Points that indicate Hiroyuki Ito (FFVI, FFIX, FFXII Director) is secretly working on FFXVI

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1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#1
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.

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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."
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-16-final-fantasy-13-2-preview

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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.

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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。
http://app.famitsu.com/20120329_47667/

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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

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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.
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:
"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."
http://www.1up.com/features/final-fantasy-hiroyuki-ito-science

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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!"
http://www.rpgsite.net/interview/31...-with-final-fantasy-producer-shinji-hashimoto

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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."
http://www.usgamer.net/articles/tgs-yasumi-matsunos-new-world

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Last edited:

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#2
November 2013

17. The website for Agni's Philosophy was updated. The update added an employment page that listed various vacant positions on the Luminous Studio team. It also included a page with comments by the current Luminous Studio staff. These comments included hints that another FF besides FFXV is already in production using the engine.

Source: http://www.agnisphilosophy.com/en/career/getech/staff.html

--------------------------------------------------
February 2014

18. Naoki Yoshida said that he's sure there will be a FFXV and FFXVI, and therefore he will constantly try to bring in fresh, new material for FFXIV ARR. The fact he said he's "sure there will be" a FFXV, even though the game had already been officially announced almost a year ago, makes it appear like he was indirectly stating that FFXVI is also already in development.

Source:
"I'm sure there will be a Final Fantasy 15 and 16, but we will constantly try to bring in fresh, new material for Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn."
http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/13/54...ystation-4-launch-is-just-the-start-for-naoki

19. Yoshinori Kitase said that the technical specs of PS4/Xbox One will allow battles in FFXVI to have many more participants involved; there will be more characters for the player to control and more enemies to defeat. He added that the Gambit system, which Hiroyuki Ito created for FFXII, may return and be used to help the player control all the party members available. Considering that only Ito wants to evolve the Gambit system in another FF game, Kitase is basically indicating that Ito will be involved in FFXVI.

Source:
"We are quite aware of [PS4 & Xbox One's] capabilities and certainly one thing that's going to come up is having battles with a lot more participants involved. Having a lot more characters, a lot more things happening, that's one of the things that the new hardware does really well, so to maybe make a battle system for a Final Fantasy game or a future game that fits with that, I think it would be quite good to have more characters for the player to control and more participants in the battle."

"In a way there is stuff from the past that we've done in previous Final Fantasies that may come in handy, that we may adapt or reuse or recreate,"

"In the first two of the XIII series you had the Paradigm Shift system with AI controlled teammates which lends itself very well to having lots of characters. Or maybe having even deeper customisation, something that harks back to say the Gambit System in Final Fantasy XII. All those kind of ideas, it doesn't necessarily [mean] that something that we've used before is now invalid and can't be used, there's certainly a possibility of taking it and bringing it back. But I think it's going to be those kind of changes that the technology allows that we're going to have to maybe think and adapt for."
http://www.videogamer.com/ps4/final...evelopment_given_high_priority_by_square.html

20. Yoshinori Kitase told me face-to-face while he was in London for the European launch of LR FFXIII, the reason Hiroyuki Ito has not worked on the Lightning Saga, FFXIV ARR, and the forthcoming FFXV, is because he has his own development team at Square Enix and is busy leading his own project.

Source: This information was said to me in person.

21. When asked about a potential FFXII HD Remaster, Yoshinori Kitase confirmed the FFXII team, which is headed by Hiroyuki Ito, is still intact within Square Enix. Seeing as this team hasn't released a AAA game since FFXII IZJS in 2007, it's safe to assume they're secretly developing FFXVI.

Source:
Meanwhile, as Final Fantasy 10 and 10-2 are getting the HD remake treatment, some have wondered whether Final Fantasy 12 is next in-line for a fresh coat of paint. "I haven't heard there is a plan," Kitase said of the potential project. "It depends on the team who created 12. If they think it's a good idea they might opt for it."
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-17-a-chat-about-that-final-fantasy-7-remake

22. Yoshinori Kitase stated that FFXVI will not be for Smartphones or Tablets. The reason is because Square Enix always expects mainline FF games to be very high-end, top quality products, as it's the flagship global IP of the company.

