Naoki Yoshida of Final Fantasy Fame Eager to Direct Again
Bringing the once-doomed MMO Final Fantasy XIV back to life and directing the latest mainline title of the long-running franchise isn’t enough for Square Enix superstar Naoki Yoshida. In a new interview with Famitsu, Yoshida chatted at length about his desire to direct yet another major game for Square Enix.
“When I thought about passing on my baton to the next generation, I thought “I probably can at least add one more title to my name.” It’s completely undecided as of now, but if the opportunity arises to work on the next major title, I would like to direct it myself,” the game producer, director, and designer said.
Upon its release in 2010, the original Final Fantasy XIV was a critical and commercial failure. In an effort to breathe new life into the title, then-Square Enix President Yoichi Wada put Yoshida in charge of a team to overhaul the massively multiplayer online game. Rereleased in 2013 as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, the game currently boasts over 24 million registered players and has become the most profitable Final Fantasy title to date.
When asked if he had set any limits for himself, Yoshida answered in the negative.
“I feel like setting a cap will make things awfully boring,” he said. “It’s of course good to set goals to gain that momentum, but as an organization grows larger, I think a better way to approach it is, we don’t know what the future holds, so why not challenge ourselves each time? I think that’s definitely a better way to look at it. I hope that I can take even greater leaps to the likes I have not ever imagined.”
The next Final Fantasy XIV expansion, Dawntrail, is set to be released this summer. Yoshida’s work on Final Fantasy XVI has been regarded as some of his best, and while it seemed for a while that someone new would stand at the helm of the next mainline title, we won’t write Yoshi-P off just yet.
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