the game's fantastic UI and imitate it's optional gameplay content: Monster Hunts (taken from FFXII, anyway), Quests, Duties, Trials, Raids, Guildhests, Treasure Hunting, Player Housing, Customizable Personal Chocobo, Crafting, Gathering, Job System, etc. All that shit should be included in FFXVI and rendered with the realistic Luminous Studio. The FFXII team help make FFXIV ARR, anyway, so I see no harm in them imitating the content and putting it into FFXVI. That said, having that much optional content in FFXVI would be severe overkill. Such a game would allow Final Fantasy to finally reclaim the RPG crown from the leading WRPGs.
 
Last edited:

LeonBlade

Administrator
Administrator
Moderator
Site Staff
Oct 25, 2013
2,026
1,864
32
Blossvale, New York
#83
Don't get me wrong, the above paragraph is not an attack on FFXV.
Yeah, I completely understood what you mean. I agree wholeheartedly, even if you ignore the development hell XV is/was in, XVI would still be developed a lot more smoothly and as a result will have much better marketing as well. It's a big chain reaction, as much as I'm looking forward to XV, I'm really looking forward beyond XV. XII was an amazing game and I'd love to see the evolution of it.
 
Likes: 1Truth2Lies

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#84
Yeah, I completely understood what you mean. I agree wholeheartedly, even if you ignore the development hell XV is/was in, XVI would still be developed a lot more smoothly and as a result will have much better marketing as well. It's a big chain reaction, as much as I'm looking forward to XV, I'm really looking forward beyond XV. XII was an amazing game and I'd love to see the evolution of it.
Assuming FFXVI has been in development since at least 2010 (that's when it was first mentioned that Ito was busy with his own project), that would also give it a lengthy development period. Tabata rebooted VersusXIII into FFXV in 2012, but was still basing it off the story, characters, and world created by Nomura and Nojima for VersusXIII. Even then, he's made some changes to that original vision. If FFXVI has been worked on since 2010, the development phase will be much longer than FFXV. From 2010 until 2017 (which is when FFXVI will likely be announced for FF 30th Anniversary) is 7 years. Then, assuming it releases in 2019, that's 9 years in development. To add to this, there was no reboot or change of director and team like FFXV suffered. FFXVI would have the longest development period under the same director and team in Square Enix history.

With FFXVI having a development period that long and a prolific director at the helm, there's no excuse for the game not becoming the JRPG to reclaim the RPG crown from WRPGs. Not saying FFXV won't achieve that feat, but it was a game originally conceived in 2005, when JRPGs still had the crown. Times have changed, so on a conceptual level, FFXVI will have to do a lot more. Furthermore, the FFXII staff are fucking fantastic, my fanboyism aside. What they did with FFXIV ARR (under Naoki Yoshida's direction) is a landmark achievement for gaming. That team in particular is grossly underrated. For me personally, they are the team that can put mainline FF back on the map. Not dissing FFXV, but even Yoshi-P has said he doesn't think FFXV will be enough to make FF great again.

I think Square Enix management have a plan here, and it's all falling into place. There was a time when I was upset FFXV was simply VersusXIII renamed, but now I'm grateful. Having that game released as a mainline game allows FFXVI to have much more time in the oven and not be used as a testing ground for Luminous Studio. After all, SQEX management no longer fuck around with release dates. Tabata himself has said that the very moment he took over VersusXIII and it was rebooted into FFXV, the release year was set by management. The game isn't ready by then? Tough. The shit is being released. The executives don't fuck around anymore. In that sense, VersusXIII becoming FFXV was a good decision, as that buys FFXVI time. I'm sure FFXVI also has its release date already set (just like it being announced during FF 30th Anniversary), but FFXV existing and being used as a testing ground for Luminous Studio has allowed it to have a release year much further down the line and also have most of its development time spent on the game itself, rather than the engine.
 

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#85
Just to finally seal the door on the whole "Naoki Yoshida could be directing FFXVI alongside FFXIV" argument. There was a comment at gamescom 2015 where he said his role as Producer/Director of FFXIV meant he was so busy that he can only take 3 days holiday a year. If he's that invested in the game, he really can't direct anything else right now, not even a smaller project for phones.

Nova Crystallis: After a major video game release, I can imagine that a development team usually celebrates the launch with some holidays and moves on with ideas for the next game. So my question would be: Have you had any holidays since the development start of Heavensward? What is next for Final Fantasy XIV? What are your long-term plans and have you already plans for a second expansion?