Source:
How far can that reactive, market-led process lead Square Enix? We know the company is evolving to keep up with the growing free-to-play and mobile markets, so is something like a free-to-play Final Fantasy 16, or a mobile Final Fantasy 16 a possibility?

"Well, obviously anything's possible," Kitase said, before quickly distinguishing the idea. "I think with the Final Fantasy numbered titles, we always expect them to be very high-end, top quality set of art and graphics, high definition. After all, Final Fantasy is a flagship IP of Square Enix. So for the main Final Fantasy games, that's less likely."
http://www.joystiq.com/2014/02/17/square-enix-producer-kitase-on-lightning-returns-reviews-hd-rem/

23. Hiroyuki Ito did his first public interview since FFXII IZJS released in 2007. The interview was about his thoughts on the PS4 hardware, which was launching in Japan the following day. Ito said that the aspect of the PS4 he's mostly interested in is how it can connect to the PS Vita and provide a second screen for the player. He said the HDTV screen acts like a football stadium and is what everyone in the audience can see, while the PS Vita screen is seen only by the coach and is the means by which he gives orders to his team.

Source:
対 戦相手などに知られたくない情報やメソッドをセカンドスクリーンであるPS Vita側が担えば、ファーストスクリーンとなる大画面をスタジアム化することができる。スタジアム化というのは第三者である観客がいるということ。サッ カーに例えるなら監督やコーチはPS VitaでありPS4はPS Vitaから指令を受け取った選手達とピッチ、そして第三者はそれを観戦するサポーター達となる。実際の競技場ではなく劇場等で開催できるコンパクトさも あるし、これはもうプロスポーツとして成立するのではないだろうか。
http://dengekionline.com/elem/000/000/807/807374/

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June 2014

24. At E3 2014, Yoichi Wada demonstrated a tech demo showing off an Open World and said it was 17 times the size of Skyrim. The fact Skyrim was mentioned by name and the Open World was said to be 17 times larger than it is very, very interesting. Why is it so interesting? Go back and read point 4 in this list. You'll begin to see why Wada never debunked that rumor about Ito directing an Open World FFXV. There may have been some truth to it.

Source:
Square's November demo focused on physics, but its new demo for E3 was all about sheer geographical scale. In a demo that I was repeatedly told was "not representative of a final product," Square showed off a massive forested world that could be explored quickly from a bird's eye view or at a slower pace from the perspective of a cute creature. Square said the full world map was 32 kilometers by 32 kilometers -- 17 times the size of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim by the company's estimates.

But what's truly impressive is not just the size; it's that none of the world was being instanced or streamed in by the computer. It was all fully rendered in full detail across the entirety of the giant world. That includes over 600,000 trees, hundreds of packs of creatures, hills, mountains and more.
http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/13/5795778/project-flare-square-enix-e3-skyrim

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September 2014

25. In an interview published by 4Gamer the day after TGS 2014 ended, Hajime Tabata, the new Director of FFXV, said that the most important aspect of FF was to do something challenging. He added that if the game didn't attempt something that was a challenge, it wouldn't be worthy of being a FF game. This is similar to what Shinji Hashimoto said about mainline FF during the FFXV Q&A back at E3 2013. Back then, he said the essence of the mainline FF series was to keep challenging and striving to do something new and groundbreaking. A video link of him saying this is provided in point 12 of this thread. Skip to 14:19 on the timer for where he says mainline FF is always challenging.

Basically, this word "challenge" keeps coming up with regards to FF. How does this relate to Hiroyuki Ito making FFXVI? I'll explain.

If you go back to point 13 in this thread where @APZonerunner asked Hashimoto about what Ito was currently working on, Hashimoto responded that Ito is planning a new project at the moment and that Ito was somebody that wants to "challenge new things all the time." Hashimoto specifically used the word "challenge" with regards to Ito's new project. So if the essence of FF is to always challenge and Ito is working on a project where he wants to challenge new things all the time, it can be safely assumed that Ito is working on the next mainline FF, which is FFXVI.

