What do you Think About a Full-Blown Final Fantasy Game on a Mobile Platform?

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Sep 26, 2013
1,612
626
#1
Yoshinori Kitase would like to know!

The minds behind the Final Fantasy video game series have answered all my questions thoughtfully and insightfully, giving me an inside look at the storied franchise.

But now, Yoshinori Kitase has a question. It is late in an hour-long interview, and the producer of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII leans forward on the couch, then speaks.

“We’ve been asking this to gaming media, and we usually get a similar response,” he says through a translator. “If they were to consider doing a more serious, a full-blown game on a mobile platform, hypothetically, if we were to do a Final Fantasy on a mobile platform, from a general consumer perspective, what would you think?”
Now why would he ask that question?

It is an intriguing question, and one that is emblematic of where one of the most iconic video game franchises of the last two decades is right now. It’s been 26 years since the series first debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and 16 years since Final Fantasy VII exploded into the mainstream on the PlayStation, spawning a film, action figures, and a following so massive it’s not even fair to call it cult.

The gaming landscape has changed much since then, the Final Fantasy series, like so many venerable franchises, is working feverishly to keep pace. It’s leveled up so much already, and you’ll see that in February, when Lightning Returns hits stateside.

But as gaming has gone from geeky to trendy, both Final Fantasy and the Japanese role-playing game genre have faced increasing competition, and perhaps slightly declining interest stateside. Western games - think Halo and Call of Duty - are the titles that demand midnight release events at GameStop, and Kitase indicates that they’ve grown in popularity in Japan, too, saying that things have “definitely changed.”

It’s a hard gaming world in which to maintain relevance and clout (not to mention profits), a tricky balancing act between drawing from new audiences that love Angry Birds and curb stomps while also keeping in enough Chocobos for longtime fans. And that could prompt more and more series forays into the tablet world, maybe even the world of web browser games, says Kitase.

“Final Fantasy isn’t necessarily shifting into mobile platforms per se,” he says. “It’s getting to the point where expansion to the mobile platform is kind of becoming required in the sense that in order to reach more people, (we) feel that we need to tap into the mobile platforms as well. Of course, console, we will continue to have their main packaged versions of the game, but there may be more and more opportunities where you might see the games on your smartphone and your PC, (as) a browser game.”

Kitase adds that some Final Fantasy universes - past, present and future - may start on consoles, and then “expand onto different media as well.” And we’ve already seen the start of the new FF strategy in its handling of several classic games - including Final Fantasy Tactics - that have already landed on the iPad.

Yet as the series chases new audiences and tries to maximize each of these games that take so long to build, Kitase says, the aim will not be market dominance. He insists that the series will chart its own course, focused on originality. The Final Fantasy XIII series is evidence of that, too. Lightning Returns will be Square's third trip into that universe, despite the fact that this world has hardly captivated fans in the way that, say, Final Fantasy VII once did. The FF XIII storyline has also featured the series' first-ever female lead, Lightning.

“In (our) minds it’s not about being on top,” he says. “You don’t see very many female protagonists being pushed out to the forefront . . . and being the main focal point of the game.
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...s-ready-level-article-1.1489687#ixzz2i84EVpvz

So... What do you think about a full blown Final Fantasy game on mobile platforms? Is that something you would like to see in the future?
 

yeah_93

Warrior of Light
Sep 27, 2013
1,512
570
Venezuela
#2
I think it would be great if it was on the Vita. And it was called Type-0.
I just don't want them to concentrate on mobile. They need to focus on consoles.
 

Varnis

Balamb Garden Freshman
Oct 9, 2013
26
10
30
Australia
#4
I think they should just Reboot the Crystal Chronicles Spin-Off series (maybe not give it the same name) and make them solely for Mobile Devices (3DS/PS Vita, iOS/Android).

I'm sure people wouldn't mind that...I just think the Main Series should stay dedicated to Home Console Platforms.
 

Zack

Somniac
Moderator
UFFSite Veteran
Site Staff
Jul 29, 2013
160
55
36
#5
I have absolutely no problem with it. It's just that SE has a terrible track record on the platform. If they took it seriously, I'd be interested in playing it. Phones have gotten to be just as powerful if not more so than game handhelds, and I can use a controller with my phone if I want to avoid the touch part.
 

gaiages

:<
Moderator
Site Staff
Sep 26, 2013
110
29
35
Florida
#8
I don't have a particular problem with the idea, but I don't really have any mobile devices that could play it, so... yeah. But still, as long as SE took it seriously it probably would be a quality game... if it's good, I don't really care what platform it's on.
 
Sep 26, 2013
1,612
626
#9
It depends on what mobile means. If it's phones, Zero couldn't care less about it and would never buy it. Handheld gaming devices are a different story; Zero wouldn't mind that at all.
Smartphone and tablet devices are usually what people are referring to when talking about mobile platforms.
 
#10
"Full-blown" meaning something that isn't purely designed to be a wallet-grabbing, consumer-hating half-arsed/no-effort-at-all product that is actually somewhat decent and another demonstration that the mobile platform can be something viable?

'kay, sure, why not? Just as long as it doesn't take away resources or impede the development of larger products for consoles that ought to take primacy. And I'll be enthusiastic for it if it's a good effort, but not operating on a business model that strongarms the player as much as possible into microtransactions just to get past a boss with an absurd difficulty spike all of a sudden.

Also, something like this would need 3DS and Vita ports too, even if it's downloadable, or in Vita's case, PlayStation Mobile even. And a prompt Android release. There, nearly everyone is sort of happy.
 
Sep 26, 2013
1,612
626
#14
Right. And that makes sense as they are all mobile devices. However, that hasn't been widely accepted by everyone yet. You still see people say, "Fuck mobile gaming! I want it on 3DS and PSVita!"

Pretty sure Kitase is talking about smartphone and tablets here. Square Enix has shown large support for these things and not so much 3DS and PSVita.
 

Casval

PSICOM Soldier
Sep 30, 2013
69
36
#15
SE honestly should stop slapping the name "Final Fantasy" onto every game they make. Besides milking the franchise until kingdom come, I have no qualms about the company's dip into mobile territory and would love to play some amazing "full-scale" RPGs on these platforms. Just please, not Final Fantasy, seriously.
 
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soup or mann

PSICOM Soldier
UFFSite Veteran
Sep 29, 2013
66
15
#16
I guess it'd be cool for gamers who like to play on those platforms. Unfortunately, I don't care much for it so it would suck for me. If they're gonna make full-blown Final Fantasy games for mobile then I'd like to see 'em on all mobile devices and not just phones and tablets.
 

Eliotlienthal

Balamb Garden Freshman
Sep 27, 2013
15
4
35
#17
I think most of the fans are used to play Final Fantasy games on home consoles and they can enjoy some games on handhelds like 3DS and PSVita, but the majority don't want the next installment on the series to be a mobile game. IMO Square should focus on keeping Final Fantasy a jaw-dropping franchise on powerful devices like the next gen consoles.
 

Keriaku

Balamb Garden Freshman
Oct 26, 2013
30
11
32
#18
Honestly, I feel like it'll depend on how Agito goes. I think there is huge potential in the mobile space for meaningful content, as shown by Chaos Rings and Imaginary Range. The real point is that they need to be focused on making a real game, not just a flavour of the month piece of software, as Guardian Cross was. Agito has potential to really utilize the mobile space, having replay value and a community element. It's biggest hurdle is people's perceptions of what it is capable of.