Yoshida: I told the development staff to take some holidays and to have a rest so they can use up all their overtime. For months, maybe years they have worked on Saturdays and Sundays, too.

As for my position as a Producer and Directer though it is really hard to take long holidays (laughs). I have three days of holiday, which is quite rare for me (laughs).

Nova Crystallis: Three days?!

Yoshida: Yes, three days in a row (laughs)!
http://www.novacrystallis.com/2015/08/gc-2015-final-fantasy-xiv-interview-with-naoki-yoshida/

So that finally shuts the door on that. If Naoki Yoshida is going to make another mainline FF, it's not going to be anytime soon. Not with how busy he is with FFXIV.

Special shout-out to @Sora96 for pointing out this quote to me when this interview was first published (and the whole "Naoki Yoshida directing FFXVI" debate was happening in this thread). I've decided to add it to this thread for closure on the subject and for people that may have missed it. It's especially relevant for those that doubt how invested Yoshida is in FFXIV and believe he can direct FFXVI on the side.
 

LeonBlade

Administrator
Administrator
Moderator
Site Staff
Oct 25, 2013
2,026
1,864
32
Blossvale, New York
#86
So that finally shuts the door on that. If Naoki Yoshida is going to make another mainline FF, it's not going to be anytime soon. Not with how busy he is with FFXIV.
Even entertaining the idea of it being a "possibility" is just pointless. It's obvious he isn't working on it, and this further proves it as you pointed out.

Considering XVI (what would have been XV prior) has likely been in some form of development for years now, unless it's someone no one expects, it's going to be Ito. It's not going to be Tabata, Nomura, Yoshida or Toriyama, these are all the heavy hitters. There are a few other directors that have worked on the Tactics titles etc. You have Kitase, but he's taken the roll as Producer lately including the FFVII Remake and hasn't directed a game in quite some time.

The only heavy hitting player left is Ito... it's all but confirmed at this point. Realistically speaking, with all the evidence from past interviews about what Ito's been doing and everyone already being consumed in various projects, there's really no one else it could be.

When do you expect XVI to be announced? I'd like to say E3 next year along side of the last big trailer release for XV closing out until it's release to announce that XVI is under development.
 
Likes: 1Truth2Lies

Sora96

Warrior of Light
Nov 12, 2014
1,326
239
27
Australia
kh13.com
#87
Even entertaining the idea of it being a "possibility" is just pointless. It's obvious he isn't working on it, and this further proves it as you pointed out.

Considering XVI (what would have been XV prior) has likely been in some form of development for years now, unless it's someone no one expects, it's going to be Ito. It's not going to be Tabata, Nomura, Yoshida or Toriyama, these are all the heavy hitters. There are a few other directors that have worked on the Tactics titles etc. You have Kitase, but he's taken the roll as Producer lately including the FFVII Remake and hasn't directed a game in quite some time.

The only heavy hitting player left is Ito... it's all but confirmed at this point. Realistically speaking, with all the evidence from past interviews about what Ito's been doing and everyone already being consumed in various projects, there's really no one else it could be.

When do you expect XVI to be announced? I'd like to say E3 next year along side of the last big trailer release for XV closing out until it's release to announce that XVI is under development.
While I am also of the belief Ito has been helming XVI for years aka originally XV, whatever Toriyama's working on is NDA as well.
 

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#90
Even entertaining the idea of it being a "possibility" is just pointless. It's obvious he isn't working on it, and this further proves it as you pointed out.

Considering XVI (what would have been XV prior) has likely been in some form of development for years now, unless it's someone no one expects, it's going to be Ito. It's not going to be Tabata, Nomura, Yoshida or Toriyama, these are all the heavy hitters. There are a few other directors that have worked on the Tactics titles etc. You have Kitase, but he's taken the roll as Producer lately including the FFVII Remake and hasn't directed a game in quite some time.

The only heavy hitting player left is Ito... it's all but confirmed at this point. Realistically speaking, with all the evidence from past interviews about what Ito's been doing and everyone already being consumed in various projects, there's really no one else it could be.