Source:
田畑氏:
 それもありますが,「挑戦すること」ですね。「これは挑戦している」と思える部分がなければ,少なくともFFとしては成り立たないと思います。FFシリーズには,何か規格外の部分が必要で,誰でも作れるようなものでは,FFとして出す意味がありません。受け手としてもワクワクしないでしょう。
http://www.4gamer.net/games/260/G026084/20140917119/

======================================================================

Thanks for reading. I hope you found some of the above points interesting. :)
 
Last edited:

yeah_93

Warrior of Light
Sep 27, 2013
1,512
570
Venezuela
#3
Jesus Christ, you are not going to troll here. That many people on the GameFaqs board "have begun to believe that FFXVI is currently being made by Ito"? What a load of bull, you may fool some people, but not many. Most people over there know how you troll Galv.
 

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#4
Jesus Christ, you are not going to troll here. That many people on the GameFaqs board "have begun to believe that FFXVI is currently being made by Ito"? What a load of bull, you may fool some people, but not many. Most people over there know how you troll Galv.
How is this thread trolling? The content within the lengthy OP speaks for itself, with sources provided where available. That is the very opposite of a troll thread. Also, many people on the GameFAQs PS4 Message Board were won over after reading my thread over there. It's the various points that won them over; all I did was corroborate them and provide them in chronological order. The GameFAQs PS4 Message Board is a very, very fast forum, so my thread was only active for a few days, but those that saw it liked what they read.

Also, there's no "most people over there know how you troll" that you're claiming. I feel that you're jumping on the bandwagon of a negative stigma I earned on the FFXV board, which has nothing to do with the content of this thread. The nickname "Galv" is also part of that stigma.

To put it bluntly, either reply to OP (which you haven't) or don't bother posting in this thread at all.
 

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#6
I want this to be the case. And it'd make a lot of sense. Ito also makes sense to put on experimental new IP stuff too, though, R&D stuff, because he's quite visionary. We'll see.
Ito's definitely working on something significant behind the scenes. I say it's most likely FFXVI due to his track record as a director and the corroborated info provided in the OP. That said, I'd welcome it being a new IP. However, with the commercial failure of The Last Remnant, I doubt Square Enix will be willing to give a new JRPG IP the same big-budget as a mainline FF. Therefore, I'd prefer if Ito helmed FFXVI, as that way he'll get all the financial backing he needs to make something great.
 

Myrodis19

AVALANCHE Warrior
May 15, 2014
250
54
33
Westminster, Maryland
#7
Jesus Christ, you are not going to troll here. That many people on the GameFaqs board "have begun to believe that FFXVI is currently being made by Ito"? What a load of bull, you may fool some people, but not many. Most people over there know how you troll Galv.
I dont see how this is considered trolling when he does say it is all speculation. In this case it is really up to the reader whether to believe it or not.
 
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APZonerunner

Network Boss-man
Administrator
UFFSite Veteran
Site Staff
Jul 25, 2013
1,134
926
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Solihull, UK
www.rpgsite.net
#8
Ito's definitely working on something significant behind the scenes. I say it's most likely FFXVI due to his track record as a director and the corroborated info provided in the OP. That said, I'd welcome it being a new IP. However, with the commercial failure of The Last Remnant, I doubt Square Enix will be willing to give a new JRPG IP the same big-budget as a mainline FF. Therefore, I'd prefer if Ito helmed FFXVI, as that way he'll get all the financial backing he needs to make something great.
Well, with Ito being how he is, y'see, he could be working on something fans wouldn't regard as significant but the company would. For instance, Square Enix regard mobile and freemium as a major area of expansion, and if you have somebody regarded as a visionary, genre-changing game designer like Ito, you may want to place him in that area, and give him a lot of resources and money, to tackle that. It's a bit like if Nintendo were to start putting out phone apps as well as traditional games, you can bet Miyamoto's focus would be on those rather than on traditional games, as they'd want to put him somewhere where there's a lot of money to be made in their eyes.

