This is a thread I originally created on the GameFAQs PS4 Message Board in April 2014. As of posting it there, many people that frequent that board have begun to believe that FFXVI is currently being made by Ito. I have since posted an update there and thought I'd also post the thread here to share my findings with more people. For the FF fans hoping that Hiroyuki Ito (FFVI, FFIX, FFXII Director) will direct FFXVI for release on PS4/Xbox One, this thread is for you.
Please bare in mind that this is all speculation based off corroborated evidence, nothing more. That said, if FFXVI becomes a reality on PS4/Xbox One, we therefore won't be stuck with the "A World of the Versus Epic" by Tetsuya Nomura and Hajime Tabata for the whole of current-gen, much like we were stuck with the "Lightning Saga" by Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama for the whole of last-gen.
For those that don't know Hiroyuki Ito and his past contributions to the FF series, visit his FF Wiki article: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Hiroyuki_Ito
With all that said, the corroborated points of evidence are provided below in chronological order.
--------------------------------------------------
November 2011
1. Yoshinori Kitase (FFX, FFXIII Producer) said that we may get FFXV and FFXVI in the near future. Bare in mind that this was said after VersusXIII had been internally renamed FFXV (an event which happened in January 2011) and before FFXIII-2 was released, meaning it was before LR FFXIII had even begun development. Therefore, FFXVI was already being made by another team before Kitase/Toriyama had even finished the Lightning Saga.
Source:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-16-final-fantasy-13-2-preview
--------------------------------------------------
February 2012
2. Hironobu Sakaguchi (Creator of FF) told me face-to-face while he was in London to promote The Last Story, he believes Hiroyuki Ito can make FF a leading and respected RPG series again.
Source: This information was said to me in person.
--------------------------------------------------
March 2012
3. Shinichi Tatsuke (Producer within Square Enix Mobile Division), said that Hiroyuki Ito only provided the original concept for the iOS/Android game Guardian Cross, meaning Ito was not a member of the actual development team. If Ito wasn't part of the development team, what game has he been working on hands-on for all these years? After all, his last hands-on project was FFXII IZJS, which released back in August 2007.
Source:
http://app.famitsu.com/20120329_47667/
--------------------------------------------------
July 2012
4. Yoichi Wada (President of Square Enix) never debunked the rumor that Hiroyuki Ito was secretly directing FFXV and it would evolve off FFXII and have an Open World that would surpass Skyrim in both world scale and volume of gameplay content. Despite the rumor blowing up on 2ch and various Japanese gaming blogs, Wada never debunked it. However, two days later, he used Twitter to publicly debunk the rumor that FF VersusXIII had been cancelled. This was a rumor that had only shown up on 2ch earlier that same day, yet he debunked it within a few hours. Why didn't he debunk the rumor about Ito? There must have been some truth to it.
Source: Two sources.
1) The 2ch thread with the rumor of Ito directing FFXV (Thread posted on July 21 and active until July 30):
http://anago.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/ghard/1342860369/
2) Wada's tweet debunking the rumor that VersusXIII had been cancelled (Tweeted on July 23):
https://twitter.com/statuses/227628674780909568
--------------------------------------------------
August 2012
5. Naoki Yoshida (FFXIV Producer/Director) said that Hiroyuki Ito was not working on FFXIV: A Realm Reborn. However, he wouldn't disclose what game Ito was working on. The fact that disclosing information about what Ito is currently working on is under NDA must indicate he is working on a very important game for the company.
Source: https://twitter.com/statuses/238359219076734977
6. Naoki Yoshida said that FFXIV ARR is the starting point of regaining people's trust in the FF franchise. He added it will make people excited to see what will be in store for them in FFXV and FFXVI. The fact he actually said "FFXV or FFXVI" must mean that both FFXV and FFXVI are currently in development and will release not that far apart from each other.