When do you expect XVI to be announced? I'd like to say E3 next year along side of the last big trailer release for XV closing out until it's release to announce that XVI is under development.
People just aimlessly threw out the possibility of Naoki Yoshida working on FFXVI without doing any research on the matter. I say this as a hypocrite, as I know if I had not done all this research on the possibly of Ito directing FFXVI, I'd be just like that. With how amazing ARR turned out, I'd also be wanting Yoshi-P to be at the helm of FFXVI, and crying over how Hiroyuki Ito is ignored. Thankfully, I've amassed enough evidence to solidify my theory and make it no longer wishful thinking.

Hiroyuki Ito is the only big gun director that is not attached to any AAA projects, and has not been since FFXII IZJS released in 2007. That is extremely telling about his current circumstance. There's people that say this indicates he's been window seated, but evidence I've amassed points against this. Furthermore, Shinji Hashimoto (FF Brand Manager) was coy when I asked him about Ito back in September 2013 during the KH I.5 HD European launch. The same with Yoshinori Kitase (FFXIII Producer) when I asked him at the LR FFXIII European launch in February 2014. Both simply confirmed to me that Ito's working on his own project, but wouldn't elaborate any further. Also, Naoki Yoshida (FFXIV Producer) told @APZonerunner back in 2013 that Ito wasn't working on ARR, but wouldn't disclose what Ito was working on. Why is there so much secrecy regarding Ito? The man must be on something big. We also know that he's been on this project since as far back as 2010. Think about that for a moment: a project that's being given this much dev time (we're in 2015 and it's still unannounced) and occupying a veteran FF staff member to the point that he's too busy to work on any other FF game? It must be a mainline FF.

Personally, I really hope FFXVI is announced in 2017. That's the Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary, so it would be a great announcement to make for such a monumental occasion. Maybe even invite Sakaguchi to provide a speech! Hiroyuki Ito has mad respect for him, after all. :)

While I am also of the belief Ito has been helming XVI for years aka originally XV, whatever Toriyama's working on is NDA as well.
As you already know, I'm 90% sure the project he was referring to is the FFVII Remake. There's no way he'll allow FFVII to be remade without his involvement, especially when he said a FFVII Remake is was what he wanted to make most after FFXIII.
 
Likes: LeonBlade

Sora96

Warrior of Light
Nov 12, 2014
1,326
239
27
Australia
kh13.com
#91
People just aimlessly threw out the possibility of Naoki Yoshida working on FFXVI without doing any research on the matter. I say this as a hypocrite, as I know if I had not done all this research on the possibly of Ito directing FFXVI, I'd be just like that. With how amazing ARR turned out, I'd also be wanting Yoshi-P to be at the helm of FFXVI, and crying over how Hiroyuki Ito is ignored. Thankfully, I've amassed enough evidence to solidify my theory and make it no longer wishful thinking.

Hiroyuki Ito is the only big gun director that is not attached to any AAA projects, and has not been since FFXII IZJS released in 2007. That is extremely telling about his current circumstance. There's people that say this indicates he's been window seated, but evidence I've amassed points against this. Furthermore, Shinji Hashimoto (FF Brand Manager) was coy when I asked him about Ito back in September 2013 during the KH I.5 HD European launch. The same with Yoshinori Kitase (FFXIII Producer) when I asked him at the LR FFXIII European launch in February 2014. Both simply confirmed to me that Ito's working on his own project, but wouldn't elaborate any further. Also, Naoki Yoshida (FFXIV Producer) told @APZonerunner back in 2013 that Ito wasn't working on ARR, but wouldn't disclose what Ito was working on. Why is there so much secrecy regarding Ito? The man must be on something big. We also know that he's been on this project since as far back as 2010. Think about that for a moment: a project that's being given this much dev time (we're in 2015 and it's still unannounced) and occupying a veteran FF staff member to the point that he's too busy to work on any other FF game? It must be a mainline FF.

Personally, I really hope FFXVI is announced in 2017. That's the Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary, so it would be a great announcement to make for such a monumental occasion. Maybe even invite Sakaguchi to provide a speech! Hiroyuki Ito has mad respect for him, after all. :)


As you already know, I'm 90% sure the project he was referring to is the FFVII Remake. There's no way he'll allow FFVII to be remade without his involvement, especially when he said a FFVII Remake is was what he wanted to make most after FFXIII.
90%? I thought you said 80%, something change?

I can't wait to see the Toriyama haters reactions when his role is announced.