A significant investment/project doesn't always equate to a big one, especially to fan perception.

But, obviously, I hope he is doing this. He's the best man for the job.
 
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1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#9
Well, with Ito being how he is, y'see, he could be working on something fans wouldn't regard as significant but the company would. For instance, Square Enix regard mobile and freemium as a major area of expansion, and if you have somebody regarded as a visionary, genre-changing game designer like Ito, you may want to place him in that area, and give him a lot of resources and money, to tackle that. It's a bit like if Nintendo were to start putting out phone apps as well as traditional games, you can bet Miyamoto's focus would be on those rather than on traditional games, as they'd want to put him somewhere where there's a lot of money to be made in their eyes.

A significant investment/project doesn't always equate to a big one, especially to fan perception.

But, obviously, I hope he is doing this. He's the best man for the job.
That's a very insightful observation. I never considered that Square Enix may intentionally be putting their best staff in the Mobile space. In that sense, maybe the company feels that Hiroyuki Ito is best person to create unique games for Smartphones. He was involved in the freemium iOS/Android games Guardian Cross and Deadman's Cross, which have both been very successful.

That said, the points in the OP indicate that he's working on something major, which therefore can't be for a Smartphone or Tablet. For example, the RPGSite interview with Shinji Hashimoto has him saying that Ito has been doing planning and proposal on a new project and that he's adding a lot of depth to the gameplay systems and mechanics, which will take him some time. That description points more to a AAA game for consoles rather than Smartphone or Tablet game. Also, in the interview, Hashimoto specifically said Ito wants to "challenge new things all the time", which is similar to something he said at E3 2013 about the FF series in general. During the E3 2013 Q&A for FFXV, he said that the FF series "is always evolving and always challenging new things". In that sense, Hashimoto may have been indirectly hinting Ito's project is a FF game.

Here's the video where Hashimoto says FF is always challenging (skip to 14:19):
http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/qiqmcn/final-fantasy-xv-e3-2013--q---a-part-1
 

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#11
I want this to be true, but we didn't get a single game from him last gen so i'm not going to get my hopes up.
On the contrary, I think the fact we didn't get a game from him last-gen makes it more likely we'll get one from him this gen. Also, if you consider point 7 in the OP, there's a chance that the specs of last-gen hardware wouldn't allow Ito to make the game he wanted to make.
 

APZonerunner

Network Boss-man
Administrator
UFFSite Veteran
Site Staff
Jul 25, 2013
1,134
926
35
Solihull, UK
www.rpgsite.net
#13
That's a very insightful observation. I never considered that Square Enix may intentionally be putting their best staff in the Mobile space. In that sense, maybe the company feels that Hiroyuki Ito is best person to create unique games for Smartphones. He was involved in the freemium iOS/Android games Guardian Cross and Deadman's Cross, which have both been very successful.

That said, the points in the OP indicate that he's working on something major, which therefore can't be for a Smartphone or Tablet. For example, the RPGSite interview with Shinji Hashimoto has him saying that Ito has been doing planning and proposal on a new project and that he's adding a lot of depth to the gameplay systems and mechanics, which will take him some time. That description points more to a AAA game for consoles rather than Smartphone or Tablet game. Also, in the interview, Hashimoto specifically said Ito wants to "challenge new things all the time", which is similar to something he said at E3 2013 about the FF series in general. During the E3 2013 Q&A for FFXV, he said that the FF series "is always evolving and always challenging new things". In that sense, Hashimoto may have been indirectly hinting Ito's project is a FF game.

Here's the video where Hashimoto says FF is always challenging (skip to 14:19):
http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/qiqmcn/final-fantasy-xv-e3-2013--q---a-part-1
I know better than most - I was the guy who did that RPG Site interview with Hashimoto! ;) We spoke a bit about Ito after the recording was off, too, but nothing of any real interest/consequence was said.
 

