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

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Sep 26, 2013
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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.
My point still stands. It's not hard to understand so there is no reason to make this difficult.

As nobody can talk about FFXVI right now, the doors are still wide open over possible director candidates. This isn't just about Yoshida or Toriyama.

My stance on this is pretty simple. As someone who would like Ito to work on FFXVI, I'm just not going to rule anyone out and zero in on a specific target yet. I see no strong and valid reason to.
 

Lulcielid

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Oct 9, 2014
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My point still stands. It's not hard to understand so there is no reason to make this difficult.

As nobody can talk about FFXVI right now, the doors are still wide open over possible director candidates. This isn't just about Yoshida or Toriyama.
Then i will bring new people to this disscusion for potential director :
  • But this guy is bussy working on other titles (I.E: Kitase), why him ?
Guess what ? Working in multiple projects at the same time is nothing strange, Kitase was producer of FF13,Type0 and 15 (before being replaced by Hashimoto) at the same time as well as producer in both Movious and VIIremake at the same time. Moreover Nomura was directing other Kingdom Hearts games while being also director of FFVersusXIII/XV and right now he is Director of KHIII & FFVIIRemake.
  • But this guy hasn´t directed a game before, why him ?
Before ascending to Director, Nomura used to be graphic designer for visuals, monsters and characters but somehow he was greenlighted to be Director of the Kingdom Hearts series and a Final Fantasy game (until Tabata took his place).
Both Yoshinori Kitase and Hiroyuki Ito before debuting as Director in FF6 they have done nothing related to being a director and somehow the were greenlighted to do so.
So yeah, all the people i listed have as much chances of being director as the previous men i mentioned had.
  • This guy is just a programmer ! Why him ?
Related to the above, well Hiroyuki Ito was only a programmer (battle/gameplay) but Sakaguchi/SquareSoft trusted that he could do OK as a director without problem, so why can´t they have the same threatment ?
  • Why him ? He has been MIA or haven´t heard of him in a while !
This same reasoning applies for Hiroyuki Ito. ;)
  • NO WAY ! He will never be director of XVI (I.E: Toriyama) !
Why not ? Because of FF13 series backlash ? Well guess what ? "Square-Enix is never in touch with the fandom":woot: Chances of Toriyama directing XVI are quite good and if you say "his likely working of FF7Remake", look at my first reply.
  • NO WAY ! He is forever trapped in this other project ! (I.E: Yoshida)
Replacements can happen, like Tabata taking over Nomura´s project and as much as Yoshida is responsible for the big hit that is FFXIV post 1.0, he can only so much againts Yusuke Matsuda will, the only thing that he has more power over him is ability to choose when he wants to resign.

Ok guys, do you have any other bet ?:p
 
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LeonBlade

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Ok guys, do you have any other bet ?:p
My bet is Ito. Honestly, I understand that it's possible other people can direct the game but in all honesty there isn't any other evidence to support it like there is for Ito. 1Truth has gathered a lot of evidence to support his claim over the years and has been in effect for what would have been FFXV if Versus didn't turn into it.

There are some things I disagree with of course, but for the most part I agree with the overall consensus. Again, while overall there is nothing conclusive, the point of going against it without complete confirmation is pointless. This is not so much saying Ito undoubtably is directing it, but that all evidence points in that direction.

I look at it this way, there are plenty of options out there but none with any actual substance to support them being a reality. Some unsung talent could emerge and direct FFXVI for all we know, but nothing points in that direction. So, unless you can entertain the idea of another director with some substance, I see no reason to even bother.

As for who you could rule out, Nomura, Tabata, Toriyama and Yoshida can be ruled out immediately. This is not really debatable either outside of Toriyama, however I honestly don't think he would be directing another mainline series this soon. Most of the people in the list are producers which does not exclude them as being a director, however it's unlikely that they would take such a position in most cases. You can rule out Hashimoto immediately. Also, you can immediately rule out anyone who is working on a current title like XIV for example (Akihiko Matsui and Hideyuki Kasuga).