And while we're on the subject, to be completely honest: I would not want Toriyama involved in XV in any way. The game has been a complete train wreck and it's just sooo soon. In regards to XVI, I also wouldn't want him directing it either, it's time for Ito especially after all the hate he got from XIII. Would be all for Toriyama helping with the scenario or events if Ito asked him though.

I just hope they announce he's working on it soon or at least another project he's working on. Eg. New Front Mission, XII: RW HD, Lightning Saga.
 

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#92
90%? I thought you said 80%, something change?

I can't wait to see the Toriyama haters reactions when his role is announced.

And while we're on the subject, to be completely honest: I would not want Toriyama involved in XV in any way. The game has been a complete train wreck and it's just sooo soon. In regards to XVI, I also wouldn't want him directing it either, it's time for Ito especially after all the hate he got from XIII. Would be all for Toriyama helping with the scenario or events if Ito asked him though.

I just hope they announce he's working on it soon or at least another project he's working on. Eg. New Front Mission, XII: RW HD, Lightning Saga.
Yeah, the 10% change comes from Parasite Eve being taken out of the picture. The only other candidates are X-3 and Front Mission, and I don't see him working on any of those over being Event Director for FFVII Remake. The game means too much to him; he even wanted to remake it after he finished FFXIII.

Toriyama haters are the most ignorant haters in gaming. How can you hate the man responsible for the entire Midgar section before the player reaches the world map for the first time? What about the entire pacing of FFX, right from the beginning until you get the Fahrenheit? Seriously, how? Then you have the fact he was responsible for building the romance of Cloud/Aerith and Tidus/Yuna over the course of their games. The man has done more right than wrong for the FF series. Blows my mind that any FFVII or FFX fan can be a Toriyama hater. But, hey, that's what happens when people just blindly jump on the hate bandwagon.

Sorry, but I don't want Toriyama on Ito's FFXVI. With regards to the event direction and scenario, it has to be Jun Akiyama and Yasumi Matsuno. I will accept no others. LOL!

Lastly, even if they don't officially announce he's on FFVII Remake, if no other BD1 project is announced by the end of the year, you'll know the game Toriyama was referring to was FFVII Remake. You just need to be patient. ;)
 
Likes: Sora96

Sora96

Warrior of Light
Nov 12, 2014
1,326
239
27
Australia
kh13.com
#93
Yeah, the 10% change comes from Parasite Eve being taken out of the picture. The only other candidates are X-3 and Front Mission, and I don't see him working on any of those over being Event Director for FFVII Remake. The game means too much to him; he even wanted to remake it after he finished FFXIII.

Toriyama haters are the most ignorant haters in gaming. How can you hate the man responsible for the entire Midgar section before the player reaches the world map for the first time? What about the entire pacing of FFX, right from the beginning until you get the Fahrenheit? Seriously, how? Then you have the fact he was responsible for building the romance of Cloud/Aerith and Tidus/Yuna over the course of their games. The man has done more right than wrong for the FF series. Blows my mind that any FFVII or FFX fan can be a Toriyama hater. But, hey, that's what happens when people just blindly jump on the hate bandwagon.

Sorry, but I don't want Toriyama on Ito's FFXVI. With regards to the event direction and scenario, it has to be Jun Akiyama and Yasumi Matsuno. I will accept no others. LOL!

Lastly, even if they don't officially announce he's on FFVII Remake, if no other BD1 project is announced by the end of the year, you'll know the game Toriyama was referring to was FFVII Remake. You just need to be patient. ;)
Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't expect him to help out with XVI anyway.

And yeah, in regards to X-3. There's sooo much overlap between VII and X staff that it's hard to see X-3 occurring until some other projects like Mobius, XII HD, Lightning Saga, XV etc are done. At best, I could hope for a movie at the moment.

And in regards to Front Mission, Toshifumi Nabeshima is the producer and it's more likely in division 3 with Hashimoto as executive producer. So it's hard to see Toriyama directing that, maybe scenario again at best.
 
Likes: 1Truth2Lies

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#94
Now that I think about it, if FFXII HD is announced at TGS, Hiroyuki Ito may have to make a public appearance to talk about the game. That being the case, I hope any journalists that interview him ask what he's been doing at Square Enix since 2007. It will be interesting to hear his response.
 