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
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#14
I know better than most - I was the guy who did that RPG Site interview with Hashimoto! ;) We spoke a bit about Ito after the recording was off, too, but nothing of any real interest/consequence was said.
You have my respect for asking Hashimoto about Ito, as most journalists seem to have forgotten the man even exists. Hashimoto's reply to your questions were insightful, IMO. Even if he was clearly trying not to break NDA on what Ito is working on.

Is it a possible for you to provide a transcript of what Hashimoto said about Ito after you put your recorder off? I'd love to read it. :)
 
Oct 4, 2013
47
13
#15
I dont see how this is considered trolling when he does say it is all speculation. In this case it is really up to the reader whether to believe it or not.
Cause he is been saying the same thing for yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrsssss! He did spread rumors petitions and lies to convince people about "secret open world WRPG FF" from Itou.

When I say years i literally mean it.
http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/8040/article/rumor-final-fantasy-xv-to-be-open-world/
GamesMaster UK has another tip from their Square Enix source, this time detailing some of the things gamers can expect from Final Fantasy XV. Although GamesMaster UK was initially wrong about the unveiling of FFXV at E3, they are adamant about the validity of their source.

Here's what the source had to say:

- Including the concept planning and pre-production phase, the game has already been in development for over 4 years.

- It entered full production in January 2010, a month after FFXIII was released in Japan. Since then it has had a development team of just over 200 people.

- The director is the same person who directed FFVI, FFIX and FFXII, Hiroyuki Ito.

- The co-director led a small part of the development team to make Tactics Ogre for the PSP in parallel with FFXV. He’s currently multi-tasking as lead UI designer of FFXIV 2.0 and co-director of FFXV.

- The game design and battle system will be a major evolution of FFXII.

- The game will be open world and have sprawling, crowd-filled cities on par with Assassin’s Creed.

- The battle system now allows you to target different parts of an enemy’s body like in Vagrant Story.

- Yoichi Wada (president of Square Enix) wants the game to have a world scale and volume of content that surpasses The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. He also wants the game to surpass FFVII in worldwide sales and critical reception.

- Will release on all major current gen platforms.

Open world Final Fantasy. It's like Square Enix has been reading my diary. Hopefully these rumors will end up being true, but I guess only time will tell.
When Square announces XVI as Type-0's sequel, he will just say Itou is working on FFXVII. He is in an endless cycle.

I couldn't careless about Itou , XII was the most passive grindcore FF experience yet and IX's gameplay was slow and laggy. Can't say i am looking forward to his stuff.
 
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1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#16
Cause he is been saying the same thing for yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrsssss! He did spread rumors petitions and lies to convince people about "secret open world WRPG FF" from Itou.

When I say years i literally mean it.
http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/8040/article/rumor-final-fantasy-xv-to-be-open-world/


When Square announces XVI as Type-0's sequel, he will just say Itou is working on FFXVII. He is in an endless cycle.

I couldn't careless about Itou , XII was the most passive grindcore FF experience yet and IX's gameplay was slow and laggy. Can't say i am looking forward to his stuff.
I haven't been saying the same thing for years. Where is all this exaggerated BS coming from? It's like you FFXV board GameFAQs users are all blindly riding on warped view of my character without questioning it. Besides, if you look the OP, more than half of the points I provided were said in the last 18 months, so how could I have been saying this for years, as you claim? Keep your misinformed accusations out of this thread, please. Either discuss the subject at hand or just don't post. It's not that hard, yo. No need to try and derail this thread into something that not only doesn't discuss the OP, but doesn't even discuss the FF series in general.

The FFXV rumor was done to get a response from Square Enix. I wanted to see if they would debunk that rumor or not. It was a carefully calculated move on my part. I'm sure they saw the rumor, but they didn't debunk it, which means there may have been some truth to it, as my OP states in points 4 and 24. Matter of fact, I wasn't even thinking about regular people when I made that rumor. Leading up to E3 2012, I had seen that somebody has made a rumor about some new IP to be shown by Ubisoft, and Ubisoft came out and outright denied it. Therefore, I wanted to see if that rumor would be denied by Square Enix. Them not commentating on it leaves room to believe there may be some truth there, particularly with regards to the type of game Ito is working on.