Source:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...tasy-will-take-a-long-time-ff14-producer-says
--------------------------------------------------
September 2012
7. Hiroyuki Ito said that current-gen hardware (PS3/Xbox 360) was too weak to handle his gameplay ideas. The reason was due to him being held back by insufficient RAM and CPU power. However, he added that hardware was getting closer to where he can do exactly what he wants to do. Considering that Square Enix already had PS4 and Xbox One development kits at the time of this interview, but both console weren't yet publically announced by Sony and Microsoft, Ito was likely alluding to forthcoming next-gen console hardware.
Source:
http://www.1up.com/features/final-fantasy-hiroyuki-ito-science
--------------------------------------------------
February 2013
8. Naoki Yoshida said that back in December 2010, when he became Producer/Director of FFXV 1.0, many other staff were brought in from other projects. He added that Hiroshi Minagawa (FFXII, Tactics Ogre PSP Director) is multi-tasking FFXIV ARR with another big project. That being the case, Minagawa is not working on LR FFXIII or FFXV, so what other big project is he also working on? Bare in mind that Minagawa was the Director of FFXII alongside Hiroyuki Ito.
Source: Skip to 4:37 on the timer.
--------------------------------------------------
May 2013
9. I asked Toshiyuki Itahana (FFIX Character Designer) via Twitter if Hiroyuki Ito will direct another mainline FF, as FFIX and FFXII are my favorites in the series. He replied saying that he also respects Ito as an amazing game creator, and that I should please look forward to Ito's next game. Basically, Itahana was indirectly saying that Ito's got another mainline FF in the pipeline and I should look forward to when it's announced.
Source: https://twitter.com/itabee/status/331777078380883969
10. Nobuo Uematsu (Composer of FF series) told me face-to-face while he was in London for a Final Fantasy concert by the London Symphony Orchestra, he can guarantee that Hiroyuki Ito will direct another FF game. When I probed further and asked if Ito will direct either FFXV or FFXVI, he laughed and replied that his answer would get him in trouble with Square Enix.
Source: This information was said to me in person.
--------------------------------------------------
June 2013
11. FFXV was announced at E3 2013. Seeing as the game was originally announced as FF VersusXIII at E3 2006, which was 7 years ago, the game that was originally supposed to be FFXV must have therefore been renamed FFXVI and pushed back in order to be given more development time.
12. Shinji Hashimoto (FF Brand Director) said during a Q&A after Square Enix's E3 2013 press conference, FFXV being an Action RPG will not alter the direction of the FF series. FFXV is a standalone title, with a real-time battle system being ideal for what it wants to achieve. He added that the next mainline Final Fantasy (FFXVI) could return to using something similar to the Active Time Battle (ATB) system.
Source: Skip to 10:16 on the timer.
http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/qiqmcn/final-fantasy-xv-e3-2013--q---a-part-1
--------------------------------------------------
July 2013
13. Shinji Hashimoto said that Hiroyuki ito has been planning and proposing ideas for a new project. He added that Ito is putting a lot of depth into the gameplay systems and mechanics. As a result, development of this project would take some time.
Source:
http://www.rpgsite.net/interview/31...-with-final-fantasy-producer-shinji-hashimoto
--------------------------------------------------
September 2013
14. Shinji Hashimoto told me face-to-face while he was in London for the European launch of KH I.5 HD ReMIX, the reason Hiroyuki Ito hasn't worked on any current-gen (PS3/Xbox 360) FF games is because he's been busy planning his own project. When I asked when his project will be announced, he replied saying that Ito's adding a lot of depth to the gameplay systems and mechanics. As a result, the announcement of this project will take some time.
Source: This information was said to me in person.
15. I asked Yasumi Matsuno (FFT, Vagrant Story Director) via Twitter if he would write the scenario for FFXVI as a freelancer if Hiroyuki Ito was the director. He replied saying he unfortunately had "certain reservations" about answering the question. In other words, the answer to the question was in NDA territory.