As for the rest of those names, most of them appear to be producers and not directors, and while it's not impossible for them to take a director role, it's very unlikely as the jobs have different levels in how they are involved with the project. Basically, I would rule out people with low credentials like Tomoya Asano, Hiroyuki Miura, Hiroshi Harata and Yasunari Ohnishi.

For the last few names Akitoshi Kawazu is already working on the new SaGa game and is not likely to be working on XVI given that he has been working on SaGa since its inception. Naoki Hamaguchi is the director on Mobius and is not likely to direct XVI. Takashi Tokita has a long history with Square, but seems to still be working on "Final Fantasy Legends: Crystal of Space-Time" as the director. We don't know where Kazuhiko Aoki is and what he's doing, but given he's only directed a few small time titles years ago, it's unlikely he's fit for directing XVI. Ichiro Hazama is listed almost exclusively as a producer and seems to have his share of titles each year he works on, most recent being the Producer of "Dissidia Final Fantasy" which will be coming out on consoles eventually so his time will be dedicated to that project.

The last person is Takashi Katano who was credited to work heavily on XII and the International version. This is the only person from the list with any connections with XII. However, it seems they are mainly focused on being a programmer than a director, so it is unlikely they would take a position as a director.

Overall, the list of people doesn't have anything that would indicate any of them would be working on XVI. You could debate some of these names, however I don't think anyone would argue for them. Ito on the other hand is someone who is known for directing Final Fantasy titles and there is a lot of evidence him being the director.

I'm definitely not 1Truth here, and I'm not really into wild speculation or giant threads and posts going on about Ito (no offense intended just saying I'm not a huge fan of Ito), but I don't think it's really fair to dismiss the evidence provided simply because it's not inherently conclusive without confirmation. I think it's best that those who aren't convinced by the evidence presented from years of gathering from 1Truth are better off resisting the urges to speak against it and instead do what you suggest and leaving it open for discussion and not trying to disprove something without much counter evidence.

Just as a final message here, I'm not saying there is complete and total proof of Ito directing XVI, as without confirmation from Square Enix it is fruitless. However, I do believe that the possibility is very high to that where it is almost certain. My position is that I will take a default as the leading candidate for the position until proven otherwise, but unless there is evidence, I see no reason to object against it.
 

Lulcielid

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Nice argument @LeonBlade , though i still disagree.
What about the possibility of Ito working on XVI but only as the gameplay director (what is his strong point) and the main director of the overall game being [Insert someone that is not Ito]?
 

LeonBlade

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Nice argument @LeonBlade , though i still disagree.
What about the possibility of Ito working on XVI but only as the gameplay director (what is his strong point) and the main director of the overall game being [Insert someone that is not Ito]?
Still very possible, anything is open to be possible, I just mean to say that nothing should be dismissed without counter evidence. You provide more counter evidence here than in the other post because you mention that Ito's strong point is in gameplay.
 

Sora96

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Motomu Toriyama is definitely in Square Enix's #1 division

In an interview with Famitsu following the release of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII in Japan, Motomu Toriyama confirmed he is in Yoshinori Kitase's division known as Business Division 1. While this has been reported before, I had to make sure and goldpanner has kindly done so. You can read it below.

Quote

Famitsu mentions Toriyama and Kitase are in the same division. They ask what sort of titles will be coming. Toriyama says that he, Kitase, Sawada and Nishi will all be in the first business division, and the question of what to do next is exactly the current topic. Kitase mentions that as LRFFXIII has just finished they are in the middle of talks about what to do in the future. Famitsu asks Kitase and Toriyama whether the two of them being together must point to another FF? But Kitase says nothing has been decided yet (with a dry laugh). Famitsu wonders whether there isn't a new Bahamut Lagoon title in the cards, but Toriyama says that if they make a new title then they want ideas from younger people. He is jealous of the freshness of the younger people these days.