Lastly, there's no way FFXVI will be a Type-0 sequel, as Hajime Tabata will mainly be focused on all the games in "A World of the Versus Epic". Other than that, he's also got FF Agito and Type-0 HD to worry about. He's even outright said that a Type-0 sequel (Type-1) won't start development until FFXV is finished. The only real candidates for making FFXVI are Ito and the FFXII team, or Kitase/Toriyama and the FFXIII team. Of course, seeing as you couldn't care less about Ito, it's no wonder you have nothing positive to contribute to this thread apart from attempting to derail it. Go figure.
 
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APZonerunner

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Jul 25, 2013
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#18
You have my respect for asking Hashimoto about Ito, as most journalists seem to have forgotten the man even exists. Hashimoto's reply to your questions were insightful, IMO. Even if he was clearly trying not to break NDA on what Ito is working on.

Is it a possible for you to provide a transcript of what Hashimoto said about Ito after you put your recorder off? I'd love to read it. :)
It was a year ago now and I don't really remember, but there's nothing much to say. He was asking me why I felt so strongly about Ito, and I explained. :) He asked if I'd ever met Ito, and I explained during the FF12 press tour I never got the chance, as I was at college then. He said he hoped Ito could come on a press tour to the West at some point again in the future, so I could have the chance to interview him in detail, perhaps. That was it. There was no level of suggestion about any of this, it was just idle chatter. I've met Hashimoto 10 or 12 times now, so there is a sense of familiarity between us.
 

1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#19
It was a year ago now and I don't really remember, but there's nothing much to say. He was asking me why I felt so strongly about Ito, and I explained. :) He asked if I'd ever met Ito, and I explained during the FF12 press tour I never got the chance, as I was at college then. He said he hoped Ito could come on a press tour to the West at some point again in the future, so I could have the chance to interview him in detail, perhaps. That was it. There was no level of suggestion about any of this, it was just idle chatter. I've met Hashimoto 10 or 12 times now, so there is a sense of familiarity between us.
Thanks for the info!

Unfortunately, Ito never did a press tour for FFXII. Leading up to the launch, there was never a Western interview with him ever released. However, there was a video interview with him included on the FFXII Collector's Edition Bonus DVD, but even that was filmed in Japan. It's interesting that Hashimoto hopes that Ito can go on a press tour to the West again, considering the last one Ito embarked on was for FFIX back in 2000. Maybe his next press tour will be for FFXVI? Fingers crossed. :)

Anyway, I hope you're still in the business of video game journalism when Ito does another press tour in the West, as I'm sure an Ito interview by you will reveal a lot of info on the man's career and his views on the FF series that we currently don't know about.

In your RPGSite interview with Hashimoto, it was really nice to see that he showed some admiration of Ito's talent. I think you asking him about Ito was important for the FF fanbase, as many believed that Ito was no longer seen as important to the FF series. However, Hashimoto, who is the Final Fantasy Brand Director, gave you responses that showed that he still views Ito as a very capable and talented game designer, even alluding that Ito has a major project in the pipeline. That interview was really great, as it allowed people that felt Ito was being ignored by Square Enix to finally rest easy. As you can see in point 14 of my OP, I also met Hashimoto and asked him about Ito. His response to my question was very similar to your own; it was nice to corroborate the two answers.
 
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1Truth2Lies

Sphere Hunter
Jul 3, 2014
224
129
London
#20
I'm bumping this as I've now added a 25th point to the OP. The point comes from corroborating words from a TGS 2014 interview with Hajime Tabata with those of Shinji Hashimoto at E3 2013 and Japan Expo 2013. I also feel this point is a significant one, as it further indicates that whatever Ito is working on is most definitely a FF game.