LeonBlade

Administrator
Administrator
Moderator
Site Staff
Oct 25, 2013
2,026
1,864
32
Blossvale, New York
#95
Personally, I really hope FFXVI is announced in 2017. That's the Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary, so it would be a great announcement to make for such a monumental occasion. Maybe even invite Sakaguchi to provide a speech! Hiroyuki Ito has mad respect for him, after all. :)
While that sounds amazing, at the same time it sounds horrible because that's two more years away...

Now that I think about it, if FFXII HD is announced at TGS, Hiroyuki Ito may have to make a public appearance to talk about the game. That being the case, I hope any journalists that interview him ask what he's been doing at Square Enix since 2007. It will be interesting to hear his response.
That would be interesting to see him tease at the idea to get people more excited.
 
Likes: 1Truth2Lies

APZonerunner

Network Boss-man
Administrator
UFFSite Veteran
Site Staff
Jul 25, 2013
1,134
926
35
Solihull, UK
www.rpgsite.net
#96
There's so much secrecy because they don't talk about unannounced projects. No matter how big or small. He could be working on a mobile game, or high level concepts that aren't actual games at all (something I know for a fact he worked on for several years after FF12; concepting ideas and passing them on to other teams), and they still wouldn't talk about it. The fact they dodge the question about what he's doing is indicative of zero.
 
Likes: Sora96

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#97
That would be interesting to see him tease at the idea to get people more excited.
He'll have to say something or just dodge the question completely. If he dodges the question, that will say a lot more than if he even bothered to answer it. LOL!

There's so much secrecy because they don't talk about unannounced projects. No matter how big or small. He could be working on a mobile game, or high level concepts that aren't actual games at all (something I know for a fact he worked on for several years after FF12; concepting ideas and passing them on to other teams), and they still wouldn't talk about it. The fact they dodge the question about what he's doing is indicative of zero.
The thing is they don't completely dodge the question. They answer it by saying he has his own team and planning his own project. However, they don't go into anymore detail than that. However, Hashimoto did say that Ito's adding a lot of depth to the gameplay systems and mechanics, and this will take a lot of time. He said this in your interview at Japan Expo 2013 and I got a similar response when I asked him about Ito in September 2013. This reply is an indicator that this project is for consoles, not smartphones or tablets. Ito is making FFXVI have deep and comprehensive gameplay.
 
Sep 26, 2013
1,612
626
#98
There's so much secrecy because they don't talk about unannounced projects. No matter how big or small. He could be working on a mobile game, or high level concepts that aren't actual games at all (something I know for a fact he worked on for several years after FF12; concepting ideas and passing them on to other teams), and they still wouldn't talk about it. The fact they dodge the question about what he's doing is indicative of zero.
And thus the reason why one can’t quite slam the door shut on some possible director candidates just yet. It should be obvious that nobody can talk about FFXVI right now. Anyone who asks questions about it should expect a bunch of no comments and lying for the time being. Oh and there might be a few kicks and giggles too.
 

Sora96

Warrior of Light
Nov 12, 2014
1,326
239
27
Australia
kh13.com
#99
And thus the reason why one can’t quite slam the door shut on some possible director candidates just yet. It should be obvious that nobody can talk about FFXVI right now. Anyone who asks questions about it should expect a bunch of no comments and lying for the time being. Oh and there might be a few kicks and giggles too.
Please, Yoshida made it clear. He has no time. Toriyama has a higher chance of directing XVI and even I know that's not happening either.
 
Likes: 1Truth2Lies

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
And thus the reason why one can’t quite slam the door shut on some possible director candidates just yet. It should be obvious that nobody can talk about FFXVI right now. Anyone who asks questions about it should expect a bunch of no comments and lying for the time being. Oh and there might be a few kicks and giggles too.
The irony is that both Yoshinori Kitase and Naoki Yoshida keeps name dropping FFXVI without journalists even asking about it. I think when they ask directly about FFXVI, they get no response. However, when they ask a question in a indirect way that hits FFXVI, they find that Kitase and Yoshida will mention FFXVI.

For example:

Q: "Have you started working on FFXVI?"
A: "Sorry, we can't talk about any titles that have not been officially announced."

Q: "Will FFXV being action mean that the mainline FF series is now Action RPG?"
A: "Each FF is different. While FFXV is action, that's no indication that FFXVI will also be action."

It's the way the question is asked that will determine if FFXVI is talked about or not. It's too bad most game journalists don't do this and instead ask about FFXVI directly to no avail.