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Square Enix Considering Fan Feedback Over Final Fantasy XIV Online’s Controversial New Races

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One of the biggest announcements at Final Fantasy Fan Fest this weekend in Tokyo was a new race, Hrothgar, for Final Fantasy XIV Online‘s upcoming Shadowbringers expansion.

The announcement was met with some amount of criticism, as it was revealed that Hrothgar is locked to male characters while the other new race, Viera, is locked to female characters.

Game director Naoki Yoshida responded to the drama in an interview with GameSpot today. He said the team hasn’t had enough time yet to consider all the feedback considering the announcement of Hothgar is so recent.

“We have to identify what they’re coming from, so we can respond correctly,” Yoshida said about concerned fans. “We want to review all the feedback that players gave. The bottom line is that the addition of a race takes quite a lot of cost; it’s really quite an undertaking.”

Yoshida added that in Final Fantasy XII, which is where Viera is from, the male Viera do not show themselves in public, so Final Fantasy XIV Online is staying loyal to the lore with only offering a female option. Yoshida explained that the male-only Hrothgar is Square Enix’s effort to offer a new male-only race in response to Viera being female-only.

I asked Yoshida if Square Enix would considering allowing more gender options for Hrothgar and Viera in the future, but it appears the studio wants to consider feedback first before making any announcements. Yoshida also said to GameSpot that, due in part to the high complexity and challenge of creating new races and balancing them, Hrothgar might be the final new race added to Final Fantasy XIV Online.

The new Shadowbringers expansion launches on July 2. Final Fantasy XIV is available for PS4 and PC, but Yoshida also recently teased that it could launch on Xbox and Nintendo platforms.

We sat down with Yoshida as part of the Final Fantasy Fan Fest. For more, check out GameSpot’s recent stories linked below.

Disclosure: Square Enix paid for GameSpot’s flight to Tokyo and accomodation.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/square-enix-considering-fan-feedback-over-final-fa/1100-6465810/

Final Fantasy XIV Online Boss Talks Potential Xbox, Nintendo Versions; Free-To-Play Switch Not Happening

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Square Enix’s long-running MMO Final Fantasy XIV Online is currently only available on PlayStation 4 and PC, but the title could eventually come to Xbox and Nintendo platforms.

Speaking to GameSpot from the Square Enix Japan offices today in Shinjuku, game director Naoki Yoshida said versions of the game are possible for Xbox and Nintendo systems. In fact, he said discussions with Microsoft and Nintendo, as well as Google, are currently underway.

As he’s said in previous interviews, Yoshida stressed with GameSpot that Final Fantasy XIV needs to support cross-play to have its playerbases united and offer the best experience. That’s currently possible on PS4 and PC, but not with other systems, which has presumably kept the game off Xbox and Nintendo systems so far. However, now that Sony, as well as Nintendo, is beginning to allow cross-play with competing platforms for games like Fortnite and Rocket League, it seems more likely than ever that Final Fantasy XIV comes to new platforms.

Nothing is certain at this stage, and Yoshida wouldn’t be drawn too far into a speculative conversation about where Final Fantasy XIV may be released someday.

Yoshida poses in a meeting room at Square Enix’s offices in Japan.

“Talks with platform-holders has been going on. The fundamental philosophy with Final Fantasy XIV is we want it on labels with cross-platform play with any devices, hardware possible,” Yoshida said through a translator. “So as long as the regulations with the counterpart hardware companies … we can actually pass that, then the possibility, the chance is quite high [of Final Fantasy XIV coming to Xbox and Nintendo systems].

“So we are talking with Nintendo, Microsoft, and Google, of course; we cannot say anything at the moment because we are still in negotiations, but once we have details we can make an announcement; we can bring the news to everyone. We are currently negotiating will all those platforms.”

In our nearly hour-long interview with Yoshida, he repeatedly mentioned that Square Enix wants Final Fantasy XIV Online to reach as many people as possible. It already has more than 14 million registered players, and launching the game on Xbox and Nintendo systems would only increase the game’s footprint further still. Also in the interview, I asked Yoshida if Square Enix might consider dropping the game’s monthly subscription fee in favour of a free-to-play business model in an effort to help the game reach even more players.

It’s not likely to happen. Final Fantasy XIV Online is currently free up to level 35, and that’s as “free-to-play” as the game is likely to be for the foreseeable future.

“F2P is not a bad model. F2P in general in games, players try it, and then just go. For Final Fantasy XIV, our basic game design is we want players to spend a little bit of time and because the game gets interesting [over time]. If we shift to F2P with the current game design, then either the community or the game itself would break. So it’s not going to be good. If we were to move to a F2P model, we should have to completely rehash, recreate the game design from scratch. Changing simply to FP2 now is not a good game design decision. It’s not a good direction.”

GameSpot’s wide-ranging interview with Yoshida covered a number of other topics, including the controversial new race, Hrothgar, coming in the Shadowbringers expansion, as well as the new raid boss designed by Tetsuya Nomura, and even Yoshida’s stance on battle royale. Keep checking back with GameSpot for more.

We sat down with Yoshida as part of the Final Fantasy Fan Fest. For more, check out GameSpot’s recent stories linked below.

Disclosure: Square Enix paid for GameSpot’s flight to Tokyo and accomodation.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/final-fantasy-xiv-online-boss-talks-potential-xbox/1100-6465808/

Final Fantasy XIV Online New Music Album Announced, Get All The Details

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Today during Day 2 of the Final Fantasy Fan Event in Tokyo, Square Enix announced a brand-new arrangement album featuring songs from Final Fantasy XIV Online.

The album is titled Journeys, and it goes on sale June 10 this year for $39 USD. “We’re pleased to announce our third band and piano arrangement album,” Square Enix said.

The disc also comes with in-game footage alongside the music; there are 18 tracks in all. Some are performed by Final Fantasy veteran Susan Colloway, while there are also “extra bonus tracks.”

The piano arrangement was performed by Keiko, while the band performance was done by the band The Primals. Those who pick up “first-run” copes of the album will get in-game extras.

You can learn more about the Journeys album here on its official website. You can order the album from Square Enix’s website or from Sony Music.

Perhaps the biggest news from Final Fantasy Fan Fest are all the new details about Shadowbringers, including a new race, Job, raid, trailer, screens, and more.

The Final Fantasy Fan Fest continues today, so keep checking back for more. For now, you can check out some recent stories linked below:

Square Enix paid for GameSpot’s flight to Tokyo and accomodation.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/final-fantasy-xiv-online-new-music-album-announced/1100-6465805/

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