Source: https://twitter.com/YasumiMatsuno/status/374329899332292608
16. Around 2 weeks after Yasumi Matsuno responded to my tweet, he announced at TGS 2013 that he was working on two new games with Playdek. However, he added that he will not be directing either of the games. The reason he gave is because he's also got other projects going for other companies, some of which have assigned a large amount of work for him to do.
Source:
http://www.usgamer.net/articles/tgs-yasumi-matsunos-new-world
--------------------------------------------------
Please bare in mind that this is all speculation based off corroborated evidence, nothing more. That said, if FFXVI becomes a reality on PS4/Xbox One, we therefore won't be stuck with the "A World of the Versus Epic" by Tetsuya Nomura and Hajime Tabata for the whole of current-gen, much like we were stuck with the "Lightning Saga" by Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama for the whole of last-gen.
For those that don't know Hiroyuki Ito and his past contributions to the FF series, visit his FF Wiki article: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Hiroyuki_Ito
With all that said, the corroborated points of evidence are provided below in chronological order.
--------------------------------------------------
November 2011
1. Yoshinori Kitase (FFX, FFXIII Producer) said that we may get FFXV and FFXVI in the near future. Bare in mind that this was said after VersusXIII had been internally renamed FFXV (an event which happened in January 2011) and before FFXIII-2 was released, meaning it was before LR FFXIII had even begun development. Therefore, FFXVI was already being made by another team before Kitase/Toriyama had even finished the Lightning Saga.
Source:
"If we look at the entire history of the franchise - now we have 14, and maybe 15 and 16 in the near future - there have been Final Fantasy titles that have been extremely popular and some that people liked less.
"But the beauty of the franchise is that we establish a new universe and new concepts every time with the numbered titles. Even if any particular game turns out to be a flop, the next one we can start afresh, we can reset and move on. It's going to be okay."
"But the beauty of the franchise is that we establish a new universe and new concepts every time with the numbered titles. Even if any particular game turns out to be a flop, the next one we can start afresh, we can reset and move on. It's going to be okay."
--------------------------------------------------
February 2012
2. Hironobu Sakaguchi (Creator of FF) told me face-to-face while he was in London to promote The Last Story, he believes Hiroyuki Ito can make FF a leading and respected RPG series again.
Source: This information was said to me in person.
--------------------------------------------------
March 2012
3. Shinichi Tatsuke (Producer within Square Enix Mobile Division), said that Hiroyuki Ito only provided the original concept for the iOS/Android game Guardian Cross, meaning Ito was not a member of the actual development team. If Ito wasn't part of the development team, what game has he been working on hands-on for all these years? After all, his last hands-on project was FFXII IZJS, which released back in August 2007.
Source:
プロデューサー・田付氏からのメッセージ
ソー シャルゲームのシンプルなところにファミコンゲームの面影を感じ、『ファイナルファンタジー』をファミコンから制作してきた伊藤が、ソーシャルの原案 を考えたらおもしろいのではないかと思ったのが制作のきっかけでした。最初は別のゲームのバトルを依頼したのですが、一週間後に「残念ながらバトルはでき なかったけど、新しい企画が1本できちゃった」と言われ、「それで十分です!」ということに(笑)。新しい遊びをたくさん入れているので、ソーシャルゲー ムに飽きてきたという方にぜひプレイしてほしいです。
ソー シャルゲームのシンプルなところにファミコンゲームの面影を感じ、『ファイナルファンタジー』をファミコンから制作してきた伊藤が、ソーシャルの原案 を考えたらおもしろいのではないかと思ったのが制作のきっかけでした。最初は別のゲームのバトルを依頼したのですが、一週間後に「残念ながらバトルはでき なかったけど、新しい企画が1本できちゃった」と言われ、「それで十分です!」ということに(笑)。新しい遊びをたくさん入れているので、ソーシャルゲー ムに飽きてきたという方にぜひプレイしてほしいです。
--------------------------------------------------
July 2012
4. Yoichi Wada (President of Square Enix) never debunked the rumor that Hiroyuki Ito was secretly directing FFXV and it would evolve off FFXII and have an Open World that would surpass Skyrim in both world scale and volume of gameplay content. Despite the rumor blowing up on 2ch and various Japanese gaming blogs, Wada never debunked it. However, two days later, he used Twitter to publicly debunk the rumor that FF VersusXIII had been cancelled. This was a rumor that had only shown up on 2ch earlier that same day, yet he debunked it within a few hours. Why didn't he debunk the rumor about Ito? There must have been some truth to it.
Source: Two sources.
1) The 2ch thread with the rumor of Ito directing FFXV (Thread posted on July 21 and active until July 30):
http://anago.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/ghard/1342860369/
2) Wada's tweet debunking the rumor that VersusXIII had been cancelled (Tweeted on July 23):
https://twitter.com/statuses/227628674780909568
--------------------------------------------------
August 2012
5. Naoki Yoshida (FFXIV Producer/Director) said that Hiroyuki Ito was not working on FFXIV: A Realm Reborn. However, he wouldn't disclose what game Ito was working on. The fact that disclosing information about what Ito is currently working on is under NDA must indicate he is working on a very important game for the company.
Source: https://twitter.com/statuses/238359219076734977
6. Naoki Yoshida said that FFXIV ARR is the starting point of regaining people's trust in the FF franchise. He added it will make people excited to see what will be in store for them in FFXV and FFXVI. The fact he actually said "FFXV or FFXVI" must mean that both FFXV and FFXVI are currently in development and will release not that far apart from each other.
Source:
"Losing your fans' trust is very easy thing to do. Regaining it is very hard," Yoshida said. "We believe Final Fantasy 14 is a starting point, and that players joining us will think 'oh wow, this is great, I'll see what they can do with Final Fantasy 15 or 16'.
"Over a long time we'll try and regain their trust, but it is something we as a company must put effort into, long-term."
"That doesn't mean we're not going to try to get people's trust back with this one game," he added.
"Over a long time we'll try and regain their trust, but it is something we as a company must put effort into, long-term."
"That doesn't mean we're not going to try to get people's trust back with this one game," he added.
--------------------------------------------------
September 2012
7. Hiroyuki Ito said that current-gen hardware (PS3/Xbox 360) was too weak to handle his gameplay ideas. The reason was due to him being held back by insufficient RAM and CPU power. However, he added that hardware was getting closer to where he can do exactly what he wants to do. Considering that Square Enix already had PS4 and Xbox One development kits at the time of this interview, but both console weren't yet publically announced by Sony and Microsoft, Ito was likely alluding to forthcoming next-gen console hardware.
Source:
"First of all, I feel like the "optimal" ATB has yet to come. I think it's the advance of hardware, and stuff like memory within that... I always had to be concerned about things like that initially, when I started doing this kind of thing. It's getting closer and closer to the optimum level where I can do exactly what I want to. It's getting there, but we're not actually there yet."
--------------------------------------------------
February 2013
8. Naoki Yoshida said that back in December 2010, when he became Producer/Director of FFXV 1.0, many other staff were brought in from other projects. He added that Hiroshi Minagawa (FFXII, Tactics Ogre PSP Director) is multi-tasking FFXIV ARR with another big project. That being the case, Minagawa is not working on LR FFXIII or FFXV, so what other big project is he also working on? Bare in mind that Minagawa was the Director of FFXII alongside Hiroyuki Ito.
Source: Skip to 4:37 on the timer.
--------------------------------------------------
May 2013
9. I asked Toshiyuki Itahana (FFIX Character Designer) via Twitter if Hiroyuki Ito will direct another mainline FF, as FFIX and FFXII are my favorites in the series. He replied saying that he also respects Ito as an amazing game creator, and that I should please look forward to Ito's next game. Basically, Itahana was indirectly saying that Ito's got another mainline FF in the pipeline and I should look forward to when it's announced.
Source: https://twitter.com/itabee/status/331777078380883969
10. Nobuo Uematsu (Composer of FF series) told me face-to-face while he was in London for a Final Fantasy concert by the London Symphony Orchestra, he can guarantee that Hiroyuki Ito will direct another FF game. When I probed further and asked if Ito will direct either FFXV or FFXVI, he laughed and replied that his answer would get him in trouble with Square Enix.
Source: This information was said to me in person.
--------------------------------------------------
June 2013
11. FFXV was announced at E3 2013. Seeing as the game was originally announced as FF VersusXIII at E3 2006, which was 7 years ago, the game that was originally supposed to be FFXV must have therefore been renamed FFXVI and pushed back in order to be given more development time.
12. Shinji Hashimoto (FF Brand Director) said during a Q&A after Square Enix's E3 2013 press conference, FFXV being an Action RPG will not alter the direction of the FF series. FFXV is a standalone title, with a real-time battle system being ideal for what it wants to achieve. He added that the next mainline Final Fantasy (FFXVI) could return to using something similar to the Active Time Battle (ATB) system.
Source: Skip to 10:16 on the timer.
http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/qiqmcn/final-fantasy-xv-e3-2013--q---a-part-1
--------------------------------------------------
July 2013
13. Shinji Hashimoto said that Hiroyuki ito has been planning and proposing ideas for a new project. He added that Ito is putting a lot of depth into the gameplay systems and mechanics. As a result, development of this project would take some time.
Source:
"You're a very unique journalist, asking about Ito-san! Yeah. He's still at Square Enix. He's been planning and doing some proposals for a new project at the moment, so... Really, he's the kind of guy that wants to challenge new things all the time, so, yeah. At the moment, he's doing... [laughs] He's putting some ideas together."
"Like you say, he's very talented and very involved. He's very, very in-depth... he likes the depth of the gameplay systems side of things. He really loves to go really deep on mechanics and things, and that takes time. I'm very excited to see his ideas soon!"
"Like you say, he's very talented and very involved. He's very, very in-depth... he likes the depth of the gameplay systems side of things. He really loves to go really deep on mechanics and things, and that takes time. I'm very excited to see his ideas soon!"
--------------------------------------------------
September 2013
14. Shinji Hashimoto told me face-to-face while he was in London for the European launch of KH I.5 HD ReMIX, the reason Hiroyuki Ito hasn't worked on any current-gen (PS3/Xbox 360) FF games is because he's been busy planning his own project. When I asked when his project will be announced, he replied saying that Ito's adding a lot of depth to the gameplay systems and mechanics. As a result, the announcement of this project will take some time.
Source: This information was said to me in person.
15. I asked Yasumi Matsuno (FFT, Vagrant Story Director) via Twitter if he would write the scenario for FFXVI as a freelancer if Hiroyuki Ito was the director. He replied saying he unfortunately had "certain reservations" about answering the question. In other words, the answer to the question was in NDA territory.
Source: https://twitter.com/YasumiMatsuno/status/374329899332292608
16. Around 2 weeks after Yasumi Matsuno responded to my tweet, he announced at TGS 2013 that he was working on two new games with Playdek. However, he added that he will not be directing either of the games. The reason he gave is because he's also got other projects going for other companies, some of which have assigned a large amount of work for him to do.
Source:
"This time, I’m not the director myself. I’m more of a story writer. The direction is handled by Joel and his company. So I’m the original writer of the story here. I’m working on more than one project at this time, so I can’t really be the full-time director of this project. I’ll be involved, but in much less of a capacity than with some other projects. I’ll ask Joel to make a decision and he’ll give me his feedback."
--------------------------------------------------
Last edited: